Voters may face multiple marijuana choices

3 groups seek to get constitutional amendments on the ballot

Jodi James from the Florida Cannabis Action Network spoke last year during a panel discussion about medical marijuana. She held a tin that would hold 300 marijuana cigarettes prescribed monthly to a stock broker in South Florida for the last 30 years.
LEDGER FILE PHOTO

By Gary White

LAKELAND — The Cleveland Heights Golf Club in Lakeland was the site of a meeting in June that could spark a dramatic change in Florida's drug laws.

When leaders of the Florida Cannabis Action Network gathered at the club’s restaurant for their annual meeting, they debated whether to support another group’s repeat bid at legalizing medical marijuana or to take another approach.

Executive Director Jodi James said the grassroots group's board of directors declared they would not serve merely as boosters for United for Care, the organization founded by Orlando lawyer John Morgan to push last year’s unsuccessful constitutional amendment. United for Care is aiming to place a revised version of that proposal on the 2016 ballot.

“Our constituents were very, very clear they were not interested in what Morgan’s folks were doing,” James said. “We don’t think it’s necessary to do an incremental approach any more. People get this, and at this point we believe our petition is the way to go.”

That petition is one of three now circulating in Florida that would go beyond what United for Care is seeking. Floridians for Freedom, the political group affiliated with the Florida Cannabis Action Network (known as Florida CAN), is gathering signatures for a proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize marijuana use for all Floridians 21 and older, not just those with medical conditions and a doctor’s approval.

The 120-word proposal, titled “Rights of Adults to Cannabis,” would add Florida to the current list of four states in which marijuana use is legal for adults without restrictions.

Another group, Regulate Florida, is collecting voter signatures for a petition titled "Regulate Marijuana in a Manner Similar to Alcohol ..." The proposal is considerably longer and more detailed, describing a regulatory framework for the use and distribution of marijuana.

Regulate Florida, based in Fort Lauderdale and also known as Sensible Florida, is a political offshoot of NORML of Florida, the state's chapter of a national network devoted to reform of marijuana laws.

A third proposed amendment would classify cannabis as a dietary supplement to be regulated by the Florida Department of Business. A tax on sales would generate money earmarked for teacher salaries. The political committee behind that proposal is Florida Organization for Reform, whose chairperson is James Hatcher of Plant City, a former Florida Southern College student.

Creating confusion?

Under Florida law, any citizen initiative must gather nearly 70,000 signatures from registered voters and have those petitions validated by county election officials before the text of the proposal is reviewed by the attorney general. If the wording doesn't meet state requirements for clarity, the petition drive cannot continue.

After meeting that initial approval, backers of a proposed amendment must collect a total of 683,149 signatures to trigger full review by the Florida Supreme Court. The deadline for submitting those validated petitions to the Florida Division of Elections is Feb. 1, 2016. If the Supreme Court approves the amendment language, the measure goes on the ballot for the November 2016 statewide election.

As the three petition drives for "recreational" marijuana are proceeding, United for Care appears well on its way to giving voters a second chance to approve legal use of medical marijuana. Amendment 2 came close last fall, drawing approval from nearly 58 percent of voters but falling short of the 60 percent threshold needed for passage.

Will the four marijuana-related campaigns splinter the financial support of potential backers? Or could the multiple measures boost turnout among younger voters who are likely to approve any loosening of marijuana laws?

Susan MacManus, a professor of political science at the University of South Florida, said no one should assume any or all three of the new petitions will actually reach the ballot. Noting that it isn't easy to collect nearly 700,000 valid signatures, she wondered if the groups might be better off combining their efforts into a single proposal.

"Obviously if you have three on the ballot, it's going to be really confusing to people," MacManus said.

The 2016 election might seem more promising for marijuana proposals than 2014. Turnout among Democrats and young voters usually spikes in presidential election years.

"I'm sure the proponents are hopeful the different traditional demographic turnout in a presidential year will help them over the top," MacManus said. "That's probably the leading premise they're operating under, but younger voters didn’t really turn out in droves just to vote for (Amendment 2)."

Though Morgan contributed nearly $5 million for the Amendment 2 effort, opponents spent even more, most of it donated by Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. If more than one marijuana proposal is on the ballot in 2016, opponents will have to decide whether to target the measures separately or together in campaign advertising.

Similar motivations

The leaders of the two more organized of the new campaigns — Floridians For Freedom and Regulate Florida — make similar arguments in framing the need to change marijuana laws.

"There are a number of reasons, but the main reason is that we are aware there already is a huge market for marijuana in Florida," said Karen Goldstein, vice chair of Regulate Florida. "It's just not a regulated market and we believe that regulating the market is the best way, number one, to protect kids, because right now the person who's selling marijuana to our kids is not asking for IDs. ... Anyone who says prohibition is working is completely delusional."

Regulate Florida's leadership includes two lawyers: Bill Wohlsifer, who unsuccessfully ran for Florida attorney general last year, and Michael Minardi, who specializes in criminal and forfeiture cases involving marijuana.

Goldstein and others in Regulate Florida campaigned last year on behalf of United for Care. While gathering petitions for Amendment 2, Goldstein said she heard from many Floridians who said the proposal didn't go far enough. In one of many contrasts with the medical marijuana proposal, Regulate Florida's measure would allow Floridians to grow six marijuana plants per adult in their household.

Goldstein said she thinks Floridians' perceptions of marijuana have changed radically in the past two years, making voters more receptive to the notion of legalizing the drug. And James cited a recent poll indicating 7 percent of Floridians admitted to using marijuana in the previous 30 days.

"If you extrapolate that out, 1.3 million Floridians are going to use cannabis this month," James said. "That's more than enough to put us on the ballot. ... I'd like more than that. I'd like to hear from the 5 million people who love them (marijuana users) and don’t want to see them go to jail and don’t want to see them suffer."

Whereas United for Care has been using hired petitioners to gather signatures for months, both Regulate Florida and Floridians for Freedom have so far relied on their networks of volunteers to handle the petition drives.

"We're working diligently on getting the 70,000 verifiable petitions we need for (state review)," Goldstein said. "We have people all over the state collecting petitions."

James said Florida Cannabis Action Network, the sibling organization of Floridians for Freedom, has 20,000 members. The latter group plans a 13-day statewide tour starting Oct. 10 to gather signatures, with stops in Polk County and 33 other counties. By the end of the tour, James said, she's confident her group will meet the threshold for the attorney general's review.

"When we pick up the first 100,000 signatures organically, we believe the money will come," James said. "If someone hands us a couple million dollars we're available, but we went into this believing it would be a grassroots campaign."

Although Floridians For Freedom and Regulate Florida would seem to be natural allies, a sense of rivalry emerges in the words of their leaders.

Goldstein, Regulate Florida's vice chair, said she doesn't expect the other organization's 120-word proposal to survive the scrutiny of the Florida Supreme Court.

"We had a opinion on that that it is going to be voided for vagueness because the voters don’t know what they're voting on," Goldstein said.

James said she thinks it makes more sense simply to legalize marijuana and leave the regulatory details to the Legislature than to codify rules in the Florida Constitution, leaving no room for future adjustments.

"We believe the best place to make regulations and rules is as close to the local level as possible," James said. "If you look at the other petitions that are out there, whether it be John Morgan's or one of the other marijuana petitions, they're heavy on rules and regulations."

Group's Polk ties

Hatcher, the chairman of Florida Organization for Reform, said he began drafting a petition in March and received approval for the measure's language July 8. The petition reclassifying marijuana as a dietary supplement would allow Floridians to possess up to 4 ounces of cannabis and grow up to 10 plants at home.

Hatcher, a senior at the University of South Florida, is president of the Florida Association for Cannabis Therapy and said he hopes to establish a health center at some future date. Hatcher, 26, said he attended Florida Southern College in Lakeland from 2007 to 2009.

Unlike the other two groups, Florida Organization for Reform is not connected to a large and established organization. Hatcher's group applied for "undue burden" status, which exempts the group from having to pay the Florida Division of Elections 10 cents per individual petition to have signatures validated. The state agency approved the request in August.

Floridians for Freedom has also received undue burden status from the state.

Florida Organization for Reform's first validated petition was submitted in Polk County. Hatcher said it was signed by a family friend.

"We encourage everyone to sign all the petitions, so we're not trying to cut down on any other petitions," Hatcher said. "We don’t want to break up any unity. We understand each amendment has its own unique attributes and we respect that, so we want people to do their research."

United for Care did not respond to a request for comment about the other proposals.

The Florida Sheriffs Association opposed Amendment 2 last year. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, who was the group's president when the campaign began, served as the most prominent critic of the measure.

Since the election, Judd has declined to comment on United for Care's pledge to pass a revised version of the amendment.

A spokeswoman for the Florida Sheriffs Association said the organization is monitoring the three petition drives but will not take official position on any of the measures until they have been reviewed by the Florida Supreme Court. The group issued a list of "guiding principles" early this year opposing legalization of marijuana in a form to be smoked.