There's a lot at stake in this election. Besides electing our future leaders, Floridians will vote on statewide initiatives that will strongly impact your civil liberties and civil rights. While the American Civil Liberties Union is nonpartisan and does not endorse candidates, we do weigh in on ballot measures that affect our civil rights and civil liberties.
By voting “YES” on amendment 2, you’re putting healthcare decisions back into physician’s hands. Our legislators have recognized that marijuana can be used as medicine by passing Charlotte’s Web Law and the Right to Try Act, but those laws are not enough.
THE FACTS
By voting YES on Amendment 2, you’re putting healthcare decisions back into physician’s hands. Our legislators have recognized that marijuana can be used as medicine by passing Charlotte’s Web Law and the Right to Try Act, but those laws are not enough.
Current state law, passed in 2014, allows the use of non-euphoric cannabis for patients with medical conditions that cause seizures and severe muscle spasms. Last year, legislators passed a law allowing terminally ill patients to receive prescriptions for full-strength marijuana, but that still leaves tens of thousands of Floridians with debilitating conditions without this medically necessary treatment.
As of mid-April, 23 states and Washington, D.C. have laws permitting the use of marijuana for medical conditions. Medical marijuana has been proven to help with PTSD, MS, ALS, HIV/AIDS, epilepsy, cancer and other seriously debilitating medical conditions and Amendment 2 will do just that. In states that have passed a medical marijuana law, there has been a decrease in death by opioid use, and a decrease in suicide rates and use among adolescents has not gone up.
A YES vote on Amendment 2 would:
- Create a constitutional right for people with specific “debilitating” conditions – such as cancer, epilepsy, AIDS, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis – to use marijuana as long as a physician has certified they have one of the specified conditions.
- Require parental consent before a minor could be certified by a physician to receive medical marijuana.
- Permit caregivers to assist patients with marijuana treatments as long as that person possesses a caregiver identification card issued by the states. Caregivers must undergo a background check and are not allowed to use marijuana themselves.
- Require patients and caregivers to get a state-issued ID.
- Retain state and federal prohibitions on recreational marijuana use, as well as prohibitions on operating vehicles and boats while under the influence.
- Create “medical marijuana treatment centers” to cultivate and dispense drugs to certified patients or caregivers.
- Shield physicians from criminal or civil actions for issuing patient certifications.
Resources:
- Ballot language
- Learn more about the initiative from United Care.
If you have questions about voting in Florida, visit our online voter registration guide.
