TIME FOR FLORIDA TO OK MEDICAL POT?

Marijuana is the only drug that Ginny Amaral believes can ease her constant
bone and soft tissue pain.

The 47-year-old Cape Coral resident has rheumatoid arthritis, a long-term
disease that inflames her joints and tissues and limits movement.

"I can't take pain medications anymore because (their side effects) do
damage to my body," Amaral said. "I know my pain could be eased with
cannabis, but I can't use it because (users) are treated like criminals
here in Florida."

Amaral hopes the growing national medical marijuana movement - 14 states
have legalized medical marijuana in the last 14 years and four have
cannabis issues on their Tuesday ballots - will influence the Sunshine
State to change its medical marijuana stance.

Amaral is part of an Orlando-based political action committee collecting
signatures to put the legalization of medical marijuana on Florida's 2012
ballot.

If approved, the amendment would give Floridians the right to grow,
purchase, possess and obtain marijuana for medical treatment. Orlando's
People United for Medical Marijuana has until Feb. 1, 2012, to collect
676,811 signatures.

Lee County's medical marijuana supporters will keep a close eye on
California on Tuesday, when Golden State residents will vote on legalizing
pot for recreational use.

"I believe once the initiative passes in California that it's going to
start a domino effect across the nation," said North Fort Myers' Kim Hawk,
chairman of Lee's Libertarian Party and a water conservation board member.

Help For Economy

But opposition from law enforcement and a lack of support by the majority
of the medical community could prove to be roadblocks for Florida's medical
marijuana movement. PUFMM is trying to make the case that legalizing the
drug could create tax revenue and jobs to lift the state's sluggish economy.

Group founder Kim Russell estimates there are 1.7 million seriously ill
Floridians who could benefit from the medical use of marijuana, everyone
from breast cancer patients to people suffering from glaucoma and chronic pain.

Using that population base, an average of $5,000-per-year prescription cost
and an 8 percent sales tax, Russell estimates the industry could generate
$200 million a year in direct revenue for Florida.

"Medical marijuana isn't for everybody, but the people who need it should
be allowed to get it," said Russell, who wants her 63-year-old father to
get the most effective drug for his Parkinson's disease. "People should
have the option to save their lives without breaking the law."

Support Lcking

Medical studies have shown benefits from cannabis, particularly for
glaucoma and tremors. It has also been shown to increase appetite and
alleviate the nausea caused by cancer treatments.

But the major medical associations haven't endorsed it.

"There's really no real hard evidence behind it. There's been no double
blind studies that have shown its efficacy," said Dr. Larry Hobbs, a Fort
Myers emergency physician and former president of the Lee County Medical
Society.

Bruce Grant, director of Florida's Office of Drug Control, said marijuana
is not medicine.

"We have a rigid system for prescribing medicines," he said. "Marijuana
hasn't passed any of those tests."

Law Sifting

Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott said earlier this year that the drug Marinol,
which has synthetic THC - the active ingredient in marijuana - is already
prescribed to treat nausea and pain in sick people. Scott also dismissed
the notion that marijuana is not harmful.

"The very fact that marijuana is smoked contradicts any argument that it is
not harmful," Scott said.

Hawk disagreed. He said no study has linked lung cancer to marijuana.

"This plant is different than tobacco," Hawk said.

Federal law, which has prohibited marijuana since 1937, has started to
shift on the topic. Last year, Attorney General Eric Holder said the
federal government would stop raiding marijuana distributors in states
where it's legal. However, last week, Holder also said that if California
approves recreational use of pot, federal law will be enforced in the state.

According to a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll, 81 percent of
Americans support legalizing medical marijuana.

Ballot Sccess

In every state where medical marijuana has been on the ballot, it has been
successful - with the exception of South Dakota, where it lost with 48
percent of the vote. But the challenge in Florida will be steeper because
the state requires a 60 percent majority vote.

As of Monday, PUFMM had collected 24,186 signatures, or 3 percent of the
required amount. About 517 people have signed the petition in Lee and
Collier counties.

Amaral collected signatures for PUFMM at April's Susan G. Komen Race for
the Cure in Estero. The 5K race raises money for breast cancer research.

"People were thanking us for what we're doing and being brave enough to do
it," Amaral said. "They kept telling me they wished medical marijuana was
available for their loved one that recently passed."