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Ben Pollara

Was it actually John Morgan who had financial conflicts in marijuana implementation?

in 2017/Top Headlines by

John Morgan was at his Trumpiest earlier this month when he took to social media to savage his longtime aide-de-camp, Ben Pollara, over the failure of legislation implementing medical marijuana this Session. Labeling him “Fredo,” (from the Godfather trilogy) and telling FloridaPolitics.com that Ben “f**ked the patients,” Morgan accused Pollara of putting the interests of wannabe medical marijuana businesses over the larger cause. Pollara emphatically denied those charges, but admitted in an email to supporters that issues of patient access, “tended to align with…

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Samantha Pollara: In defense of my big brother Ben Pollara

in 2017/Top Headlines by

For the last five years, my big brother, Ben Pollara, has fought to bring medical marijuana treatment to suffering citizens in the state of Florida. He acted as campaign manager for United for Care, which was the chief facilitator of Amendment 2’s passage November, and has since worked tirelessly to craft and pass fair legislation to enact it. His goal was a feasible plan for implementation that not only best represented the interests of sick patients, but also protected and…

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John Morgan wrong to insult Mayernicks, lobbying profession

in Peter by

The he-said, he-said-what? between medical marijuana proponents Ben Pollara and John Morgan has captivated political aficionados during the epilogue phase of the 2017 Legislative Session. On Friday night, the Legislature killed HB 1397, a bill to enact the medical marijuana amendment approved by 71 percent of voters in November. Morgan, who spearheaded and bankrolled much of Amendment 2 in both 2014 and 2016, puts blame for the bill’s failures squarely on Pollara’s shoulders. “Ben Pollara fucked the patients,” Morgan told FloridaPolitics.com bluntly Saturday morning. “The person who…

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Joe Negron open to special session on medical marijuana

in 2017 by

Senate President Joe Negron hasn’t closed the door to a special session to tackle medical marijuana. The Stuart Republican said Monday he thinks the Legislature has a responsibility to be involved in the implementation of the 2016 medical marijuana, and said the Senate would discuss its options with the House and Gov. Rick Scott. His remarks came after the adjournment of the 2017 Legislative Session, during which lawmakers failed to pass an implementing bill. “I think that’s something that now…

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Ben Pollara’s emotional mea culpa on John Morgan split, marijuana bill failure

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

Ben Pollara, executive director of Florida For Care, spoke out Monday afternoon over the well-publicized split with Orlando uber-attorney John Morgan over the failed medical marijuana implementation bill. On Friday night, the Florida Legislature killed HB 1397, a bill to enact the medical marijuana amendment approved by 71 percent of voters in November. Morgan, who spearheaded and bankrolled much of Amendment 2 in both 2014 and 2016, puts blame for the bill’s failure squarely on Pollara’s shoulders. “Ben Pollara fucked the patients,”…

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John Morgan after medical marijuana legislation dies: Ben Pollara ‘f*cked’ the patients

in Peter by

The headline writers had an easy job Friday night after the Florida Legislature failed to agree on rules to enact the medical marijuana amendment supported by 71 percent of Florida voters last November. “Medical marijuana deal goes up in smoke,” blared the Tallahassee Democrat. “Up in smoke: Legislature can’t agree on medical marijuana,” read The Associated Press. In other words, the headlines wrote themselves. What has been harder to discern is why the deal fell apart. After all, the House and Senate…

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Medical marijuana bill dead for 2017 Session

in 2017 by

A bill to implement the 2016 medical marijuana constitutional amendment is dead, after the House amended the bill to increases the cap on retail facilities twentyfold. The decision to send the bill back to the Senate kill the legislation (HB 1397), where senators were unwilling to increase the caps. Earlier in the day, Sen. Bill Galvano told POLITICO Florida the chance of passing was “slim to none, and I just saw slim leave town.” The House voted 99-16 to send…

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