With the upcoming general election looming, I thought I would weigh in on 2014 Florida Constitutional Amendment 2, Use of Marijuana Under Certain Medical Conditions, from a law enforcement officer’s perspective. I have read the full language of the amendment, as well as the ballot language. They are included at the end of the article if you wish to peruse them.
Frankly, I am alarmed that under Article X, Section 29 (a) Public Policy sections (1), (2), and (3), all patients, personal caregivers, physicians, and marijuana treatment centers will be free from any criminal or civil liability under Florida law as it relates to the amendment. Of the seventeen states legalizing some form of marijuana, Florida would be the only one conferring civil immunity. Any reasonable person should be wary of such extreme blanket protections without yet knowing the future consequences of unwritten legislation and procedures.
Following the amendment’s Public Policy section, the bulk of the remaining amendment language instructs the Department of Health to build a marijuana production and distribution infrastructure, but the amendment gives no specific methodology or parameters for such an undertaking. Another cause for pause when dealing with such a complicated undertaking.
I will give you an example. Who can be a “personal caregiver?” Continue reading
