From a press release:

Today, United for Care, the largest organization advocating for Amendment 2 on Florida’s November ballot, sent a cease and desist letter to all of the television stations broadcasting the latest ad produced by the No on 2 campaign entitled “It’s Nuts.” In the :30 second spot, multiple speakers take turns laying out untruthful and illegitimate claims designed to discourage Floridians from voting for the amendment, which would only allow for the medical use of marijuana by patients with debilitating diseases and medical conditions.

According to federal law, FCC licensees have a responsibility to prevent false and misleading advertising from being broadcast on their stations. These rules apply to advertising paid for by Political Action Committees such as Drug Free Florida.

“The latest No on 2 advertisement showcases the ‘greatest hits’ of all the falsehoods medical marijuana opponents have perpetuated throughout the campaign,” said Ben Pollara, Campaign Manager at United for Care. “If medical marijuana opponents want to try to scare Floridians and run a completely false advertisement, they will be held accountable.”

“Since the No on 2 campaign refuses to act responsibly, we are hoping that TV broadcasters will,” Pollara added. “By law, television broadcasters have a public obligation to refuse to run demonstrably false advertisements. We strongly believe that No on 2’s most recent ad violates this standard.”

“As the Florida Supreme Court has reaffirmed, Amendment 2 is only for patients with truly debilitating diseases or conditions,” Pollara continued. “Absurdly, the No on 2 campaign pretends to care about our state’s constitution, yet they completely ignore the institution that is responsible for protecting it.”

“Amendment 2 will pass this November because Floridians are far more intelligent than the No on 2 campaign believes,” Pollara added. “Voters will choose compassion over fear-mongering.”

To read a full copy of the cease and desist letter, please click here. Several of the ad’s demonstrably false claims are summarized below:

AD CLAIM

“It’s not about compassion; it just legalizes pot smoking.”

VERDICT: FALSE

Amendment 2 explicitly states: “Nothing in this section authorizes the use of medical marijuana by anyone other than a qualifying patient.” Moreover it states: "Nothing in this section shall affect laws relating to non-medical use, possession, production or sale of marijuana.”



AD CLAIM

“…Not just for serious diseases…”

VERDICT: FALSE

In a ruling handed down on January 27th, 2014, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed that the scope of Amendment 2 was unequivocal: only patients with debilitating diseases and conditions would be allowed to have access to medical marijuana under Amendment 2, including those suffering from cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis and Lou Gehrig’s disease among others.



AD CLAIM

“Kids can legally get it without their parents’ permission.” “No parental control.”

VERDICT: FALSE

As Politifact stated in its May 20, 2014 fact check on this topic, Florida minors would not be able to get a recommendation for medical marijuana from a physician because, “currently, a parent or guardian must provide consent for medical treatment for a minor, except in emergencies or other unusual circumstances, such as when the Department of Children and Family Services must get involved.”

For the entire Politifact article, please click below:

http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2014/may/22/dont-let-florida-go-pot/medical-marijuana-amendment-allows-teenager-get-re/

Blog note: Here's the ad: