October is going to be quite the month as early voting will begin all over the country – campaigns are rushing to get their messages out and in Florida, the opposition has already been in attack mode for months. After releasing multiple videos on YouTube which are all filled with lies, misconceptions and twisted words as well as some points that completely ignore what’s written in the proposed amendment. They have gone on to personally attack John Morgan and publish even more lies in direct mail as well.
The campaign is sticking to the story they told in 2014, telling a tale where Amendment 2 is a front for “recreational pot”. They have used a few moments from the 2014 Yes on 2 campaign where John Morgan toured colleges against us – and their “reasons to vote no on 2” make arguments that the amendment has not changed, but almost everything they mention is being twisted to fit their lies.
According to Christina Johnson, a spokeswoman for No on 2, the amendment has not changed at all. She says, “This is really nothing but recreational pot,” she said. “I mean, (it’s) the Florida Medical Association (and) the American Medical Association that are against it.” However, there are physicians who have endorsed medical marijuana – like Sanjay Gupta, who John Morgan specifically mentioned in an e-mail sent out shortly after the full page attack on him was found in mailboxes across the state.
The No on 2 campaign has already purchased 10 days worth of TV air time for the beginning of October, with a price tag of $1 million. The Yes on 2 campaign has been pushing for donations in order to purchase their TV air time now that they have finished filming ads that will be released on multiple media streams in the coming weeks. While United for Care has far outdone No on 2 when it comes to fundraising, they spent most of those funds during the signature collecting portion of their campaign.
The opposition is funded by a very small number of people, donating large sums of money all at once – for example Sheldon Adelson donated $1 million just recently. On the other hand, the Yes on 2 campaign run by United for Care gets many of their donations from individuals and small businesses who can only make a modest donation at best (at least in most cases). By comparison, it will be hard for the Yes on 2 campaign to keep up with things like paid TV ads.
However they are also utilizing less expensive means to get the word out – for example they will have weekly live sessions on Facebook where they discuss Amendment 2 based on questions from the listeners, rebuttal to things like the recent No on 2 mailer “10 Reasons to Vote No on 2”. We need to remain positive and spread the word as well – No on 2 is going as far as to say marijuana is not medicine – and we know just how well that worked out for DEA Chief Chuck Rosenberg when he called medical marijuana a joke last fall.
Suffering patients in Florida will finally have relief and safe, legal access to a much needed medicine if we pass Amendment 2 this November. The problem is, the No on 2 campaign is reaching people who are unsure, uneducated on the matter and many of whom have grown up in a world of prohibitionists pushing the same lies that they are using to keep this amendment from passing. If you’re living in Florida, have a conversation with someone who needs to know, tell them about the benefits of medical marijuana – read the amendment and correct anyone who tries to agree with or spread the lies from No on 2 – it’s the only way we’re going to beat them.
GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT PEOPLE:
From the CDC, rate of death involving natural and semi synthetic opioid pain relievers, heroin, and synthetic opioids, other than methadone (e.g., fentanyl) increased 9%, 26%, and 80%, respectively. The sharp increase in deaths involving synthetic opioids, other than methadone, in 2014 coincided with law enforcement reports of increased availability of illicitly manufactured fentanyl, a synthetic opioid; however, illicitly manufactured fentanyl cannot be distinguished from prescription fentanyl in death certificate data. These findings indicate that the opioid overdose epidemic is worsening. There is a need for continued action to prevent opioid abuse, dependence, and death. FACTS not FICTION: overdose deaths 2013 state of Florida, 2,474. Overdose deaths 2014 State of Florida 2,634 increase of 160 deaths. NOTE: CDC does not show yet OD Deaths for 2015 to present. I am sure the number is increasing.
CDC new recommendations released 2016 include the statement to Doctors and Pain Management
WE recommend “not to test for delta 9 THC” as there is no proof that it causes adverse side effects when used with any prescription drug. “Clinicians should not dismiss patients from care based on a urine drug test result because this could constitute patient abandonment and could have adverse consequences for patient safety, potentially including the patient obtaining opioids from alternative sources and the clinician missing opportunities to facilitate treatment for substance use disorder.”
Newsweek:2014
“America has a major problem with prescription pain medications like Vicodin and OxyContin. Overdose deaths from these pharmaceutical opioids have approximately tripled since 1991, and every day 46 people die of such overdoses in the United States. However, in the 13 states that passed laws allowing for the use of medical marijuana between 1999 and 2010, 25 percent fewer people die from opioid overdoses annually. “The difference is quite striking,” said study co-author Colleen Barry, a health policy researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. The shift showed up quite quickly and become visible the year after medical marijuana was accepted in each state, she told Newsweek.”
New York Times;2016
“ U.S. states that have legalized cannabis use for medical purposes have seen a significant decline in the number of prescription drugs issued through the Medicare program, according to a new study by University of Georgia researchers. The study, led by W. David Bradford and published in the journal Health Affairs, examined 87 million prescribed drugs filled by Medicare Part D enrollees from 2010 through 2013. Savings from the lower number of prescriptions were estimated to be $165.2 million in 2013, when 17 states and the District of Columbia had medical marijuana laws implemented. The researchers state that if medicinal marijuana was legal in all 50 states, savings to Medicare would be about $468 million. But they also acknowledge that patients may not benefit from those savings if they pay for medical marijuana out of pocket, noting insurance doesn’t cover it. The study analysis focused on drugs that treat conditions for which medical marijuana could be suggested as an alternative treatment method–such as depression, anxiety, nausea, chronic pain, sleep disorders, glaucoma, spasticity and more. With the exception of glaucoma and spasticity (a muscle control disorder), all other conditions listed correlated with fewer prescriptions in states with legalized medical marijuana. In states where medical marijuana had not been legalized, the same decline was not observed. Overall, glaucoma cases show the least proven benefit from cannabis use, which may correlate with the minimal decline noted in the study. Cannabis use can relieves eye pressure in glaucoma patients by about 25 percent, but the effects only last for about an hour – making the drug not the ideal option for patients. On the opposite side, pain showed the strongest medical evidence recommending marijuana use, according to the researchers, which in turn was the condition that had the greatest effect on prescriptions for painkillers. More than 1,800 fewer daily doses of painkillers were prescribed, on average, per year in states with legal medical marijuana compared to states where it is illegal”.
Floridians have the opportunity to help stop up to or more than 25% (515+ deaths by 2014 figures) of drug overdose deaths by passing Proposition 2 this November. Remember Florida who is funding the NO ON 2 campaign. Drug Company’s, Prisons, big alcohol and Politicians taking their money to keep Marijuana Illegal.
P.S. GOD holds the only patent on Marijuana.
Thank you for your Time. Homer T. Salisbury
Yes on 2. When I Vote I am Voting For Trump. and Yes on 2 For The Medical Marijuana. The Facts Support The Legalization of Marijuana. if you Oppose Marijuana YOU MUST BE A COMPLETE FOOL.
Don’t Believe in all The Negativity Other’s Drop on Marijuana They are Full of Scare Tactics and BS Lies. Marijuana Has Never Harmed a Living Human on This EARTH. if you Believe That Marijuana is a Drug/Narcotic Then May I ask You What Are you Bugged out on To Oppose Such a Healing & Vary Productive Herb That Help’s Other’s Who Really Need This Herb. Only Sick Minded People Vote against Marijuana. in all My Year’s I Have Never Seen So Many Ridiculous People Try To Ban an innocent Herb. I Can assure you… Even if you Don’t Believe in Me I… Can Tell you That Marijuana is Safer Than ALL of your Groceries That you Buy at your Local Shop. You know What Should Have Been Banned is Tobacco/Cigarettes <<<< This Stuff is a Drug a Narcotic That Bad Dirty Tobacco That Harms The Human Body until The Body is Drop Line ''' So If you Oppose Marijuana Reschedule How you Vote on it Please. only a Fool That Opposes Marijuana Has The Right To Have a Tag Fool on There Front Door.