While few of the advocates for the marijuana amendment on the November ballot were opposed to the Legislature passing the low-THC cannabis for medical purposes, many were wary of it being a wolf in sheep's clothing that would allow opponents to claim the issue is resolved.
Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam told Adam Smith of the Tampa Bay Times and Al Ruechel of Bay News 9 that the narrowly drawn new law takes the constitutional amendment "substantially off the table." The law requires doctors to register patients on a state-controlled Compassionate Use Registry and allows the medical use of cannabis only for epileptic seizures, muscle spasms and cancer.
Putnam, an opponent of Amendment 2, also disputes the economic potential of the new crop in Florida. "You're not going to see marijuana grown in former orange groves,'' he said. "This will all be grown indoors. This is not a potential cash crop. This is not a potential replacement....To me, the medical component of the marijuana ballot inititave is substantially off the table now."
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