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Ben Pollara - page 3

Ray Rodrigues stance on medical marijuana angers Amendment 2 advocates

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

Because polling in 2016 showed less than half of all Floridians want to legalize marijuana outright, Ray RodriguesĀ believes he is doing the right thing by pushing regulationsĀ that ban people from smoking cannabis or using edible pot. “Hereā€™s what we know,” the Fort Myers House Republican told former Congressman David Jolly on AM 820 WWBA Thursday afternoon. “Amendment 2 passed with more than 70 percent of the vote. And for those of us who were polling this issue during the course…

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Hillsborough County Commission opts to reject controversial scoring plan for medical marijuana applicants

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

Although medical marijuana became the law of the land after Floridians overwhelmingly supported it in 2016, there remains considerable angst among its supporters on how state and local leaders will implement the legislation. Medical marijuana supporters (and some opponents) filled the County Center in downtown Tampa Tuesday night, with many of them blasting the county’s proposed licensing rules on who can run medical marijuana dispensaries in the county. The ordinance would offer points to applicants on a 100-point scale under…

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Senate medical marijuana bill keeps industry restricted to seven

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

A new bill introduced Monday to enact Florida’s medical marijuana program is being sharply criticized by promoters of Amendment 2 for keeping the budding business restricted to the state’s current seven approved producers. Senate Bill 1758, introduced by state Sen. Denise Grimsley, the Republican from Lake Wales, lays out how Florida should manage and regulate medical marijuana from growing the plants to which doctors can recommend it to deciding which patients are eligible, to how the products are produced, packaged…

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Florida For Care ā€˜web of influenceā€™ raises questions, concerns about recreational marijuana

in Peter/Top Headlines by

Florida for Care, the group that led the effort to pass Amendment 2 last year, continues to insist its support for expanding medical marijuana in Florida is in no way related to recreational use. For marijuana opponents, however, that simply doesnā€™t cut it. Their claim is that Florida for Care is trying to find a pathway to recreational use instead of helping those patients who need medical marijuana. And as justification for their concerns, some point to theĀ Florida for Care…

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Florida officials, voters clash over medical marijuana rules

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

Three months after Florida voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment on medical marijuana, state health officials and prospective pot-seeking patients are at odds over proposed rules that would spell out who could get marijuana. State officials have recommended restrictions on what type of patients can qualify for medical marijuana, and where they can obtain it. Their suggestions, however, have prompted a wave of opposition across the state, with nearly 1,300 residents attending what are normally low-key bureaucratic hearings to press…

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Treat medical marijuana “like medicine,” advocates say

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

The right way to put the new constitutional amendment on medical marijuana into effect is to ā€œtreat (it)Ā like medicine,” supportersĀ said Tuesday.Ā  The Senate Health Policy committee held its first workshop for the 2017 Legislative Session on medical cannabis implementation. ā€œThe states that have done it poorly, with a lack of regulation, allowed folks to market and advertise the notion of getting high,ā€ said Ben Pollara, who leads Florida for Care, the organization advocating for ā€œa strong, well-regulated medical marijuana system.ā€…

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Implementation of medical marijuana amendment brings together unlikely allies

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

With establishment lobbyists now representing it, the medical marijuana cause appears to have becomeā€”grab your pearlsā€”respectable. Florida for Care, the nonprofit organizationĀ that is advocating for “well-regulated” medicinal pot in the state, has hiredĀ Brecht Heuchan and The Mayernick Group to advocate forĀ its interests. Heuchan, who says he voted against the medical marijuanaĀ constitutional amendment this November, has worked for Gov. Rick Scottā€™s Let’s Get to WorkĀ PAC. Heā€™ll lobby the executive agencies. “I didnā€™t want Florida to be like California but my vote…

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