Examiner.com
Florida’s Amendment 2 battle rages on tonight in Boca Raton
October 8, 2014This evening, October 8, 2014, at Florida Atlantic University’s Boca Raton campus, Florida’s Amendment 2 will be debated. Amendment 2 will be on the ballot on November 4, 2014 for Florida voters to decide whether to allow the use of medical marijuana (cannabis) for individuals with debilitating diseases. Tonight’s debate is free to the public and will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at FAU’s Student Union and is being organized by FAU esteemed Political Science Professor Marshall Derosa. The program is called “Amendment 2: Reefer Madness or Sanity and the Relevance of Individual Autonomy.” Seating will be limited to a first come, first serve basis, so the public is advised to arrive early.Participants in the debate are Ben Pollara (campaign manager for United for Care), Dr. Jessica Spencer (statewide coalition director for Vote No On Amendment 2) and Bill Wohlsifer (Libertarian Party of Florida candidate for Florida Attorney General). Originally the evening was to be set into two parts. The first part of the program was to be a debate on Amendment 2 and the second was to be a debate between the three candidates for Florida Attorney General – Bill Wohlsifer, Pam Bondi and George Sheldon. Neither Sheldon or Bondi have committed or declined the event. Apparently, after a Central Florida debate between the three candidates, Bondi and Sheldon fear facing Wohlsifer again in public due to his extensive knowledge on medical marijuana. We do know that Pam Bondi and Rick Scott will be in town today according to their public schedules.Wohlsifer was the sole Attorney General candidate to accept a candidate forum invitation from Florida Atlantic University, even though the others had been invited by the organizers, as well as Mr. Wohlsifer himself. The forum was intended to showcase each of the candidates’ positions on Medical Marijuana, but will now feature Mr. Wohlsifer discussing Amendment 2 and why Cannabis should be removed from the Florida Controlled Substances List Schedule I.Mr. Wohlsifer, who recently received endorsements from former Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates Gov. Gary Johnson and Judge Jim Gray, stated in the Attorney General debate on Monday, “It was a dereliction of duty for [Pam Bondi] to not reschedule Cannabis after SB1030 was passed…”Also today, United For Care will conduct a Town Hall meeting at 3:00 p.m. at the South County Civic Center in Delray Beach, Florida. Then at 5:00 p.m., there will be a student rally in support of Amendment 2’s passage at FAU’s Boca Raton Student Union parking lot 16.Amendment 2 is being hotly debated in Florida with polling all over the place causing many to wonder if it will garner enough votes to pass the 60% of needed votes this November. It has pitted physician against physician, neighbor against neighbor. Well funded out of state opponents to Amendment 2 have been aggressively promoting an advertisement campaign using fear tactics. Tonight’s debate should allow area residents to be presented with the facts.The debate is one of the more interesting facing the nation as support and opposition are coming from politicians one may think odd. For example, medical marijuana legalization is largely seen as a liberal agenda item; yet, hardcore conservative Grover Norquist has come out in support of it being legalized. Meanwhile, liberal Democrat Debbie Wasserman-Schultz has come out against Amendment 2. Libertarians take a freedom and compassionate care perspective on medical marijuana. It was Bill Wohlsifer who crafted the Cathy Jordan Medical Cannabis Act in Florida.Article: http://www.examiner.com/article/florida-s-amendment-2-battle-rages-on-tonight-boca-raton
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