With five weeks to go until the general election, the battle over medical marijuana turned to Florida’s airwaves on Monday as proponents and opponents of Amendment 2 launched new TV ads.
Amendment 2, which needs 60 percent support on the November ballot to be added to the Florida Constitution, expands medical marijuana usage in the Sunshine State.
People United for Medical Marijuana, a group affiliated with United for Care backed by trial attorney John Morgan, unveiled a new commercial on Monday. Morgan formerly employed former Gov. Charlie Crist, the Democratic nominee looking to topple Gov. Rick Scott in the general election.
The ad plays up how Amendment 2 would keep government out of medical marijuana and ensure doctors play a greater role in recommending its usage. The ad claims medical marijuana use would be under the “strict supervision of a doctor, only for debilitating diseases and conditions.” The new commercial also notes that 23 other states have allowed medical marijuana.
But opponents of Amendment 2 launched a new ad of their own on Monday. Drug Free Florida Committee unveiled a new TV spot which points to the issue of caregivers established by Amendment 2, noting that they do not need medical training or background checks which could leave the door open to illegal drug selling.
“They don’t call it the Drug Dealer Protection Act but they should,” the narrator of Drug Free Florida’s ad says in the new TV spot.
Drug Free Florida Committee has been backed by Sheldon Adelson, the chairman and CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corp., who has spent $2.5 million to defeat Amendment 2. Adelson has been a prominent supporter of Republicans across the nation, including backing former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., and former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass., during the 2012 presidential race.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
