The folks over at United for Care have jumped on the ALS Ice Bucket challenge and decided to get doused for the cause. But for United for Care, the challenge also hits home for a fellow medical marijuana advocate.
This challenge was done in honor of Cathy Jordan, president of the Florida Cannabis Action Network, who suffers from ALS. Jordan has been an advocate for medical marijuana legalization for herself and others who suffer from diseases like ALS.
See also: Cathy Jordan Wins Legal Fight
Jordan became the face of the medical marijuana movement last year when Manatee County cops swarmed her and her husband's home after a government employee who wasn't even visiting their house spotted some marijuana plants on Jordan's property.
Jordan, who is wheelchair-bound, has been battling ALS since 1986 and uses marijuana as treatment.
The case was dropped once it was established that Cathy needs marijuana for medical reasons, but the Jordans filed a lawsuit anyway.
The Jordans won their legal fight against the Manatee County Sheriff's Office.
Cathy Jordan was also one of the first Floridians to have a proposed bill named after her when Sen. Jeff Clemens introduced the Cathy Jordan Medical Cannabis Act last February.
That bill failed to make progress but began to get the ball rolling into what has become a large and progressing movement to get medical marijuana legalized in Florida so people like Cathy Jordan no longer have to live in fear of having their homes raided as if they were drug kingpins in a bad action movie.
In May of this year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment that would restrict the Drug Enforcement Administration from targeting medical marijuana operations in states where it is legal. That amendment, which was spearheaded by California Rep. Dana Rohrabacher's amendment to the 2015 Justice Department appropriations bill, means that should Amendment 2 pass in November, the feds can no longer interfere with people like Cathy Jordan.
United for Care has made great progress, thanks in large part to Orlando-based attorney John Morgan, who has donated millions of dollars to the cause.
Morgan's father and brother had suffered from cancer and injuries and found relief in marijuana for medicinal purposes. So for him, as it is with many who are advocating for the legalization of medical marijuana, it's a personal issue.
And now, Morgan has been challenged by United for Care Campaign Manager Ben Pollara to take on the Ice Bucket Challenge himself.
The challenge was started by former Boston College baseball player Pete Frates, who has ALS. It entails someone dumping a bucket of icewater over their own heads and then challenging someone else to do it or else donate to the ALS Association.
So far, the ALS Association and its 38 chapters have received more than $4 million in donations since the bucket challenge began in mid-July.
A fund for Cathy Jordan has been set up via the ALS Association website. If you aren't into dumping cold water onto your head, you can instead head there and donate.
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