Cutting Through the Fog (Prelude)

It is a beautiful, foggy Florida morning. Driving across from the east to the west coast, it almost seems as if the fog is lifting with the morning sun immediately ahead of my headlights. Doesn't seem so foggy where I am, but just up ahead, it seems like pea soup.

We are seeking to inform veterans -- many of whom we strongly believe could benefit from the use of marijuana for a variety of ailments, including post traumatic stress, cancer, and other neurological disorders -- that cannabis is being legally and effectively used by veterans in other states.

The policy of the Veterans Administration on cannabis, while good for veterans in legal states, is one of exclusion. As my friend Al Byrne puts it, VA is practicing treatment by geography. They allow the use of cannabis in courses of treatment in 20 states, but it is disallowed and grounds for removal of pain medication in the other 30 states where it is not legal to consume cannabis, an inhumane policy when you consider that the purpose of using cannabis in many of these cases is to reduce the amount of debilitating medication they need to effectively manage their pain.

Today is day three of the tour, and I join the gang at the Bay Pines VA Medical Center. Our goal this week is to get information in the hands of veterans. There will be legislation and ballot initiatives to consider this year in Florida, and we need to make sure that our veterans and our Veterans Administrations are prepared for it. 

Most importantly, everyone involved needs to understand how urgent the matter is. We cannot wait for the FDA. We cannot wait for the DEA. We cannot wait for the NIDA. We can barely even wait for the Florida Legislature to act. Allowing the charade of Reefer Madness to continue hurts our veterans in ways we have only begun to calculate.

Veterans Program Launches from Florida’s Space Coast

Veterans from across the nation are joining forces to change cannabis policies and they are launching the initiative from the Florida Space Coast. On November 5, 2013, members of the 100KStrong.net Project will begin a whistle-stop tour of Florida VA Centers and hospitals. The group is seeking to partner with VA Medical Centers to provide a forum for veterans to discuss the implications of adding cannabis to their current therapies.

Mike Krawitz, the co-founder of Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access is joining the tour. Mr. Krawitz, a veteran from Virginia was instrumental in the creation of the current VHA policy on medical use of cannabis. The VHA Directive 2011-004 states, “…patients participating in State marijuana programs must not be denied VHA services.”  Mr. Krawitz says, “The current policy effectively denies patients in 30 states the same quality of care as veterans in the 20 states with legal cannabis programs. If that isn’t illegal, it certainly is immoral.”

Joining the tour In addition to Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access members are local veterans cannabis advocacy committees. Bob (Whitey) Jordan of Bradenton, and Frank Dougherty of Sarasota, will represent the Florida Cannabis Action Network’s Veterans’ Committee. NORML of Florida’s Veterans Committee will be represented by their Chairman, Joe Sisco of Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

During the seven-day tour the group is hosting forums at the VA Centers, partnering with local groups and activists along the route for evening meetings, hosting a rally at the Capitol, a moment of remembrance at the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Tallahassee, a picnic in Niceville and plan to participate in the Veteran’s Day Parade in Crestview, Florida as the final stop on the tour.

Florida plays a key role in national veteran’s affairs. U.S. Representatives Jeff Miller (FL-1, Pensacola) and Gus Bilirakis (FL-12, New Port Richey) are the Chair and Vice-Chair of the U.S. House Veteran’s Affairs Committee. Jodi James, Executive Director of the Florida Cannabis Action Network said, “Florida’s 1.6 million veterans are being denied a proven effective treatment option. When the collective influence of our veterans is pointed towards righting this wrong, national policy will change. “

FLCAN Conquers Fear With Education and Promotion of the Entire Plant

Hi, I am David Jones, the marketing and communications director for the Florida Cannabis Action Network, I’d like to share with you a conversation I had with a fellow cannabis supporter about overcoming fears associated with being an activist.:
       Whether the people we talk to use cannabis or not, there are many different philosophies and interpretations surrounding the plant we must keep mindful of. It is not the goal of the activist to discredit the experience that others may have had, but, instead, help reframe their perspective to become open to the possibility. I am going to share with you how to overcome the four internal blocks people have in order to forward them into action.

The acronym I use is: GAIL
Starting backwards from L to G.

L – Limiting Beliefs: These are beliefs that, if held to be true, limit action. These are the most common, and when you hear a limiting belief, the way to overcome it is to challenge it. For example, if a woman believes that there is a glass ceiling in the corporate world, she would be less inclined to put in her application for promotion. If I was the one talking with her, I’d challenge that limiting belief by asking, “What other successful women do you know in the corporate world that’s in the C-Suite?” If she doesn’t know right then and there, I’d ask her to research it and get back to me. The real magic is to ask open-ended questions and have the person truly think for themselves. You don’t want to give them the answers, but empower them to come to the conclusions on their own – the same goes with everyone’s relationship with cannabis. When you’re having an open conversation about cannabis never be judgmental towards a person and say that their life’s experience is wrong!

I – Interpretations: It is human nature for us to satisfy our need to ‘know’ what is going on. However, it is not uncommon for the human mind to latch on to the first idea that seemingly makes sense to us, although we believe that thought to be true. These interpretations are just that – an interpretation – of a particular situation. The way to challenge them is ask the person you’re talking with to look at it from a different angle. That loosens up their original interpretation and shifts them to a state of open-mindedness.

A – Assumptions: The cliché is common: When you ASSUME, you make an ASS out of U and ME! Assumptions may be common, but they’re a type of belief that is more deeply rooted in recurring experience. Assumptions are harder to shake up and replace than the previous two internal blocks, but the attitude to approach shifting the person you are talking to would be – if it happened in the past, doesn’t mean it will happen again in the future.

G – Gremlins: Gremlins are at the core of our internal blocks, all of the blocks above stem from gremlins. These are the most difficult beliefs to change because they are the little, self-defeating thoughts we have about the world. These thoughts stop action and possibilities in its track because they are the little voices in our heads to not put forth the action. We freeze in fear with these thoughts: “I’m not smart enough…”; “It’s not worth doing so don’t try….”; “I’m not healthy enough…”; etc. Some issues require inner work to sort out, don’t take anything personally because if it hits close to a gremlin you will soon realize you just hit a button of theirs.

As a professionally-trained lifestyle management coach, I interpret button pushing moments as wonderful moments of personal growth, but when we are petitioning signatures or engaging people into a conversation about cannabis, it’s typically not the best environment to have a real, heart-to-heart conversation and explore where those thoughts are coming from and how they’re effecting who they are presently being and how those current beliefs are impacting their future and the state of Florida.

When you are in the community doing face-to-face work, it’s important to hear them out, acknowledge and validate what you hear them saying, and then empower them to take action and seek out answers for themselves.

This plant brings people together from all walks of life. Let’s embrace that and share our cannabis story with others.

Bing, Bang, Boom goes your Bong

No, not really. By now, you have likely heard the news about the Governor signing a bill banning your bong. A lot is being said about the bill, but much of it is hyperbole or just plain wrong. Read more about the bill and its impact on you...

The bill was introduced by Rep. Darryl Rouson of St. Pete, a mouth piece for the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. Representative Rouson believes paraphernalia of all types to be “utensils of death.” As a proud recovering addict, we can expect more of the same as long as he holds office. 

The House bill, HB 49 took a long time to get a sponsor in the Senate (SB1140) but once filed, the bill took wings. Throughout the process, only the Florida Cannabis Action Network and our partner, Bob Platshorn of the Silver Tour spoke against the bill. Lots of folks were talking about the bill though. On April 13, 2013 even Steve Colbert got in on the conversation about banning bongs in Florida.

With only a handful of Senators and Representatives voting against the bill, it passed with different versions in the House and Senate. Last minute conferencing between the Chambers gave us the bill signed into law by Governor Scott on June 5. 

Here is what the final analysis by the state says, “Section 893.147, F.S establishes the following five paraphernalia crimes: Use or possession of Paraphernalia; manufacture or delivery of drug paraphernalia; delivery of drug paraphernalia to a minor; transportation of drug paraphernalia; and advertisement of drug paraphernalia.

The bill amends s. 893.147, F.S., to make it a first degree misdemeanor for a person to knowingly and willfully sell or offer for sale at retail any of the drug paraphernalia listed in s. 893.145(12)(a)-(c) and (g)-(m), F.S., and  a second or subsequent violation a third degree felony. The drug paraphernalia included are: Metal, wooden, acrylic, glass, stone, plastic, or ceramic smoking pipes, with or without screens, permanent screens, hashish heads, or punctured metal bowls; water pipes; carburetion tubes and devices; chamber pipes; carburetor pipes ;electric pipes; air-driven pipes; chillums; bongs; ice pipes or chillers. The bill provides an exception for pipes that are primarily made of briar, meerschaum, clay, or corn cob.”

You can read the final analysis of the bill yourself here. 

So, no, the government of Florida is not coming to take your bong away. If you are possessing a bong (or any other form of smoking device – yes, an apple could be paraphernalia) for any purpose other than smoking tobacco, that bong or pipe was already illegal. 

If the analysis you read says this bill passed, but nothing much changes, that is likely right. Smoke shops won’t likely be closing their doors, selling pipes at a drastic discount or even changing their inventory. After all, smoke shops only sell to customers who use their wares for lawful purposes!

In all the years the Florida Cannabis Action Network has fought for the rights of cannabis consumers, the health and well-being of patients and the protection of our right to speak and assemble, only a handful of Florida smoke shops have ever given a donation, publicly or anonymously to reforming cannabis laws.

Smoke shop owners sit back and reap the rewards while over 38,000 Florida adult cannabis consumers over the age of 21 are arrested each year for possession of under 20 grams of cannabis.

Lawmakers have managed to gag smoke shop owners at the peril of patients. Our friend, we’ll call him P to preserve his identity, spent a long time trying to find a safe supply of cannabis for his wife with MS. She (we’ll call her K) was diagnosed years earlier but had found herself wheel-chair bound for three-years. While P was able to access medical grade cannabis, finding the right delivery method for K was a nightmare.

P had to learn to roll cannabis for his wife, but the smoke was hard on her throat and the heat from the burning cigarette was uncomfortable. It seemed like a good idea to visit the local smoke shop for a better delivery device. How was P to know that you can’t even use the word cannabis in a smoke shop? He is a 60-plus year old republican looking for comfort for his sick wife and he is turned away by people who know the best products to assist P in finding a device that helps K. This family is willing to risk breaking the law to bring relief from muscle spasms, depression, and pain to K. 

At Florida Cannabis Action Network, we want you to be aware of the facts about cannabis, the harms of prohibition and have a front row seat for the creation of sensible cannabis policies in Florida that allow safe, legal access to cannabis. If you can help by sending this message to a friend so they know the truth about the bong bill that would be great. 

Here are a few other things you can do to get involved.

•     Send a letter to the editor about the bong bill, the need for medical cannabis or another cannabis related topic. Here are important things for you to know about getting published from an expert! You can follow the letters that are getting published on the front page of our website. www.FLCAN.org
  
•     Schedule a meeting with your local representative’s office. Over 70 % of Floridians support legal access to cannabis for patients. Whether you are talking to your city official, county commissioner or state Representative, seven out of ten people will agree with you on some level. Here are several hand outs you can print at home and take with you to the meeting.
  
  
•   Tell a friend- Florida CAN makes it easy for you to tell your friends about our hard work. Your friends – like-minded supporters of liberty, compassionate liberals and fiscal conservatives alike all have a vested interest in the success of the Florida CAN.

Office Opening soon, check it out

The grand opening is approaching faster than we could have imagined. Even though we are still weeks from the July 14, 2013 Grand Opening we are already seeing a steady stream of worker bees visiting the office, completing tasks and helping establish FLCAN’s place in the community.

Here is a short video showing how the office is coming together and thanking the folks who helped.

We are really excited about the roster of programs and activities planned for the office. If you are already out talking publicly about the need to change Florida cannabis laws, we want you in the Network. United we are invincible.

Here is a webpage where you can see what we need and how you can still help to get the office ready.

What’s Next for FLCAN

Even though lawmakers did not take up the Cathy Jordan Medical Cannabis Act in 2013, Florida CAN isn’t daunted or distracted from our mission. We are more determined than ever to see safe, therapeutic access to cannabis for people in Florida.

You can check out our reports about the legislative session but in short it was exciting, eye opening and encouraging. One southwest Florida lawmaker started our meeting by saying he KNEW cannabis was Safer than alcohol. A second owns a nursery business, he knows cannabis is an up and coming market and he wants in too. The battle was half won – at least they know the truth and for some of them its important. Now, getting them to act on the truth… another in a series of challenging things for CAN to accomplish.

For now, Florida CAN is ready for the next chapter.

The addition of Florida trial attorney, John Morgan, onto the list of Floridians actively working to change cannabis laws puts Florida squarely on course for some sort of legal medical cannabis scheme. Whether through an act of the Feds, through our state legislature or by popular vote in November 2014, legal medical access is coming to Florida.

To support the efforts of Floridians to change cannabis laws, we took a lease on a wonderful office just west of US 1 in Melbourne, FL. We need help now getting the place ready for the public. You can follow our progress here on our blog, on this page dedicated to opening the office, on our website or on Facebook.

Whether it is a gathering place for training, a collection site for petitions, a workspace for talented writers, graphic artists, would be video producers or a fun place to host a Sunday members-only pot-luck dinner, the office is going to be a great addition to the Florida reform efforts.

Our soft opening is June 19.  By the soft opening, we plan to have programs in place, jobs for volunteers and an idea what hours make sense for our volunteers and staff. We hope the public will embrace our July 14 grand opening. Our grand opening ribbon cutting ceremony will be at 12:30 July 14. We hope you’ll mark your calendar and make an extra effort to be counted among the faithful who will see cannabis safe, legal and available in Florida.

Where are We Now?

Day 42 of the 60 day Legislative Session brings a sense of anticipation. Last week four Republican Representatives said if the Florida Medical Association won’t get on board; we should go for legalization and they would support a system of regulation and control!

To those who have taken the time this legislative session to send an e-mail or make a phone call, I cannot thank you enough. Being so close to the process, spending every day in Tallahassee listening to the lawmakers, it is easy to see how much of a difference you are making. Lawmakers are getting the message loud and clear. Incoming Speaker Crisafulli assures me that reforming cannabis policy is a conversation happening at the highest level of Florida government.

The legislative process is slow and cumbersome. Just like it takes time to change the direction of a great ship; so it is with the moving the great state of Florida. I have come to believe this group of elected officials in Tallahassee is ready to right the wrongs of their predecessors, but it is a slow going. Nowhere is the law of unintended consequences more strongly felt then in cannabis policies; and many of our lawmakers get it. Where the intent may have been to protect the most vulnerable; the reality is those who could most use access to cannabis are made fodder for the criminal justice system.

Florida CAN has made the case for sensible reforms before the decision makers in our state. We have brought an incredible cast of characters to Tallahassee to speak on your behalf– and we are not done yet! This week, The Black Tuna Robert Platshorn, host of “Should Grandma Smoke Pot?” is joining me for a day at the Capitol.

Over the past weeks we have introduced lawmakers to senior citizens Cathy Jordan, Bob Jordan, John Chase, and Frank Dougherty. Most people have heard the story of Cathy Jordan, but few recognize the sacrifice Bob made in Vietnam. In March, Bob and Frank spent several days walking point for veterans in Florida. Florida is home to 1.6 million veterans. The VA – the only federal agency that practices medicine – has a directive allowing the use of cannabis where lawful under state statutes. John Chase of Pinellas has studied the harms of alcohol prohibition and used his time in Tallahassee to talk about the harms associated with this policy of prohibition.

Neill Franklin of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition joined FLCAN staff at the Capitol March 19th. Neill was on a two-week tour of Florida speaking about the unintended consequences of prohibition. Also representing sensible cannabis policies in Tallahassee that week was Ethel Rowland – woman of many hats; Jeff Borg – ACLU Board of Directors and Eric Stevens - FLCAN’s legislative liaison. Ethel and Eric bring great drug policy credentials to the table. Eric, a south Florida activist, was trained by American’s for Safe Access to advocate for cannabis reform. Ethel is a seasoned activist artist who uses her time and talent to expose the consequences of prohibition.

When we asked supporters to reach out to Representative Roberson, Chair of the House Quality Sub-Committee, more than a 1,000 of our supporters responded. Though he ultimately ran out of time for the workshop, when we cornered Representative Roberson he said if he had done a workshop on the “Cathy Jordan Medical Cannabis Act” that would have been the only thing reported that day. While it works for me, apparently, what Representative Roberson is doing was bigger than our need for safe, legal access to cannabis without fear of a jail cell.

This past week, we asked you to write Senator Bean and encourage his committee to host a workshop to hear expert testimony on therapeutic access to cannabis. The Senator was on board to workshop the bill when President of the Senate, Don Gaetz, – Republican from Niceville, added a number of bills to the committee, putting ours off the agenda!

What did Don Gaetz think is more important than making sure people who may lose their life or their senses have access to cannabis? One bill making its way through the legislature deals with what color you can dye baby chicks at Easter.

Last week was a tipping point in the minds of many Florida lawmakers. Irv Rosenfeld, one of four surviving patients who receive cannabis from the Federal Government joined Cathy Jordan and the FLCAN team in Tallahassee. Tony Clymer of the Silver Tour and NORML of Florida was part of our team walking door-to-door with Eric Stevens, Cathy Jordan, Irv Rosenfeld and myself.

With the prosecutor accepting Cathy has a medical need for cannabis even lawmakers are beginning to wonder how we can continue to give cannabis to one man, Irv and deny it to Cathy.
There are still rules that will allow the Cathy Jordan Medical Cannabis Act to go to the floor for a vote this year, but the changes are slim. Once in a while, the long shot wins and we all love to watch the story unfold.

Even as I write, several opportunities still exist for us to pass a bill this session that will allow safe access to cannabis before November of 2013. Patients out of time cannot wait another year for lawmakers to find the will or voters to pass a constitutional amendment; they need access now without fear of arrest. Rest assured, FLCAN will continue to explore every avenue available to assure that those you love have access to this plant.

We invite those who want to be sure we get access to therapeutic cannabis to do more than just wait for someone else to act. FLCAN has provided you with all the tools you need to pass a resolution of support in your home town or county. Passing resolutions of support in Florida puts pressure on the state to create safe access but it also puts pressure on the Federal Government to untie the hands of the states hesitant to step outside federal guidelines on cannabis.

FLCAN has one more opportunity to move decision makers into championing our cause. Friday, April 19, 2013 the Republican Party of Florida is hosting a walk to raise money for the cure to ALS – Lou Gehrig ’s disease. For three months, Cathy has been a living, breathing example of a patient who may have a key to the cure.

You can be part of the historic opportunity to energize leaders of the Republican Party to take the steps necessary to give patients access to cannabis now! They can remove the Cathy Jordan Medical Cannabis Act from its committees of reference and send it to the Floor. It requires the will of the President of the Senate and Speak of the House to happen- they will not do this if they think it is safe to ignore this issue.

If enough people come forward demanding access to cannabis there is one last tactic the leadership can use to grant us immunity from prosecution while we create a system that allows therapeutic access. Lawmakers can create a committee bill that will strike cannabis from section 893 of the Florida Statute.

Everyone who can read knows cannabis does not belong in Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substance Act. This is it, with only days to go, activate your phone tree, share our messages with friends and keep those calls and letters coming!

This year I’ve raised the battle cry from Key West to Pensacola- “No surrender, no retreat” we are right and the people need us to stay the course. Victory is ours….




Jodi James, Executive Director

FLCAN continues to fight the good fight. Will you dig deep and make a contribution today to assure we can be a leading voice in creating responsible cannabis policies for Florida?