One Mind at a Time

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.

Making Tracks

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.