Florida: Medical Marijuana Legalization May Not Pass, But Early 2014 Election Results Could Change

Florida’s medical marijuana legalization attempt with Amendment 2 may not pass, based upon early 2014 elections results that show support for medical marijuana may just barely not reach the threshold necessary to be written into law.

[UPDATE: The final Amendment 2 elections results are in and already big supporters like John Morgan are responding. The election results for Oregon’s Measure 91 have also come in. Alaska’s recreational marijuana legalization results have also just started pouring in.]

In a related report by the Inquisitr, the usage of cannabis for medicinal purposes has a long history. A 2,500-year-old corpse nicknamed the Siberian Princess showed signs of using medical marijuana to combat breast cancer.

According to the Florida Today, the 2014 election results have started to come in and, although they are not final, it’s already not looking good for Florida’s marijuana amendment. The requirement for any amendment to pass is 60 percent and, as of this publishing, only around 57 percent of voters believe weed should be used for the sick and the disabled.

As a comparison, amendment 1 covers funding for water and land conversation and it seems certain to pass with around 75 percent. Floridians also did not like the idea to give the state government authority to appoint judicial vacancies early, with less than half of voters supporting the idea.

But all hope is not lost for supporters of Florida’s marijuana amendment. The polls are still sending their votes and these early 2014 election results could change within the next several hours. When this article was still being written, there was a significant fluctuation in the percentages being reported, with the numbers jumping between 56.5 and 57 percent. It’s possible that by time all the districts report that the 2014 election results will show Florida’s medical marijuana amendment passing right under the wire.

The lead up to the 2014 election was quite controversial. Calvina Fay, executive director of the Drug Free America Foundation, claims marijuana legalization in Colorado caused “an increase in car crashes, DUIs, and fatal slip-and-fall accidents.” Nora Volkow is the head of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and she claims that marijuana legalization could be more dangerous than already legal tobacco and alcohol. Even the legislation implementation is drawing fire since the state will only allow five dispensaries to be chosen at random and the rules seem to prevent small marijuana businesses from ever starting.

But many Floridians disagree with the critics. Before the 2014 election voting began, polls indicated that around 88 percent of residents in the Sunshine State believed medical marijuana legalization should be supported. Supporters of the bill believe that access to cannabis could provide relief to the sick and suffering.