Medical Marijuana Initiative Falling Short in Florida

As
expected, it looks like Amendment 2, which would have
made Florida the first Southern state to approve medical use of
marijuana, is falling short of the 60 percent support it needs to
pass. With 69 percent of precincts reporting, the
results are 57 percent in favor and 43 percent
against. John Morgan, leader of the Amendment 2 campaign,

said he would try again in 2016 if the vote was close to the 60
percent threshold for constitutional amendments.

Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia
recognize marijuana as a medicine, with rules ranging from
strict (e.g., New Jersey) to loose (e.g., California). Amendment 2
would have moved Florida toward the California end of that range,
allowing
marijuana use by patients suffering from nine specific conditions,
plus “other conditions for which a physician believes that the
medical use of marijuana would likely outweigh the potential health
risks for a patient.” 

Support for Amendment 2
plummeted between July, when a Quinnipiac University
poll found that 88 percent of voters favored the measure, and
October, when a Gravis
Marketing poll found that just 50 percent did. Opponents,
aided by $5 million in donations from Republican casino tycoon
Sheldon Adelson, argued that the regime established by the
initiative would be tantamount to general legalization, which they
said would lead to horrors such as
date rape facilitated by pot cookies.