Research suggests that most polls show strong support for Amendment 2 and Florida's legalization of medical marijuana.

In Tallahassee, some of the state's most powerful lobbyists are already mobilizing to help craft rules about where, when and how pot can be smoked.

Medical marijuana is still illegal in the sunshine state. But give it five months, and pot could be a government-sanctioned painkiller.

All it'll take is voters approving Amendment 2.

Lobbyist Jeff Sharkey, along with his partner Taylor Biehl, are so confident Amendment 2 will pass, they've become the Capitol's leading players in the business of marijuana regulation.

They're already putting the pressure on lawmakers to make sure if, and when, a limited number of licenses to run medical marijuana shops are doled out, their clients will get first dibs.



"There's this belief that this is a gold mine. At the end of the day, I don't believe that's going to be the case. It's certainly going to be much like any other medicinal pharmaceutical, as it were, and I think it's going to be managed very carefully, and this is the first step as the industry grows in Florida," said Jeff Sharkey, medical marijuana lobbyist.



At the Capitol, Sharkey's not just a lobbyist -- he also runs the Capitol Cafeteria, a lucrative venture in a building where food can be hard to come by.

And medical marijuana, well, that could be lucrative, too.

Especially when you have the inside edge with the very politicians who could be drafting the rules.



But Sharkey says his main goal is far from just turning a profit; he wants to make sure medical marijuana doesn't get abused. That people who aren't "truly sick" don't get access to it.

That's why he predicts even Amendment 2's opponents, like Governor Rick Scott, will want to come up with at least a few rules, even before election day.



"I've watched families deal with alcoholism, with illegal drug use, and so, I personally will be voting against it," said Governor Scott.



It's a vote that has yet to take place, but one that could change the state forever, and literally overnight.

The issue is two-sided. It's either about keeping marijuana out of the hands of people who don't need it, or putting it into the hands of people who do.

What could be the future is already taking shape.

State policymakers are holding a workshop next month on how to implement the so-called "Charlotte's Web" legislation Governor Scott just signed.



That will let doctors prescribe a low potency form of medical marijuana to children suffering from life-threatening seizures.

