opinion

Opinion: Why I voted against medical marijuana ban

Politics and scare tactics are getting in the way of voters' decision on medical marijuana

Our county and cities are making decisions regarding how to implement medical marijuana as we speak. Due to extensive misinformation and moratoriums on opening dispensaries, voters are left to wonder what is going on.

As a member of the Melbourne City Council, it was quite an experience to hear biased opinions from only a few people who influenced policy makers. In a 6-1 vote, with me voting against it, Melbourne will ban medical marijuana dispensaries. Others will follow.

Some elected officials voted for bans because dispensing facilities are cash-only businesses and therefore they claim are more likely subjected to more crime. Others voted because medical marijuana is against federal law and because of a claim it is a “gateway” drug.

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Even a local doctor testified that he would not recommend the use of medical marijuana for PTSD or for any mental health issue. He would, however, prescribe medical marijuana under “end of life situations” and only if they were regulated through pharmacies.

But since medical marijuana cannot be dispensed through pharmacies due to federal law, state officials tried to allow limited dispensaries throughout Florida. Each company is allowed up to 25 locations statewide. So, there would not be more than 500 of these locations statewide.

The nearly 71 percent of the voters who approved and want medical marijuana understand like I do that this is an alternative to what we have now. And as an elected official we work for the people and are supposed to be problem solvers.

Some local officials believe the state’s restriction on local home rule authority has tied our hands to where these dispensaries can go. They are wrong. The state said since medical marijuana is medicine, it can go anywhere other medicines are sold — aka pharmacies. And this is not a reason to simply say no against the will of the people.

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My vast experience has me disagreeing with many of arguments against medical marijuana, such as dispensaries will be everywhere, because the free market will dictate how many are needed. Again, these are highly-regulated entities by the state and only a handful of licenses will be issued. Also, having patrolled our streets for many years as a street crimes patrol officer and drug canine handler, I am not buying that medical marijuana is a gateway drug.

As a teenager I watched my father, a Vietnam veteran, suffer for many months and die from Agent Orange-related cancer. I swore then I would never allow another human being to suffer as he did. I will keep my promise and not allow local politics or scare tactics to cloud the real reason voters overwhelmingly approved this amendment: compassion. I also hope my fellow local elected officials remember we work at the will of the people.

Paul Alfrey represents District 5 on the Melbourne City Council.