MEDICAL MARIJUANA IS NO JOKE

You could say there's budding interest in medical marijuana in
Tallahassee.

Or that the issue is taking root or that State Rep. Jeff Clemens is
high on the idea.

You could say that, but it would be wrong to.

Because while medical marijuana has become a punch line in places like
California, where authorities struggle to keep fly-by-night operators
from selling weed to anyone and everyone claiming the slightest pain
or anxiety, it is a serious matter to Clemens.

The freshman Democrat from Lake Worth is sponsoring House Joint (no
pun intended) Resolution 1407, which would establish the framework for
medical marijuana in Florida.

"Seven people die from prescription pain medicine in Florida every
day. No one ever died from using cannabis," Clemens said.

"Why is there this stigma about that one drug? People are suffering.
If there's a more natural way to ease that suffering, why wouldn't we
do that? The truth is, there is no good reason."

If passed, HJR 1407 would put the question of medical marijuana to
voters as an amendment to the state constitution.

Specifics about how the legal cannabis would be grown and sold would
be worked out after the vote.

But the language of the bill stresses things like debilitating medical
condition, a bona-fide doctor-patient relationship and a role for the
primary caregiver in determining if a person would qualify for medical
marijuana.

It is patterned after laws in Colorado and New Mexico, two of the more
than one dozen states that have already approved medicinal use of
cannabis in one form or another.

Clemens said he hopes to avoid the problems of California, the first
state to permit it. There, in parts of Los Angeles, for instance,
marijuana dispensaries have been reported to outnumber McDonalds
franchises and barkers work the street inviting passers-by in for a
quick consultation with a doctor that can lead to a recommendation _ a
prescription isn't required _ for medical marijuana that can be filled
on the spot.

Those dispensaries operate in a way reminiscent of "pill mills," in
Florida, places where people can readily acquire prescription
narcotics after an exam by a physician. "We don't want to go through
the same thing they're going through with the pill mills," Clemens
said.

A decade ago, prior to a term as mayor of Lake Worth and his election
to the Florida House, Clemens was an arts critic for the Naples Daily
News and a musician in area rock bands. But this isn't some hippie
looking for a legal high. "People who know me know not only have I
never smoked marijuana, I don't even drink," he said.

His concern stems from talks he's had over the years. "I've met people
who were living with really difficult pain. It doesn't make good
ethical or medical sense to deny it," he said.

While he's gotten support from a few fellow House Democrats and
libertarian activists outside the Legislature, so far HJR 1407 has
gotten little traction in the House. No hearings have been scheduled
and there's no companion bill in the Senate.

That's OK, Clemens said. If it doesn't get heard this year, he'll try
again next year. "When you try something brand new that has this kind
of stigma, it's going to take some time to change hearts and minds.

"This is the beginning of the discussion. It's an issue that was lying
under the surface that no one was willing to talk about."