After Thoughts

Mary Lynn Mathre of Patients Out of Time

2012-02-07T19:03:00.000-08:00

Mary Lynn Mathre is co-founder of Patients Out of Time, Registered Nurse, Master of Science, Specialty Degree in Addictions Nursing and has been an Addictions Nurse over 2 decades.

She is also a veteran and extremely knowledgeable about the science behind cannabis and the endocannabinoid system, as Jodi pointed out.

Oil of Life

2012-02-07T17:42:00.000-08:00

Days in Tallahassee 21
Remaining Committees 7
Remaining Days for the bill to be heard 26
Remaining days of funding 9

At the January presentation of the “Silver Tour” Mary Lynn Mathre spoke about cannabis as the Oil of Life. Mary Lynn was an early adopter; that’s what you call the ones who catch on early; I guess she is still an early adopter.

When I first met Mary Lynn, she was hosting a luncheon for patients from around the country who were involved in a Federal Class Action suit to allow therapeutic access to cannabis. As a registered nurse, she was the first medical professional I heard speak about cannabis. I was so overwhelmed. I knew cannabis was medicine for me; I’d even met hundreds of activist patients. But she knew the science behind why it made me feel better.

Mary Lynn Mathre and her husband, Al Byrne are trail blazers. Their organization, Patients Out of Time hosts a therapeutic cannabis conference biannually. The next conference, this April in Arizona may very well be ground breaking. Attendees will likely hear more about the Oil of Life.

Cathy Jordan joined me in Tallahassee for the Students for Sensible Drug Policy Southern Region conference on Sunday. Yesterday, we joined the Democratic Women’s Club of Florida for meetings and a visit with Vice-President Joe Biden. Today it was back in saddle, this time with Cathy in the lead.

From office to office, Cathy shared the narrative of her disease, championed soldiers -- for whom anti-depressants are deadly, and empowered everyone she met to speak loud and proud about their support for legal access to cannabis. With Cathy as the focal point and her amazing story of survival to set the stage, everyone who listened learned about the Oil of Life.

I did my very best to do justice to Mary Lynn’s description of this life giving medicine.

She explained, as human beings we need four things: we need to be able to have restful, restorative sleep; we need nutritious food; protection from disease and in a real sense. We also need to forget. The ability to forget the little wounds we inflict upon one another every day keeps a functional society and in the case of PTSD; forgetting is about survival.

Cannabis provides all these things to the body. Restful sleep, increased appetite, a necessary neuroprotectant – new science even shows that cannabinoids boost the natural immune response and the research on cannabis and the memory mechanism shows its incredible power to help transition people through those traumatic experiences into a healthier prospective. See her presentation at the Silver Tour at http://youtu.be/PAy47ShTohQ.

No one we spoke to in the last 48 hours disagreed with us. We said thank you to a couple co-sponsors, but otherwise, in every republican office, the aide we spoke with 100% agreed that cannabis is medicine. Our last office, an influential senate member’s legislative director was quite positive about the future of our issue.

One of my favorite new Representatives told me how many of his colleagues are telling him that if a cannabis bill to protect patients was on the floor, they would vote for it. We like that sort of hearsay; but, it does nothing to protect the patients who will face the choice of breaking the law or suffering.

We’ve learned a lot this session about how the legislature works, who can make things happen and what it is going to take to move this issue. Certainly, it is going to take each of us giving this issue the time it deserves. We’ll have to get over our fears and preconceived notions, and then take our issue to the lawmakers. FL CAN has a plan; we hope you’ll be part of the team that says, “Florida can change cannabis laws and I can help!”

Funny how things work…

2012-02-06T20:27:00.000-08:00

Days in Tallahassee 20
Remaining Committees 7
Remaining Days for the bill to be heard 27
Remaining days of funding 10

Several years ago, I developed a short presentation on how to change the laws in Florida. There are really three ways to change the laws.

You can use the Courts, either through a lawsuit or an appeal after a conviction.
You can change the Constitution.
You can work through the legislature.

Today, Florida CAN President Cathy Jordan was with me here in Tallahassee. Members of the Democratic Women’s Club of Florida were in town to lobby on issues important to the group. This past September the club passed a resolution supporting therapeutic access to cannabis.

Over 150 women from around the state sat through panels, lobbyist training and workshops preparing for their lobby day. During a casual conversation a sister club member said, I sponsored the constitutional amendment to put cannabis protections in the constitution as part of the Constitutional Revision Commission.

I’ve joked from time-to-time about forgetting more about medical cannabis then most people will likely ever know, today, I was reminded there really are three ways to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot.

Most medical cannabis supporters are familiar with the work of PUFMM, People United for Medical Marijuana. There campaign to collect the over half a million signature needed to put an amendment on the ballot never reached the threshold to get on the ballot.

In addition to collecting signatures, lawmakers have an additional avenue to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot. The Joint House and Senate Resolutions we are working with this year is a fine example of how that works. Lawmakers introduce the proposed amendment, ideally the bill is debated and passed through committee, reconciled with a matching version in both the House and Senate, then gets the support of over 60% of the members on the floor.

The Florida Constitution allows for a commission to be appointed every twenty-years to make a comprehensive review of our constitution. The commission accepts amendments, debates them and then puts amendments on the ballot.

Much to our surprise a Democratic Women’s Club leader was the sponsor of our proposed constitutional amendment during the last commission.

Activist giants like Greg Scott, Toni Leeman and Kevin Aplin coordinated patients and doctors to speak at meets of the Constitutional Revision Commission in 1996. The group led an incredibly passionate and professional campaign to put protections to medical cannabis in the constitution. The amendment worked its way through the committee process and in the end failed to make the cut. In its final minutes, the commission addressed the issue of safe access to cannabis. While the committee agreed medical cannabis was an important issue, they did not believe it belonged in the Constitution, but charged the legislature to pass laws protecting patients.

Twenty-years, a generation of activists, 17 states passing medical cannabis, 27 have introduced hemp initiative.

I want to assure patients in Florida, we are exhausting every measure, pursuing every lead. We understand the pressure you face, we know to be sick is hard enough, to be sick and afraid to use a medicine that truly helps, is impossible. One mind at a time, we are making a way for you. Keep the faith.

Succession Planning

2012-02-05T20:15:00.000-08:00

Days in Tallahassee 19
Remaining committees 7
Remaining Days for bills to be heard 28
Remaining days of funding 11

Although the legislators were back in the district this weekend, I stayed in town to be part of the Southern Region Students for Sensible Drug Policy Conference hosted by the Florida State University SSDP/NORML chapter.

What a great group; over 30 student leaders from Atlanta to Miami made the long haul to Tallahassee. Saturday night Sabrina from FAU led an awareness building exercise and a few fun and informative icebreakers. Today’s program featured excellent workshops created and facilitated by students.

The well-thought out program gave chapter leaders real skills, a minute to vent and time to discuss moving the conversation of drug policy. It was a time for community building; with the Internet, Skype and social networking our community may be borderless, but those face-to-face meetings are priceless.

One of the repeating themes of the day was succession planning. In their case, it was about making sure the college chapter lasts through the next graduating class. For people like me, succession planning is investing in Student’s for Sensible Drug Policy and the NORML University groups. They are my succession plan. We need to protect their financial aid and make sure they can get through college without a felony conviction.

Investing in college students is also about raising the bar for drug policy reform. They are smarter than we were when we started. We can give them insight and guidance. They may stand on the shoulders of giants; they will be able to take us further.

Today, we were reminded the struggle for human rights isn’t over. The civil rights movement is certainly not finished or over; but a new generation must be engaged and prepared or we’ll stand to lose precious gains.

Drug policy made inroads this year in Tallahassee. We’ve watched a rejection of private prisons, seen the Good Samaritan 911 bill move through the House and Senate. Mandatory minimum sentences were challenged for the second year and found favor in several committees and sensible cannabis policy has a voice. The struggle isn’t over, but we are an unstoppable force.

Four-Twenty Caucus

2012-02-03T20:52:00.000-08:00

Days in Tallahassee 17
Remaining committees 7
Remaining Days for bills to be heard 28
Remaining days of funding 13

I stayed out of the Capital complex yesterday. After Wednesday, I was a little depressed.

Wednesday was awesome. Amy C and I had a great series of meetings culminating in that conversation with Jim, the policeman. I knew from the messages I was getting throughout the day that people really were calling into the Majority offices in both the House and the Senate. Sweet taste of success.

Then the President of the Senate, Mike Haridopolis, walked into the Criminal Justice Committee and fired Senator Fasano. I’ve written about the control the leadership exerts on the legislative process and Jeff Clemens talks about it during his presentation at the January 29, 2012 Silver Tour.

Talk about stealing the show. By four-twenty on Wednesday, the only thing anyone was talking about at the Capital was the schoolyard bully stunt pulled by the President. It was super unprofessional but it showed loud and clear, if the leadership doesn’t want something to move it won’t move.

I spent Thursday taking care of business and planning our final days here in the Capital. The highlight of the Thursday was the Miami Herald Blog. While I was so sure our day of action was overshadowed by the Presidents folly, it was a pleasant surprise to find “Cannabis Calling”.

The Miami Herald and later the Tampa Bay Tribune, both ran Cannabis Calling. The blip talked about the relentless calls received by the Majority Leaders office asking for a caucus. Representatives Lopez-Cantera is quoted as jokingly calling it the “420 Caucus”

Today’s tactic was two-fold, while hundreds of people sent e-mails about the effect of cannabis on Alzheimer’s, a disease that effects over 450,000 Floridians right now, I deliver information on the Endocannabinoid System to the medical professions in the House. Representative Grant of Tampa was quoted recently as wanting Florida to be a medical destination state! I wanted to be certain our lawmakers understand the importance of cannabis in the next wave of cutting edge medical discovery.

I had mixed feels about the four-twenty caucus remark – I laughed, not sure if it was so funny, but I was thrilled to make the news!

After one too many cups of coffee I headed in the Senate Majority office to ask about our caucus. While I was there, leaving the information on the Endocannabinoid system and explaining we wanted to bring in professionals to speak to the leadership, Lori from Sarasota called and shared her story. The aide said she’d heard incredible stories, calls from patients, family members and doctors.

By the time I got to Lopez-Cantera’s office I was full of righteous anger. Five aides sat enjoying their Friday on government time when I marched into the office. “I’m the four-twenty caucus representative” I announced. Then I promptly let them have it with both barrels. Not sure who was calling their office the past two days, the Senate Majority was hearing from suffering people, caregivers and doctors – making the Representatives little snide not funny on so many levels. Does the Representative think the suffering of thousands who need this medicine is funny?” The lowered eyes showed the appropriate amount of shame.

I gave my five minutes – using the two drop pieces, explained the emerging applications, the pages and pages of footnoted studies. How would we ever be the leader in medical research if we are not opening the door for this plant? Five aides asked questions and agreed to share the information with the Majority Leader.

Next week, we have appointments set with the incoming President and the Speaker. Time is growing short but we are still putting on the pressure full steam ahead.

We ran into Representative Clemen’s tonight at dinner. He talked again about what a difference having a full-time, knowledgeable representative here pushing the issue. He reports he still gets the occasional joke from colleagues, but more and more Republicans are talking to him about the issue. Where before they told him never, now, the message is, the time is coming.

For thousands of patients, “the time is coming” isn’t soon enough.

One Mind at a Time

2012-02-01T20:47:00.000-08:00

Days in Tallahassee 15
Remaining committees 7
Remaining Days for bills to be heard 28
Remaining days of funding 15

The atmosphere in Tallahassee changed this week. The Speaker of the House released his budget appropriations and now the wheeling and dealing starts. It’s also harder to get appointments and the sub-committee meetings are coming to a close.

We created a statewide day of action today. While hundreds of people made phone calls today, I escorted Amy from Jacksonville around the Capital. We were popping in on the Jacksonville delegation in addition to the regular appointments I had scheduled.

Tallahassee has circles within circles and delegations are one of those circles. The Jacksonville delegation is made up of everyone whose district touches Duval County and will include other representatives from neighboring counties who share an economic interest. While it’s getting harder and harder for Representatives to make time for me, constituents may get a minute or two. At the very least, the Aide is happy to take your information and tell the Representative you stopped by.

Meeting with aides may not be our first choice, but knowing the aides, being on good terms and sharing your story with them is always a good idea. Representatives are term-limited, their aides aren’t. Many of the aides have worked in Tallahassee for years, they move from office to office. They understand how to make things happen and have their finger on the pulse of the building. Several aides have confessed to knowing someone who benefited greatly from cannabis. Several have confessed to burning a few themselves.

We arrived early for our last appointment of the day. With aching feet it was good to find a spot to sit awhile. A companion joined us in a lounge setting near the Representatives office. He struck up a conversation, first mentioning he’d seen me around the building. We chatted casually about long days away from home, over-achieving children, just small talk. His briefcase proudly displayed the Florida Chief of Police Association.

After a few minutes of socializing, I ask if he is still with the Association. After he proudly introduces himself, I tell him the Association is on my list of appointments this week. He asks my business – once I tell him – we had the usual reply. Hands out, pushing back, whooooo, not sure that we’re on the same side on that one. Twenty minutes later, when we were told the Representative wasn’t going to make it back for our meeting, we didn’t care.

Our new friend was a former drug cop and big agency guy working narcotics going back to the 70’s in South Florida. He is currently consulting with a Michigan police department that isn’t liking the medical cannabis dispensaries in their towns at all. I explained that is why we want police on board now, to help create a system that works for everyone.

Police know cannabis isn’t going away. We pushed through the gateway theory, he couldn’t argue with sugar being the first drug we use to abuse! We had an affable conversation. In the end it always comes down to medical cannabis being the first step and us wanting more.

I explained that once you started to look at this you realize without this medicine some people are going to die. We think those people need to be taken care of first, but who can look at the young people incarcerated and the time wasted on cannabis investigations without being moved to object. The right answer is regulating and controlling it. So, I asked, since that is what we want, a regulated and controlled system, where is the compromise? His answer, “A good medical cannabis access program.” Yeah, that’s what we thought too. See we can come together on this issue.

He started the conversation because I was familiar to him. He kept having the conversation because we were sincere, polite, thoughtful, non-accusatory and kind. In the end he called our mission God’s work. One day at a time, one mind at a time, we are winning this was just as surely as the Berlin Wall was destined to fall.

Our call in program went really well today. Hundreds of calls were reported.

The big issue of the day at the Capital is the removal of Senator Frasano as the Chair of the Criminal Justice committee. The leadership, the Governor and President of the Senate want to sell our prisoners to private prison companies, (the same jokers who spent tens of thousands on campaign contribution to leadership during the last election). Frasano was asking tough questions and standing up against selling our prisoners to the highest bidder. In the middle of a committee hearing the President of the Senate interrupted the meeting, fired the Chair and appointed a new chair person.

If we want to move medical cannabis in Florida through legislators who act like that when they are challenged, we have to be loud and proud.

It's Now or Never

2012-01-31T20:12:00.000-08:00

Days in Tallahassee 14
Remaining committees 7
Remaining Days for bills to be heard 29
Remaining days of funding 16

If you’ve been following my ramblings about this session you’ve read my complaints about the legislators only working three day weeks. This past weekend, I took advantage of the break and headed back to Melbourne. I suppose if you don’t much like the people you live with, traveling to Tallahassee and working from a hotel might be nice, me, I love my family and get terribly home sick.

While it was good to be home, since we were already in Melbourne, a quick trip to Boynton Beach for the Silver Tour presentation seemed like a great use of time.

Robert Platshorn brings together a great program including experts like Mary Lynn Mathre, RN., co-founder of Patients Out of Time; Mike Minardi, Esq.; Irvin Rosenfeld, the longest surviving medical cannabis recipient and Representative Jeff Clemens. Over 200 people attended the presentation including Jordan Malter, an associate producer with CNN Money.

Mary Lynn was brilliant as she talked about the emerging research on the endocannabinoid system. The Silver Tour ran live online and you can still view the program.

Last week, cannabis reform groups and drug policy reform supporters planned a coordinated day of action. Robert kicked off the day by encouraging attendees to make the calendar and program the number for Majority Leaders Andy Gardiner and Carlos Lopez-Cantera into their phone.

We are to the point where push is coming to shove. The only way HJR 353 will be heard this year if for us to flood the leadership with requests. No Republican wants to come out first and be seen as soft on crime. If we don’t act now, how many patients won’t be here next year?

Florida CAN has a plan for being here next year. We’ll raise awareness, meet with more stakeholders, raise money and hopefully, come back to support an even better bill. But, how many patients will we leave behind? How many people will lose their life or their sense or quality of life if we fail this year?

Changing the laws is a slow painful process. Three years, that is what they say it takes to get a hearing on a new bill. Three long, painful years. Unless something happens, unless a wave of support comes through like an unstoppable force.

Tomorrow we’re asking our friends and allies to join us in a day of action. www.FLDecides.org gives you the details, the numbers to call and asks you to e-mail me directly after you call!

Florida's Leadership Crisis

2012-01-26T19:01:00.000-08:00

Day 13
Remaining Committees 7
Remaining Days to hear the bills 34
Remaining Funding - 17 days

While our calls and e-mails are having a tremendous impact on the reception I am getting in Tallahassee, it is apparent we have a leadership crisis.

Lawmakers are opening their eyes to the incredible impact this plant has on a variety of ailments. Personal stories and the sheer flood of e-mails is like a rising tide, it lifts all boats.

The problem is, Florida has a leadership crisis. Republican hold a firm majority in both the House and the Senate, since both HJR 353 and SJR 1028 are sponsored by Democratic, the leadership is in no hurry to act on our bills.

While committee chairs have a lot of pull, the agenda is set by the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate. There is one person from the House and one person in the Senate beside the Speaker and President who can give our bills the consideration they deserve.

No Republican is going to stand out front on our issue until the leadership gives the nod. We need an opportunity to put all the Republicans in the same room, face-to-face with experts and patients. The perfect way to make that happen is a caucus workshop.

At the prompting of the Majority Leaders, the entire group of elected republicans will attend a caucus meeting. At these meetings, they hear from experts, discuss strategy, and receive their marching orders.

February 1, 2012, we are creating a coordinated statewide day of action. We need everyone to make just two simple phone calls.

February 1 we need people to call Senate Majority Leader Andy Gardiner at 850-487-5184; then call House Majority Leader Carlos Lopez-Cantera at 850-488-1993.

Here is a simple script you can follow. When the aide answers the phone,

Introduce yourself and tell them what part of the state you are from.
Explain what you have learned about medical cannabis or the effect medical cannabis has on your life or that of your loved one,
Here’s the important part,
Ask the Majority Leader to hold a caucus hearing so their members can get the same education about the benefits of cannabis you received.

We know cannabis is good medicine. We know cannabis is a safe medicine. The medical use of cannabis has stood the test of time. This is no new medicine. This isn’t even a new policy; 17 states already have protections for patients using cannabis.

Now we need to make sure the leadership hears from enough people to tip the balance to overcome our leadership crisis.

I’m Just a Party Guy

2012-01-25T07:29:00.000-08:00

Day 11
Remaining Committees 7
Remaining Days to hear the bill 36
Remaining funding 19

Most of the time when you hear that you think “Let the good times roll.” Not in the Capital. Here, a party guy means until the majority of his or her peers are on board, no matter what the individual thinks, they won’t vote their conscience.

That has to be the most frustrating part of the work up here. In those one on one meeting you learn lots of things. I now know three Representatives that behind closed doors admit to having used cannabis. Regardless, they are not going to buck the leadership.

Last night I was just too exhausted to post a blog entry. All day at the Capital, dinner with a trusted advisor and several hours of research and prep work later, there was simply no more energy left.

Yesterday was a good day. Nearly 500 people reached out to their lawmakers. Florida lawmakers spent yesterday bragging about making Florida the premiere state for Veterans. We will welcome you with open arms as long as the medicine you use to treat your phantom limb pain or PTSD isn’t cannabis. Never fear, if you break the law by smoking cannabis for your PTSD we’ve got a program for that too.

As a movement we have got to get the Republican leadership involved in our cause. We have to get the Cancer Society, the Alzheimer’s Society and other important stakeholder on our side. We aren’t done in Tallahassee, but neither is the real work of getting support groups, researchers and medical associations to sign off.

Are we having fun yet?

2012-01-23T18:07:00.000-08:00

Day 10
Remaining Committees – 7
Remaining Days to be heard 37
Remaining funding – 20 days

The experience here in Tallahassee is hard to beat if you like this sort of thing. One of our board members asked me last week if I was having fun. Hhmmm, if you like working 15 hours a day with a couple breaks for meals and sleeping in a hotel, then yes. If you think talking to decision makers about creating policy is cool; then, we are definitely having fun.

I mentioned earlier that session is sixty days. The countdown doesn’t pause for weekends, so it is quite disturbing to me lawmakers work a 3-4 day work week. The House of Representatives didn’t even meet today; the Senate in its defense handled some big stuff today. Privatization of prisons in Florida was a major area of debate today.

Two thoughts come to mind as I contemplate the 3-4 day work week are lawmakers are enjoying as the days of session count down.

First, I used today to make appointments to meet with the lawmakers on our committee schedule. Yesterday, I diligently researched 19 lawmakers, standing ready to make appointments today for the remainder of the week. Imagine my surprise when I was told in some offices, the member has no more appointments available through the end of session. We are forty-six days to the end of session and of those days lawmakers will only work in Tallahassee 29 based on what we have seen. No wonder they don’t have time to meet with constituents.

And then there is the idea the Senate handled important business today. The House members didn’t even come back until today. If people are use to the House and Senate not doing business on Friday’s and Monday’s is this a way to reduce civic participation?

Since today was quite at the Capital, I spent the day building strategies with People United of Medical Marijuana, Robert Platshorn and his Silver Tour, SSDP and the Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy. We are calling all supporters together to push the legislators to educate themselves about this plant.

When The Choir Sings

2012-01-22T20:45:00.000-08:00

Day 9
Remaining Committees – 7
Remaining Days to be heard – 38
Remaining funding – 21 days

I’ve worked with a number of wonderful people in the drug reform movement who say they don’t like to speak at hemp festivals and pot rallies. They feel as though they are just “speaking to the choir” at those events. Over the years, as the number of people supporting safe, legal access to cannabis increases, it seems, more people qualify as converts.

So, in a fellowship you have converts, but it is the choir singing that will often move you as much, if not more, than the spoken message.

The choir of supporters in Florida have begun to sing. Nearly 1000 people sent e-mail messages to key members in the House and the Senate. Those voices moved two lawmakers who agree we should let the voters decide.

I feel pretty blessed to be here, seeing the lawmakers come to understand what it is we know about this plant. Being away from home is hard, even when the work is this important. I stayed in Tallahassee to make some strategic meetings making me more than a little homesick.

Each week we have identified select targets for educational efforts. This week we’ve adopted a pretty ambitious agenda. From our target list of Senators and House members, we’ve identified 600 supporters from their districts. If we can move our choir to share their story with their own personal representative and invite their neighbors to do the same, we will create the avalanche of support we need to pass a medical protection bill this year.

My job, as I go door-to-door meeting with these lawmakers is to listen for their hidden fears and find a way to move them. We already know the greatest misperception we have to overcome is the idea Floridians don’t support safe, legal access to cannabis medicine.

On the average, when we send out a “request for action”, a narrow percentage of people actually open the e-mail and take action. If only 1 in 20 of the people we asked to contact their lawmaker takes action, only 30 letters will be sent.

Do you believe the voice of 30 people is enough to move lawmaker in a state with nearly 18 million people? Surely, the walls of Jericho fell with just the blast of a trumpet and in this world of infinite possibilities nothing is impossible, but I believe we need more people to join the chorus.

Sometimes the choir sings, sometimes we all sing along.

Today, we need to all sing along. What are you waiting for? When will you talk to your neighbor about writing a letter, your barber, the stock boy and cashier? When will you call upon your congregation and office friends? If you wait for someone else to carry the message, we will be waiting another year for safe access for our patients.

Every day I wear a couple cannabis leaf lapel pins on my suit jacket. In the halls, in the elevators, in line at the cafeteria in the Capital, I am constantly asked about them. Last night, I went to a college bar with a former NORML board member. No one seemed to notice the embroidered pot leaf on my shirt. In the bars, in the streets, among the people this is not an issue, people already agree with you.

It takes a lot of courage to contact those lawmakers each day. It took a lot of strength for Cathy to come here with her caregiver to go door-to-door among scoffers. It is hard being here, away from a family I adore, dogs that always miss me and a home I love.

Yes, it is hard, it is a little scary to come out of the closet and show your true colors, but for now, we need you to join the choir and sing along! Don’t be afraid, it is the right thing to do.

Perception is Reality

2012-01-20T18:25:00.000-08:00

Day 7
Remaining Committees – 7
Remaining Days to be heard – 40
Remaining funding – 23

There is an old saying about never eating sausage after you’ve seen how they make it. Tallahassee is a bit like that.

Today was spent playing catch up. The House was consumed with redistricting and only a few committees had business in the Senate. Our constitution set the 60 days legislative session, apparently that is consecutive days, so while lawmakers are nowhere to be found, the countdown to the end of sessions proceeds.

Lawmakers are home for a long weekend, little to no business on Monday either; but our work continues.

The theme for the week was: in Tallahassee perception is reality. I’ve spent quite a bit of time exploring the idea, meditating on its meaning and trying to see through the mystery.

Perception is reality. For now, the perception is the public in Florida doesn’t care about medical cannabis. When the CNN Money special runs early in February showing Robert Platshorn’s Silver Tour meeting at a synagogue in Boca, when they get overwhelming calls and letters of support, or when they are faced with a life threatening illness of their own they will reconsider.

In my down time today, I did some research on the 1978 Controlled Substance Therapeutic Research Program. This bill, introduced by Representative Lee Moffitt had an interesting history. Like our bills, the 1978 bill was assigned to numerous committees. After a month of languishing it was sent to a subcommittee – never a good sign.

Then something changed. Suddenly, the research act was withdrawn from its committees and within days was calendared for a vote on the House floor. The Senate picked up the bill, withdrew it from all of the committees in the Senate and again it passed with little opposition.

Perception is reality. Had we been on the outside watching the 1978 bill, we would have been convinced it didn’t have a chance.

Representative Moffitt is best known these days for his work with the Lee Moffitt Cancer Research Center. I sought him out this week when I knew he was in the Capital. He agreed to meet with me next week to share with me what happened. Why did those 1978 lawmakers suddenly change their perception of the bill?

With your e-mails, calls and letters, we are changing the perception lawmakers have about cannabis. They are beginning to see the light.

Making Tracks

2012-01-19T17:40:00.000-08:00

Day 6
Remaining Committees – 7
Remaining Days to be heard – 40
Remaining funding – 24 days

Florida Cannabis Action Network President of the Board, Cathy Jordan, spent three days here in Tallahassee last week. As a person surviving with Lou Gehrig’s Disease she is truly an inspiration. Although she is wheelchair bound and requires constant assistance from her caregiver Adam, she made meeting after meeting.

Non-smoking hotels means if smoking cannabis is your medicine, you have to make alternative arrangements to medicate. In the cold, without proper medication, two sick friends stuck in the hotel and Cathy still made meeting after meeting.

When you work with people like that, complaining seems a little juvenile. That aside, being here is hard work. Long days, high stakes, add lots of walking and more than a little stress. We know how important our success is to the future of Florida.

A last minute decision on the part of the House Judiciary committee pushed back the committee hearing from 8 am to 9. Who knew. That extra hour of sleep would have been welcome; but watching the committee work was worth the early morning.

This morning, Preventing Deaths from Drug- related Overdoses HB 125 sponsored by Representative Bernard was on the agenda. In New Mexico, a similar bill was passed in 2005. It was part of a strategy by drug policy reformers to educate the legislature. Although Representative Bernard is a democrat, the bill enjoys bipartisan support. This bill passed easily through committee this morning. It was the support by law enforcement agencies that peaked my curiosity. Representative Bernard agreed to meet next week to give us advice on how to build those bridges with unlikely allies.

The same bill was introduced by Representative Bernard last year. It passed through all of its committees but didn’t make it to the floor for a vote. Not encouraging but a reality here in Tallahassee.

The Florida Senate was in session both Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, so today was my first opportunity to see them in committee. The more I watch bills make tracks though the committee the more clear it is how much we need leadership support.

If Senator Haridopolis and Speaker Cannon or the Governor doesn’t push for medical cannabis, it is unlikely our bill will be heard in the first committee. We aren’t done yet, but success will only happen with a ground swell of support.

A Day in the Life of a Bill

2012-01-18T19:55:00.000-08:00

January 18, 2012

Day 5
Remaining Committees 7
Remaining days to be heard 41
Remaining funding 25 days

Yesterday, I promised to talk more about the committee process. Most of our government business at all levels of Government takes place at the committee level. State Government works on a tight schedule and with the sheer volume of bills they consider each year, committees run tightly.

The only thing the legislature is required to do annually (according to the Constitution) is pass a balanced budget. Every ten years, the legislative session starts early in order to accommodate the other mandate required of them, redistricting.

Because of redistricting our session started early this year. A typical session begins in February and runs for 60 days. Despite the early start, our regular session lasts 60 days. If lawmakers fail to pass a budget and redefine the legislative boundaries during the regular session a special session must be called.

Members may begin filing bills in the fall prior to the legislative session. For weeks prior to the regular session legislators attend “committee weeks”. Many of the bills that were pre-filed made their way through committees prior to the beginning of session.

House members are limited to six bills each, while Senators have an unlimited number of bills they can file. With 120 members in the House, over 600 bills jockey to be heard each session. The role I’ve been sent to accomplish is vital to the passage of a bill. Bills require someone who can shepherd them from committee to committee.

The Speaker or President of the Senate appoints committee chairs. Chair appointments bring a lot of power and attention. I’ve written before about how important it is to get leadership on board. If the leadership doesn’t believe in a bill, the Chair will ignore it.

So far this week I’ve been talking members of the Criminal Justice committee in the House. There are 15 people on the Criminal Justice Committee, 10 Republicans and 5 Democrats. Since the bill sponsor is a Democrat, my work this week was assuring we’ll get all the Democratic votes in the committee. With five votes in our pocket, we simply need to find 3 Republicans to support the bill in order for it to pass the first committee.

The big hurdle is getting the Chair to hear the bill. Perception is reality in Tallahassee. Lawmakers perceive their constituents don’t support medical access. The other perception is if a Chair hears a bill, they support the bill.

Our work is bearing fruit. Today I met with a Democrat who said, “If you had asked me about this bill two weeks ago, I’d have said no. Since then I’ve had a number of calls and e-mails asking me to support it. I did the research and now believe this is an issue that has merit and I support the bill.” The nearly 1000 e-mails generated through www.FLDecides.org is making a difference.
For this legislation to pass this year, we need an avalanche of support- lucky for us avalanches do happen. Perhaps since we’re in Florida, its more appropriate to look for the perfect storm. Either way, without the calls and letters you’ve generated, success would not be possible.

How a Bill Becomes a Law

2012-01-17T18:36:00.000-08:00

I got over my Tallahassee trepidation pretty quickly. Traveling up here on Martin Luther King Day was pretty challenging. It’s a long trip to Tallahassee from Melbourne; heck, it’s a long trip from just about anywhere. On the drive it seemed to me putting our capital so far from the mass majority of its citizens sends the message. It appears to me it would be easy to separate yourself from your constituents on that long drive.

Today totally met my expectations. It was about learning. Little things like how to function for 27 days in a hotel room and bigger things, the best way to get to the Capital; just a learning day.

My first objective today was to learn the rules. My appointment with Representative Workman wasn’t until 2PM so I had time to stop by the local office supply store; grab a shuttle to the capital and introduce myself to Senator Bullard’s staff.

With time to spare a stop to visit to Representative Clemens was in order. He’s a dedicated public servant with a terrific legislative aide, Beth to assist him. The Representative was between meetings when I popped in to say hi. It is refreshing to hear his passion. He is prepared to continue to raise this as an issue as long as he serves in office. What a blessing.

Senator Bullard’s legislative staff kept me for over 90 minutes. The Senator met with FL CAN’s president, Cathy Jordan just last week. The staffers were awesome. We covered a lot of ground. One of the things I wanted to learn was what holes need filled in our lawmaker’s education about cannabis.

Last week a friend of FLDecides, our medical cannabis program asked “bill SJR 1028 I looking at the tracking and it says this: 01/10/12 S Introduced -SJ 85 Tuesday, January 10, 2012 8:28 AM -12/08/11 S Referred to Health Regulation; Judiciary; Budget; Rules -SJ 85 Thursday, December 08, 2011 11:20 AM.
What does this mean?”

There are lots of sources to learn how a bill becomes a law but in short, once a bill is filed (introduced) it is referred to committees. In most legislative bodies, the real work happens in committees. Bills introduced in the House are given a H, while Senate bills start with an S. The typical bill goes through the committee process, getting changed and tweaked along the way. Identical bills have to go through both the House and the Senate committees before it goes to the “floor” for a vote.

If the leadership, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House or the Governor really like a particular bill, a bill is likely to sail through the committee process in time to be signed into law by the Governor. On the other hand, if the leadership hates a bill, it will sit – this is often called a “pocket veto”. The bill sits in the Chairpersons ‘pocket’ meaning it never gets heard.

Last year, Representative Clemens’ bill HJR 1407 didn’t have a Senate version. Since there was no Senate version, the bill never got a hearing. Currently we have HJR 353 in the House and SJR 1028 in Senate.

The leadership plays an important role in the legislative process. They, the President of the Senate or Speaker of the House, assign the bill to committees. In the House, Speaker Dean Cannon assigned HJR 353 to three committees, Criminal Justice, Health and Human Services and Judiciary. The Senate has four committees to get through Health Regulations, Judiciary, Budget and Rules.

We have until the 50th day of session, February 28, 2012 to move these two bills through seven committees. Once the bill passes with a favorable recommendation through all of the committees it goes to the full legislative body. The House and Senate each must pass the bill with a 2/3 majority. With 120 members in the House, we must get 81 votes in the House to put the issue on the ballot. In the Senate, with 40 members, we’ll need 27 votes.

Tomorrow, we’ll talk about the committee process, what we can expect from the legislature and FL CAN’s goals this session.

Tallahassee Trepidation

2012-01-17T18:32:00.000-08:00

Thursday January 12, 2012
The last few days the reality of spending a month in Tallahassee is really hitting home. The trip to Tallahassee -350 miles one way – doesn’t lend itself to coming home much during session. There is so much to do in Tallahassee, and I don’t mean sight-seeing, it seems senseless to make the drive back to Brevard.

Session started Tuesday, Cathy Jordan, our president went up for the first week. Cathy knows her way around the Capital – she has represented this plant, herself and the plight of patients in Tallahassee and Washington, DC. Cannabis couldn’t have a better representative in Tallahassee.

She went up with her husband Bob, fellow Vietnam vet Frank D and caregiver, Adam. Frank arrived in Tallahassee with the flu. After days of preparation and a new suit, Frank was stuck in his room for the first two day. It made me realize how precious our time in Tallahassee is during session.

How can I make the most of every moment in Tallahassee? There are thousands of patients who suffer every day because they won’t break the law by using this medicine. Those already using cannabis, an untold number of Floridians, are placing their liberty at risk to protect their health.

I feel the weight of their fear. Why should someone be afraid to use a simple plant? I get so angry when someone calls cannabis the “demon weed” or some such. Do they not know according to the Bible in Genesis 1:29 “And God said , Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.” I like the King James Version best, other versions say for you it shall be food. King James says meat – as hemp seeds are the second highest source of protein behind soy, I’d say meat is appropriate.

So, how do I prepare myself to represent this plant?

There is the practical, get those comfortable shoes resoled, print plenty of business cards. The real important stuff, hug the boys more, make more time to talk to them each day before I leave, tell my husband how much I love and appreciate him. Take lots of deep breaths, through my nose and believe with the help of cannabis supporters around the state, we will make the most of every day in Tallahassee.

If I could Grow Gold

2011-06-07T14:42:00.000-07:00

In the history of humankind the quest to grow gold is a familiar theme. The Alchemists of old searched high and low for the secret to turning common metals into gold. Rumpelstiltskin – the fable by the Brothers Grim made famous the miller’s daughter snatched by the greedy King. The poor girl was held captive so she might spin gold for the King and the King alone.

What the Alchemists didn’t realize is they were working way too hard. All they had to do to turn a common thing into gold was get the King to prohibit it.

At least that is how it worked with drugs. Until prohibition came along, our relationship with these plants was relatively simple. The poppy plant; the cannabis plant; the coca plant; commonly grown medical herbs available for pennies. Grown at home or purchased for use as teas, tinctures or aroma therapy, humanity stayed healthy and grew strong using these plants.

Today, the relationship between mankind and these herbs is more complicated. The tobacco plant is regulated, heavily taxed and the marketplace tightly governed. In the case of tobacco, additives, curing agents and pesticides combine to make a sacred plant into an unhealthy soup of chemicals while slick marketers ply consumers with advertisements.

While regulated tobacco companies net record profits, despite increased awareness of the harm, they aren’t making nearly the profits black-market profiteers are making off plants that remain prohibited.

Cannabis, poppy, and coca are easy plants to grow. They are adaptable to a variety of climates. Thanks to prohibition they are also as valuable as gold, plutonium and uranium.

Gold, plutonium and uranium growing in the backyard is an Alchemists dream come true.

Back to our fable. Most fables for children keep it simple, one villain, one princess in need of rescuing and one hero. Like prohibition, our story isn’t so simple. In the fable, a local merchant lies – saying his daughter could spin straw into gold. The greedy King kidnaps the girl and under the threat of death forces her to spin gold. Rumpelstiltskin secretly helps the maiden meet the kings demand for gold but the price he exacts grows greater every day. More like prohibition then we might care to admit.

The US demand for drugs is insatiable. The King (federal agencies) has a vested interest in keeping plants prohibited and for four decades they have lied to protect their interests. The US appetite for drugs is matched only by our zest for war games. The War on Drugs has given us leave to spend an increasing amount of money on armed-interdiction, created special paramilitary police units and paved the path to a police state through an erosion of search and seizure laws.

In 1999, a Canadian report to parliament estimated the worldwide illegal drug trade accounted for $400 billion dollars of the economy. Or just under 1% of the world wide trade.

Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron has been tracking the cost of the war on drugs for a decade. In 2002, he published research funded by the Marijuana Policy Project stating the country could save 7.7 billion dollars a year by legalizing cannabis. That translated to over 5 billion in savings to the states and over 2 billion to the Federal Government. Over 500 US economists signed onto the Miron report calling for a discussion on regulating cannabis.

Major reports from the last twenty years have shown reducing cannabis penalties saves money and reduces the harms to society. The Connecticut General Assembly is acting on a study that shows the state of California saved a billion dollars in 10 years by simply changing cannabis possession from a felony to a misdemeanor.

Common wisdom seems to accept that we have spent 2.5 trillion on prohibiting a hand full of drugs since Richard Nixon declared drugs “Public Enemy Number One” forty years ago this month.

So while tax payers are spending billions each year to fight the war on drugs, profiteers on both side of the conflict are spinning gold. Federal and state agencies get their portion of the pie and anyone willing to break the law is growing gold. Quite literally, the price of high quality cannabis tended to track closely with the gold prices until recently.

The national cannabis market prices are affected by emerging legal markets. Legal cannabis in 16 states means the traditional illegal cannabis traders are pouring more product into fewer markets making cannabis prices lower then gold for the first time in decades.

Finally, we’ve discovered a way to undercut the illegal profiteers…better yet, we’ve rediscovered what our grandparents knew. Prohibition doesn’t work. Cops will tell you that when you arrest a bank robber, bank robberies stop, when you arrest a drug dealer another one (or more) pop up to take their place. Prohibition creates more dangerous criminals who are willing to do what it takes to protect their marketshare.

We have to take cannabis out of the hands of illegal drug dealers and people willing to do violence for their stake in growing gold. The only way to assure patients have access to this medicine and assure the unregulated market is controlled is to flood the market with legal cannabis. We can enact strong laws to regulate the growing, selling and public consumption. We can separate the drugs from the crime by prosecuting people who harm others regardless of their level or choice of intoxicant.

Drug abuse is a tragedy; it doesn’t need to be a crime. By allowing prohibition to turn common weeds into gold, platinum and uranium we encourage unscrupulous people to take advantage of the most vulnerable members of society and turn otherwise law abiding citizens into criminals.

The end of cannabis prohibition is just waiting for you.

Cannabis is good for me and its good for you.

2011-05-09T13:21:00.000-07:00

Who would have believed I would learn so much in a hotel room. May 3, 2011, I had the great honor to spend a day in a hotel room in West Palm with Dr. Denis Petro and Cathy Jordan learning how cannabis is good for me and good for you too.

Cathy is an ALS survivor. The doctors will tell you there is no such thing as an ALS survivor. But, what do you call someone who was given 3-5 years to live over 25 years ago?

In January 1986, Cathy’s disease was confirmed by the teaching hospital at the University of Pennsylvania. The prognosis was fatal. The disease would ravish her system, they encouraged her to get her affairs in order and advised her on protecting her pulmonary system (quit smoking). Since that first diagnosis, Cathy has seen dozens of specialists at some of the finest hospitals in the country. Duke University, University of Miami, the list goes on. Cathy jokes about neurologists thinking they are God, she quickly adds that even a god would not be so arrogant as to believe they were a neurologist…

Most of the doctors Cathy has seen are most interested in helping her die with dignity. Cathy is more interested in living.

Dr. Petro flew to Florida to participate as an expert witness in the Jeffrey Kennedy trial due to start May 2. The prosecution dropped the charges against Mr. Kennedy leaving Dr. Petro free to meet with Cathy. Cathy and Ervin Dargon of Mingo Productions have been working together for years documenting her struggle to legalize cannabis in Florida.

As a patient advocate, Cathy fights every day for people who cannot advocate for themselves. Dr. Petro is an incredibly approachable advocate himself. He knows the historic politics of cannabis, and had a front row seat for the evolution of cannabis science. Dr. Petro has worked on motor neuron disorders for over 35 years. In the 1980’s Dr. Petro performed double-blind clinical trials with Marinol on MS patients. In his opinion, no other drug has the same effect on spasticity as cannabis.

As a specialist in MS, Dr. Petro has seen thousands of patients and testified in hundreds of trials. Until recently, both International MS patient advocacy groups had opposed cannabis use, now the U.K. MS Society provides patients with details about the various strains of cannabis. In the U.S. at least 50,000 patients with MS use cannabis daily instead of the spending thousands of dollars each month on traditional MS drugs according to Dr. Petro, yet many of them are subject to arrest for their medical decision.

It was fascinating to hear the Doctor talk about the affect cannabis has on the hippocampus; some species will have more impact on the hippocampus than others. Currently, in Colorado vendors supply over 30 cannabis preparations available to treat various systems. The right strain of cannabis will increase your acuity while another strain might make you sleepy.

When asked to help us overcome the objection to smoked medicine, Dr. Petro was genus. He talked about how we take medicine tends to be cultural. We had to laugh when we learned that most French people on anti-depressants us a suppository. Contrary to some people’s belief, the distribution of cannabinoids works best if administered as an inhalant or spray in order to get it to the brain and system quickly. By using it as an inhalant you allow for faster absorption, only intravenous injections would come near the absorption rate and smoking it rather than taking a pill or eating a preparation eliminates the interaction in the liver.

When asked about the future of cannabis, Dr. Petro said he believes by the end of 2011 the Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Agency will agree to schedule full spectrum cannabis based drugs as Schedule 3 products.

Cannabis-based drugs on the market, easily accessible to patients is a good thing if it happens. When Florida Cannabis Action Network designed its first strategy in 1999, we recognized moving Marinol to Schedule 3 as a positive step. When it was rescheduled, we celebrated it as a success. However, Marinol is expense, poorly promoted –therefore, rarely prescribed and even patients with access report it doesn’t work as well as smoked cannabis.

Cathy has no intention of giving up her plant in exchange for the next new thing. Just because the government has allowed pharmaceutical companies to take over a portion of the medical cannabis industry, Florida Cannabis Action Network is going to continue the crusade to give people access to this wonderful plant that can heal our bodies and prosper our planet.

Another Great Day in Florida Cannabis History

2011-04-30T09:06:00.000-07:00

April 29 was a great day in Florida cannabis history. Jeffrey Kennedy, a pain patient from Boynton Beach was scheduled to present a medical necessity defense on Monday morning May 2nd in a Palm Beach Courtroom. Prosecutors dropped the charges rather than go to trial.

Florida has one of the strongest medical necessity defenses in the country. Established in 1991, Florida patients who meet strict criteria may present testimony at trial – known as an affirmative defense allows a compassionate jury to acquit the defendant. Jeffrey cultivated cannabis in consultation with his doctor. The defense was prepared to bring on top tier nationally respected doctors to put the efficacy of cannabis on the record. The prosecution blinked.

Nullification- when a jury decides that the law the defendant has broken, in this case cultivation of cannabis for medicine, is less harmful to society then the alternative, is a viable tactic. It requires serious people to risk their freedom and seriously ill people to risk their lives. Nullification is based on raising a level of awareness in a community to the point where a jury will not convict.

Palm Beach and Broward groups are raising the awareness in their community. This legislative session lawmaker, Jeff Clemens introduced the first medical cannabis bill in Florida since1978. He knows his constituents support cannabis reforms and this was just a baby step.

Today, Jeffrey Kennedy and his loved ones can breathe a sigh of relief. The battle is over for Jeffrey. In looking the legal system square in the eye, putting it all on the line, he won. Cannabis is his medicine. The court knows it.

Here at FL CAN we wish Jeffrey all the best. We thank him for his courage and heroism. Jeffrey, on behalf of people just like you we are committed to changing cannabis laws in Florida any way we CAN!

Florida’s Quest to Legalize Cannabis

2011-04-15T09:41:00.000-07:00

The annuals of cannabis history remind us of the role Floridian's played in securing legal safe access for patients using cannabis. Florida courts were the first to recognize cannabis as a treatment for HIV, AIDS and glaucoma. The late Bob Randall Cathy spearheaded the creation of the Federal Compassionate Access program. Bob was joined by Elvy Musikka and Irv Rosenfeld, Florida residents who were among the first legal users since the passage of the Controlled Substance Act.

While early Florida efforts made the way for reforms in other parts of the country, the states own drug mania, fueled by the founders of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America and the Jeb Bush administration, led to the most regressive laws in the nation. Current Florida laws make possession of one seed, or one leaf, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail, loss of driver's license, drug treatment, and urine testing while under community control. Florida remains among a handful of states that continue to disenfranchise felons long after the completion of their sentence and a mere 21 grams or three-quarters of an ounce is a felony.

Cathy Jordan (Bradenton) and Angel Hernandez (West Palm) know how important it is to change the laws in Florida. Cathy has been living with Lou Gehrig's disease for over 20 years. This living miracle attributes her every breath to the use of cannabis. Patients with ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease are known to lose lung function and often need feeding tubes when throat muscles fail. Smoking cannabis and subsequently coughing, keeps her lungs clear and muscled strong. Angel, a 33 year old MS patient has documented his increase in function since using cannabis therapy. When a St. Lucie County Judge ruled his 6 grams of cannabis was worth of one year probation and drug testing Angel was forced into an impossible situation. For Angel, not using his medicine is akin to a death sentence, using his medicine, a jail sentence.

There are four ways to change Florida cannabis laws. Our challenge becomes making sure everyone with an interest in this issue is working on at least one path to reform.

The Florida Legislature meets for two months each year beginning in March for a 60 day session. The bicameral legislature must pass the same bill through both bodies before it can be signed by the Governor. Since 1978, only one Florida lawmaker, Democratic freshman, Representative Jeff Clemens has taken the plight of patients seriously. His bill, HJR 1407 died in the Criminal Justice Subcommittee. Which means the Florida House and Senate is poised to pass through another legislation session without addressing the needs of patients or reducing the penalties for possession. While we are done for this legislative session efforts to get a bill in both the House and Senate continue.

Two political action committees are pursuing petitioning efforts. The People United of Medical Marijuana have been collecting signatures to put protections for cannabis use in the Florida constitution; while the Florida Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy is petitioning communities to make possession a civil penalty. Florida law allows for amendments to the Constitution by petition and the strong home rule protections make local municipalities a high value target.

For patients like Angel, who are facing criminal penalties or charges,legal teams are asking the court to agree cannabis is a medicine and invalidate criminal penalties.

One person could end the suffering of patients, remove the threat of prosecution and save the state tax dollars with the stroke of a pen; FL Statute 893.0355 delegates the authority to reschedule cannabis to the Florida Attorney General.

Legislature, petition, courts and the Attorney General- Courageous Floridians made the way for over 33% of the country to live under laws protecting patients and their caregivers. We welcome a new generation of reformers to become part of the Florida Cannabis Action Network - All about Cannabis, All about Action, All about Network with one goal, bringing sensible cannabis policies to Florida.

Why Valentines Day?

2011-02-15T10:33:00.000-08:00

We spent the better part of Sunday working on the Omega Project. It was important that we put some finishing touches on the site before Valentine's Day. Why Valentine's Day? It's easy. Someone I love smokes marijuana. Someone I love is sick and cannabis makes them feel better. Someone I love will suffer and succumb to their illness without access to cannabis.

Floridians deserve to have access to cannabis if they are sick. 33% of America's live in a state that protects them from police when they use cannabis as medicine.

Last week, we had another legal support call. The man is over 60 years old, a retired vet - 23 years in the service of our country. He was arrested with less than 1 ounce of cannabis, he is facing a $1000 fine and upto 1 year in jail. He has traumatic brain damage due to his exposure to radiation in the service. How are we safer by using police resources to arrest him, tax dollars to prosecute and jail space to house him?

So - we launched the site yesterday. It has some bugs and areas we want to flesh out, but the new board is coming together, which means more voices to share their ideas here in After Thoughts.

I'm Excited about the Omega Project. The beginning of the end. You know why we need to end cannabis prohibition and we know how. It's time.

That’s a Felony Folks

2010-02-12T09:12:00.000-08:00

I was looking at a brief in Join Together, an on-line journal chronicling changes in drug policy, about raising the tax on cigarettes one dollar per pack. Ten dollars on a carton, in addition to the already high taxes in some markets means the illegal trade of cigarettes is about to blossom.

As a teen-ager I lived in Beavercreek, Ohio, a small town outside of Dayton on the verge of Wright Patterson Air Force Base. We were close enough to the borders of Kentucky and Indiana to take advantage of the discounted prices for alcohol and tobacco. We knew to buy a dozen cartons of cigarettes when we passed through – saving five or six dollars per carton, the cost in North Carolina – if you were going that far was even cheaper.

Indiana had great places to buy beer. Apparently, we weren’t the only one who took advantage of the border to get cheap beer – all the stores limited the amount cases you could buy. Luckily, there were plenty of stores to buy from before heading back across the border.

We bought beer and cigarettes for our own consumption and the savings we made were all part of funding the road trip. The people who chose to bring the legal products, beer and cigarettes back to Dayton and sell them (at cost or at a profit, it doesn’t matter) were criminals.

So what about the 9 billion dollars we can raise with that cigarette tax? Well, I still live near an Air Force base and I’m here to tell you, those service boys buy cigarettes on base at the commissary and sell then to friends without base privileges. That is a felony folks.

Diverting a legal drug into an illegal market is a crime.

As consumers, we have to be a reasoned voice that our lawmakers hear. I don’t smoke cigarettes but I know that when we place such a high premium on products, an underground marketplace is created. Underground economies, such as the illegal drug market, may fuel communities, but it also fuels violence. Illegal economies settle disputes with guns.

The tragedy of our good intentions is that when we increase the taxes, or worse yet prohibit the commodity, you create an uncontroled market. The economics of buying low and selling high is the American way. Trouble is that is a felony folks.

Would 2010 be soon enough?

2009-11-30T14:45:00.000-08:00

I spoke with Mitch with Creative Loafing today. He is writing a story about the medical marijuana initiative. PUFMM, the Florida Political Action Committee circulating the initiative still lacks the signatures necessary to make the 2010 ballot. Mitch was looking for my thought on the cannabis situation in Florida.

Florida law makers should be ashamed of themselves for not having made cannabis legal already and it is time they went on the record. Patients who use cannabis really are caught in the crossfire. 2010 is not soon enough! For once I named names. I told Mitch about the South Florida Representative - Mark Pafford, who says he thinks we should get control over cannabis by taking it off the illicit drug market.

Tomorrow, a young man goes on trial in St. Lucie county because he refuses to plead guilty to possession of 6 grams of cannabis. Cannabis helps him treat his MS. Possession of cannabis should not be a crime. While the Florida Supreme Court allows for a medical necessity defense, the judge in the case refuses to let him present it. I wonder if the fine people of St. Lucie county believe this is how they intend their tax dollars be spent. Is a young man with MS the culprit we need to be protected against?

Most people caught with cannabis will plead guilty. Law enforcement, prosecutors and defense attorneys will bill hours getting the plea deal. The defendant will hang their heads, profess a bit of shame, take their punishment and go home (where they will promptly put their feet up, crack a beer or pour a scotch while rolling another joint). There is no justice in the war on drugs.

48.2 Million reasons to legalize marijuana

2009-11-09T07:19:00.000-08:00

Friday, November 6 - Florida Today published an edited version of the LTE I set. It was quite the suprise! My friend, Fran asked me on Saturday - at the Democratic Women's Club meeting- if they had edited me much. The paper didn't even call to confirm the letter so I was amazed to see it in print- guess they knew to expect letters on legalization from me.

Many Reasons to Legalize Pot

With the 75th anniversary of the repeal of alcohol prohibition in Florida on Nov. 6, I am dumb-struck by the fact we still choose a policy of prohibition over one of regulation and control.

Marijuana, if it helps a sick person find relief, isn’t bad.

The value of planting crops that require less herbicides and pesticides, while investing in American agriculture, doesn’t require an advanced degree to calculate. Hemp for fuel, fiber and food makes sense.

Wasting resources prohibiting otherwise responsible adults from using cannabis/hemp, and legitimate business people from bringing it to market is what doesn’t make sense.

CNN reports Florida would gain an estimated $48.2 million in revenue from taxing cannabis. Can we afford not to rethink this policy?

Alcohol prohibition is an accepted failure. We define that policy by reduced respect for law enforcement, health emergencies as tainted alcohol and abuse threatened lives and gangs reaping the rewards of a lucrative unregulated market satisfying disputes with violence.

While consuming alcohol still has risks, the danger of being caught in the crossfire between distributors, dying from tainted products and going to jail for manufacturing is greatly diminished.

Melbourne

Message from the Lighthouse - or Plant Your Seeds

2009-11-03T12:43:00.000-08:00

This isn't the first time I have painstakingly agonized over how to em-passion people to take action to end the war on drugs.

I remember struggling in the dim light over an electric typewriter in my dollhouse sized apartment in Elkhart, Indiana. President Bill "I didn't inhale." Clinton had been elected and there was a movement afoot to change marijuana laws.

Each year- just before April Fools day, fliers circulated pointing us to Ann Arbour Hash Bash, rumored to be a virtual utopia for pot smokers. Any fool knows an April Fools day joke when they see it - but High Times assured loyal consumers that change was coming. Who knew the Hash Bash was real and the "just say no" message to the Dare Generation would destroy so many lives.

My solution- a chain letter - A Message from the Lighthouse, bringing hope and lighting the way. The letter asked people to keep the chain alive by sending a copy to six of their friends and one to the White House. It reminded recipients we could overgrow the government by simply planting our seeds.

My distribution plan was simple - 50 copies hand delivered in the lot at the Rosemount Horizon (Chicago IL). The Grateful Dead was playing (3-9-93) and the crowd was like-minded. A year later, a friend in Ohio, knowing my interest in changing marijuana laws, sent me a copy. That circle was complete but the legalization of cannabis was a long ways off.

In 2000, when Phish played their Millennium Show in the Everglades, I was there. Still planting seeds, this time as a director of the Florida Cannabis Action Network. We spent four days educating concert goers about the virture of cannabis, hemp's value in a green economy and ways to stay safe while advocating for a sane marijuana policies.

Another decade has passed since that New Years weekend and the War on Drugs has claimed more victims, the violence has surpassed our wildest estimations and the estimated revenue from regulated cannabis is enticing.

Cannabis legalization can happen in my lifetime.