Florida NAACP and Minorities 4 Medical Marijuana endorse Florida Constitutional Amendment 2
The Florida NAACP and Minorities 4 Medical Marijuana, headquartered in Orlando, are both endorsing Amendment 2, which will be titled ‘Use of Marijuana for Debilitating Medical Conditions’ on Florida’s November 8 general elections ballot.
“We are thrilled to once again have the endorsement of the Florida NAACP, and to now have Minorities 4 Medical Marijuana, a Florida nonprofit and advocacy outreach organization fighting to pass a sensible medical marijuana law is fantastic. We really appreciate their support and we look forward to working with them,” said Ben Pollara, Campaign Manager for the organization United for Care, the key proponent for the proposed constitutional amendment.
Rosalind McCarthy, founder of Minorities 4 Medical Marijuana, has a personal reason for supporting proposed Amendment 2. “I firmly believe my father, who suffered from glaucoma, would have benefited from medical marijuana. My son suffers from sickle cell anemia and I think Amendment 2 is the only way he’ll ever have the option to legally reap the benefits medical marijuana can offer. My teenage son, just like the thousands of others who suffer from a disease that deteriorates their life, deserves another option- a less addictive option,” said McCarthy. “We are going to do everything in our power to make sure the African American community votes during this election cycle.”
On Friday, September 9, John Morgan who originally initiated the move to amend Florida’s constitution to make medical marijuana legal in the 2014 mid-term elections, addressed the Florida NAACP membership during their 73rd state conference. During the conference Morgan highlighted prescription addictions and the need for another option in healthcare, the different ways medical marijuana can be administered, and the difference between the current medical marijuana laws and proposed Amendment 2.
In the 2014 general election, the constitutional amendment to legalize medical marijuana failed by just 2 percentage points to reach the required 60 percent to be approved.
Polling average in Florida, with the latest poll conducted on August 11, showed 64.4 percent voter support for the amendment. Over 70 percent of voters in South Florida support the initiative. An independent poll among South Florida’s Caribbean Americans voters in June indicated over 80 percent support for the constitutional amendment.
