On Monday, cops raided the home of Cathy Jordan, president of the Florida Cannabis Action Network, and seized all her pot after a government employee who was visiting a neighbor spotted some marijuana plants on her property.
Turns out, Jordan has Lou Gehrig's disease and uses the marijuana as treatment.
So, on Wednesday, State Sen. Jeff Clemens decided to step up and do something about it.
Clemens, a Democrat from Lake Worth, introduced a bill in Jordan's name that would allow patients with certain qualifying medical conditions to privately possess up to four ounces of marijuana and grow up to eight marijuana plants.
The introduction of the the bill comes a day after the release of a poll showing that 70 percent of Florida voters support passage of a medical marijuana law.
The bill, S.B. 1250, is called "the Cathy Jordan Medical Cannabis Act."
Lawmakers in 14 other states have proposed similar legislation this year, and medical marijuana bills are expected to be brought forward in an additional four states.
"Scientific research consistently validates the medical benefits of marijuana in the treatment of a variety of debilitating medical conditions," said Mason Tvert, director of communications for the Marijuana Policy Project.
"Seriously-ill people who use marijuana to alleviate their pain and suffering should be allowed to access it safely and legally. They certainly should not be arrested and treated like criminals."
Even with the majority of voters saying it should be legal to possess medical marijuana and even with 18 other states allowing patients with qualifying conditions to use it, legislators in Tallahassee have a history of being total jerks about it.
Two years ago, Clemens proposed a similar bill, only to have it shot down. And the laws for possession in the state are pretty extreme, to say the least.
Mayhap the fact that an overwhelming majority of Floridians say it's cool for patients with specific needs to possess marijuana will get Tallahassee to lighten up and to quit its Gestapo tactics of raiding perfectly innocent people's homes who own marijuana because it helps treat their pain and suffering.
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