So much crazy news seems to emanate from Florida, that it is great to report about positive developments for the cannabis community coming out of the state. Florida personal injury attorney John Morgan, a longtime financial backer of former Governor Charlie Crist, could be spending his money on a multitude of things, so it is heartening to see him using his resources to helping sick and disabled patients in Florida by raising funds for a 2014 medical marijuana measure in the Sunshine State. Mr. Morgan has already contributed $150,000 to the cause and will likely spend much more as he understands that medical cannabis legislation will benefit many Florida patients. And if a medical marijuana campaign benefits Charlie Crist in his likely 2014 campaign for governor, this time as a Democrat, then so be it.

From the Orlando Sentinel:

Orlando trial lawyer and uber-fundraiser John Morgan said Thursday he will likely spend “a lot of money” financing a ballot initiative to legalize medical marijuana use in Florida. And in another signal that former Gov. Charlie Crist intends to enter the 2014 race, the prominent Democratic donor – and Crist’s employer — declared that Republicans were “sweating all over the Internet” about an expected Crist bid for governor. *** Morgan described to the crowd of lobbyists and politicos how both his father and brother had suffered from cancer and injuries and turned to marijuana to find relief from their pain.

“This service is going to give thousands of people who are sick, hurting and injured, peace at the end of their lives,” Florida attorney John Morgan.

If Charlie Crist is elected governor, with a medical marijuana measure that his employer and prominent fundraiser backs on the ballot, more mainstream politicians will continue supporting medical cannabis laws. It is evident that cannabis law reform measures currently bring out young voters and those young voters are likely to vote Democrat, however this provides some Republicans the opportunity to embrace the issue as well. Republican Dana Rohrbacher has been a staunch supporter of medical marijuana in Congress and Rand Paul will be looking to bring along the libertarian-minded supporters of his father if he runs for president as expected, so the cannabis law reform doesn’t have to be a partisan issue.

It is has been just over a decade since I worked on my first cannabis law reform ballot initiative campaign and it is simply amazing to see the progress we have made across the country. The involvement of mainstream political insiders and fundraisers is just yet another sign of the growing acceptance that cannabis prohibition is a harmful policy. Adding Florida to the ranks of medical cannabis states will be yet another demonstration for the momentum of our cause and will likely have ripple effects across the South and the country.

Source: National Cannabis Coalition – make a donation