In May, 2014, U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller from California agreed to hear arguments and examine marijuana’s classification as a Schedule I substance, because there is a great deal of evidence that marijuana has many medical uses. Judge Mueller will decide whether or not the DEA’s classification of marijuana is unconstitutional. The Schedule I classification makes it very difficult for researchers to study the plant’s potential therapeutic uses.
The federal government’s position that marijuana has no medical use is preposterous. Every U.S. commission or federal judge who has studied the evidence has agreed that cannabis is a very safe drug. Considering that the federal government has held a patent on medical marijuana for more than three decades, (Patent No. 6630507) that explains how cannabinoids are neuroprotectants that can treat neurological damage following stroke or trauma, the decision should be easy for Judge Mueller.
The recreational use of marijuana by adults was legal only in Colorado and Washington state prior to the midterm elections, and it is now legal in five U.S. states, including Washington D.C., Alaska, and Oregon. In 2012, Massachusetts made medical marijuana legal, and legalization for recreational use is going to be on the ballot in 2016. In addition, the governor of California has announced that recreational use will be legal in 2016. So what went wrong in Florida? It is long story about an evil demagogue, Melvin Sembler, who convinced a very wealthy hypocrite, Sheldon Adelson, to donate money to a very bad cause.
Nevada-based billionaire Sheldon Adelson made it impossible for Floridians in pain to get medical marijuana without leaving the state. He also made it impossible for sick children with epilepsy to get marijuana oil to control their seizures unless their parents uproot their lives and move to another state. He has donated approximately four million dollars to prevent the medical marijuana amendment from passing in Florida by donating money to Sembler’s nonprofit company, the “Drug Free America Foundation,” which ran propaganda on television to scare many elderly people into voting against the amendment. Adelson was not concerned about the legalization of marijuana in Oregon and Alaska – and that was for recreational use rather than medical use — most likely because he has no interest in building a casino in either of those states, but he would love to build one in South Florida.
Adelson believes in medical cannabis and has his own medical research organization, the “Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Medical Research Foundation,” which produced a study in December showing that medical marijuana has the potential to help those suffering from multiple sclerosis. Adelson has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on marijuana research to get a single breakthrough on multiple sclerosis. Adelson and his wife are major donors to a medical research facility in Tel Aviv, a world leader in medical marijuana studies that supports the use of marijuana to treat a number of diseases. Researchers for the Biology of Addictive Diseases at Tel Aviv University have made advances in studying how marijuana and its associated chemicals can mitigate brain injuries or reduce the symptoms of degenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s.1
Prior to the TV propaganda, the medical marijuana amendment had 88% support but only 58% support on Election Day. In most states, that would be enough to win. Unfortunately, unlike many other states, Florida’s constitution requires 60% in favor to amend its constitution. After the election, Administrative Law Judge W. David Watkins in Tallahassee dismissed Florida’s proposed rules for “Charlotte’s Web” medical marijuana, which means families waiting for the drug to help epileptic children will have to wait a lot longer. Despite the legislation signed by Rick Scott before the election, Judge Watkins ruled that the Florida Department of Health overstepped its power and has to start over and establish new rules.
Adelson did not help to destroy the medical marijuana amendment because he agreed with his buddy, Mel Sembler, but rather, because he desperately wants to become involved in Florida’s lucrative table games market, which is currently controlled only by the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Adelson’s Sands Corporation has lobbied furiously to build its own Vegas-style casino in Florida with no luck. The deal with the Seminoles expires next year, and that means that the Governor of Florida will likely sway the decision. Adelson donated $250,000 towards re-electing Governor Rick Scott in June, 2012, but Rick Scott refuses to admit that Adelson’s contribution to re-elect him was related to his desire to stop gambling expansion in Florida2 if it is controlled by Florida’s Seminole Tribe and competes with his Las Vegas operation. Adelson wanted Rick Scott to win so he could build a big casino in Florida and become even richer than he already is. The suffering of many Florida residents with multiple sclerosis and other debilitating diseases is the collateral damage of his financial agenda.
Adelson is friends with Mel Sembler, a powerful demagogue who attempted to influence the Florida Legislature, trying to destroy legislation in the House that would legalize cannabis oil for children wracked with seizures. Adelson is a very close friend to Mel and Betty Sembler, who run two nonprofit companies called “Save Our Society from Drugs” and “Drug Free America Foundation.” The two groups, which claim they want to save children from marijuana addiction, attacked Amendment 2 with a range of absurd arguments. For example, without citing any studies or data, the “Drug Free America Foundation” claimed that marijuana legalization would not only lead to an increase the number of teenage and adult users of cannabis, doubling or tripling the total number of users, and might even trigger a “zombie apocalypse.”
I strongly suspect that there are more people who are addicted to gambling than the number who are addicted to marijuana. We have support groups called Gamblers Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and Overeaters Anonymous. Have you ever wondered why there is no support group necessary for marijuana addicts? Unlike use of alcohol, cigarettes and heroin, there are no serious side effect from marijuana withdrawal, other than crankiness and insomnia.
The “Drug Free America Foundation” is a legal entity that began in the 1970’s under the name STRAIGHT, Inc. Under the previous brand, the foundation operated as a drug rehab center. In 1983, a U.S. District Court awarded a patient $220,000 in damages for being “held against his will” by STRAIGHT, Inc. After years of negative press, the clinics closed and rebranded into the “Drug Free America Foundation” and its sister nonprofit, “Save Our Society from Drugs”. Sembler’s two nonprofits continue to pump anti-marijuana messages into social media and major newspapers.3 John Gorenfeld reported in the May 2006 issue of Mother Jones that “Hundreds of Straight alums now claim they were scarred for life, among them Samantha Monroe, who was enrolled in 1980…and claims she was starved, raped, and confined in a closet.”4
Straight Inc. staffers were alleged to have abused clients at a number of clinics. After Monroe escaped a Straight Inc. program in Florida at age 13, she says, Straight Inc. staff hog-tied her, brought her back to the facility, and placed her in a “timeout room.” Monroe had no choice but to soil her pants with urine, feces and menstrual blood, a punishment that Straight staffers called ‘humble pants.” A staffer soon began raping her, the Times reported, and she became pregnant at age 14.5
In 1990, the California Department of Social Services ordered Straight Inc.’s Yorba Linda facility to close after investigators said they substantiated several complaints of abuse. According to these complaints, Straight Inc. staff had subjected children in their care to “unusual punishment, infliction of pain, humiliation, intimidation, ridicule, coercion, threats, mental abuse…and interference with daily living functions such as eating, sleeping and toileting.”6 STRAIGHT, Inc. survivors have their own website, survivingstraightinc.com. I read a story of a teenager who was admitted to the program and he tested negative for drug use. Instead of releasing him, they tried to brainwash him. If Sembler were not wealthy and powerful, he would probably be in jail for what he has done. He has traumatized and damaged many young people far more than any drug could.
What happened in Florida shows clearly that billionaires often have the ability to buy election results. I’m sure this does not come as a big surprise to anyone, for politics has been corrupt for years. Many people believe the corruption goes all the way to the Supreme Court. Perhaps marijuana oil will help a sick child that is related to Sheldon Adelson and he will reconsider helping his buddy Sembler block medical marijuana in the future. Perhaps a friend in Israel who suffers from a painful disease will tell Adelson how much relief he received from cannabis cookies and Adelson will change his mind before the 2016 election.
It is imperative that you vote yes for medical marijuana when you see it on the 2016 ballot, not only to reduce the pain and suffering of many sick people, but to save our children from evil demagogues like Mel Sembler, who is a much bigger threat to their well being than a cannabis cookie. Researchers know that marijuana is not good for children because their brains are still forming until at least 21 years old. No parents want their kids using marijuana, because they want them to excel in school and get good jobs when they grow up. However, if a child has terminal cancer and the cookie makes him or her feel better, does it really matter if it lowers the child’s IQ?
References
1Smith, Nancy. (June 16, 2014 3:55 AM) Sunshine State News: Why is Sheldon Adelson Opposing Medical Marijuana? (Retrieved from http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/why-sheldon-adelson-opposing-medical-marijuana.)
2Man, Anthony. (June 11, 2014) Sun Sentinel. Rick Scott avoids question about Sheldon Adelson’s involvement in Florida. (Retrieved from http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2014-06-11/news/sfl-rick-scott-sheldon-adelson-20140611_1_sheldon-adelson-rick-scott-marijuana-effort)
3Fang, Lee. (August 11, 2014.) The Cynical and Weird Hypocrisy of Florida’s Marijuana Opponents. Vice Media, LLC. (Retrieved from (http://www.vice.com/read/the-shocking-and-weird-hypocrisy-of-floridas-marijuana-opponents-811)
4Fang, Lee. (August 11, 2014.) The Cynical and Weird Hypocrisy of Florida’s Marijuana Opponents. Vice Media, LLC. Retrieved from (http://www.vice.com/read/the-shocking-and-weird-hypocrisy-of-floridas-marijuana-opponents-811)
5Fang, Lee. (August 11, 2014.) The Cynical and Weird Hypocrisy of Florida’s Marijuana Opponents. Vice Media, LLC. Retrieved from (http://www.vice.com/read/the-shocking-and-weird-hypocrisy-of-floridas-marijuana-opponents-811)
6Fang, Lee. (August 11, 2014.) The Cynical and Weird Hypocrisy of Florida’s Marijuana Opponents. Vice Media, LLC. Retrieved from (http://www.vice.com/read/the-shocking-and-weird-hypocrisy-of-floridas-marijuana-opponents-811)