ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida attorney and medical marijuana advocate John Morgan called on Florida's governor to have a special session on medical marijuana.
John Morgan turned to his Facebook page Tuesday afternoon, where he posted a video and spoke candidly to his supporters and lawmakers. Morgan was the driving force behind the constitutional amendment passed in the 2016 election, allowing medical marijuana in the state of Florida. The measure passed with 71 percent of the vote.
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"With that, as I said all along, it was sent to the Florida legislature to implement the rules and the laws concerning medical marijuana," Morgan said in the Facebook video. However, no action was taken on medical marijuana during this session. That's something Morgan wants to change.
"Today I want to speak to Rick Scott. We're in different political parties, but I consider him a friend and a person who puts the interest of Florida first and foremost. So I'm calling on Governor Scott to have a special session. All you need is a few more minutes to get this thing done. President Negron is for it, I'm sure Corcoran would come back. It's their obligation, it's their duty to implement. Not to send it to some bureaucrats at the Department of Health," Morgan said.
In the video, Morgan blamed the lack of movement on the issue on lobbyists and lawmakers.
"They could not agree on the caps of dispensaries," Morgan said.
Senate President Joe Negron told reporters in Tallahassee he is open to the idea of a special session to work on passing a bill. "I do think the Legislature has a responsibility to be involved in that implementation so I think that's an option we'll look at," Negron said Tuesday.
The constitutional amendment allows doctors to order marijuana as a treatment for patients with cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, post-traumatic stress disorder, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Crohn's disease, Parkinson's disease or multiple sclerosis. Doctors also have the power to order marijuana for "other debilitating medical conditions of the same kind or class as or comparable to those enumerated, and for which a physician believes that the medical use of marijuana would likely outweigh the potential health risks for a patient."
"Let's take a few deep breaths and go forward for Florida. There are some really sick people out there, you have no idea. I've met them. I've heard from them. I've called them. They've called me. They've thanked me. Let's get this done," Morgan implored.