There are only about four months left until the November election, which will be when we find out whether or not medical marijuana will become a reality for patients in the state of Florida. Sure, we’ve celebrated that the first dispensary is opening in Tallahassee this week – and we should be excited, absolutely. However, we should also keep in mind that the current laws only help a very small percentage of people – which is why United for Care has taken to the streets and gathered the needed petitions all over again in hopes of a better result than 2014.
This time during the 2014 campaign, a survey was conducted by Anzalone Liszt Research in order to determine where voters were sitting as far as Amendment 2 was concerned. They have conducted a similar survey this time around, where they reached out to 1,000 voters and read them the title and summary for Amendment 2 as it will appear on the ballots this November, then asked them whether or not they would vote “Yes” for the amendment.
In 2014, the survey showed support hovering around 69% – which clearly is not what we got when it came to the polls on Election Day or we wouldn’t be where we are right now. This time around, the polls are looking much more certain of how Floridians feel, polling at 77% “Yes” to only 20% “No” and only a mere 3% of voters currently saying that they haven’t decided. With a 17% margin from the number we need to pass (60%) and where the polls are currently sitting, it seems that we can be fairly confident that Florida’s voters will be making the decision to bring compassionate care and the option of medical marijuana to the residents of the Sunshine State.
United for Care campaign manager, Ben Pollara, said, “I’m obviously pleased at these levels of support, but I’m also not surprised. The notion of allowing medical decisions to be made by doctors and patients, not politicians, is simply not controversial. Floridians are compassionate and they know that marijuana can help alleviate suffering.”
“The 2016 ballot language is also stronger and addressed a number of concerns that some voters expressed previously. It was approved unanimously by the Supreme Court, and we’re seeing a broader coalition supportive of passage than before,” said Pollara.
These next months will be focused on converting those undecided and “no” voters into “yes” voters with a combination of the truth and passion – something the No on 2 Campaign clearly knows nothing about. It appears that this time around, more Floridians are able to see through their deceitful tactics, always using language like “pot” and finding the worst examples of something close to what we are trying to bring to our state – but voters are seeing through this and realizing that Amendment 2 is about bringing relief to people in our state who are suffering or using illegal means to obtain life changing (and even saving) medicine.
