Local governments will be powerless to prevent medical marijuana dispensaries from sprouting up anywhere and everywhere should Amendment 2 pass this fall, opponents of the measure say.
A pamphlet from Vote No On 2 mailed to voters in July warns that the constitutional amendment prevents any kinds of restrictions on the locations of marijuana-related businesses. The amendment would allow doctors to recommend medical marijuana for certain health conditions and patients to pick up the drug from dispensaries that sell it.
“Because there’s no local option to allow communities to ban, limit or restrict the location of pot shops, if Amendment 2 passes you can expect the seedy elements of the pot industry to move in right next door to your neighborhood, your church, your business and even your child’s school,” the pamphlet cautions.
Vote No On 2 is a campaign run by the Drug Free Florida Committee, an anti-drug group started in 2014 by longtime GOP fundraiser Mel Sembler and his wife, Betty, with financial backing from casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.
We wanted to know whether Amendment 2 prevented communities from their own bans on so-called “pot shops.”
The short answer is that the amendment does not have any provisions for local legislation – but thats only because the state would eventually be deciding whether local jurisdictions could do that.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker
Full Article: A Misleading Claim By Vote No On 2 About Medical Marijuana
Author: Staff
Contact: Miami Herald
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Miami Herald
