Grady Judd Misinforms Floridians on Amendment 2

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd has made a career of going after the porn industry. Judd has spent his career using his office to be a conservative culture warrior. It is no surprise that that Judd told WFSU that he is against Amendment 2.

“Amendment Two is about legalization of marijuana,” Judd says. “This is not about the medical use of marijuana, it’s about legalization of marijuana. And this amendment is in fact is a wolf in sheeps’ clothing.”

Wrong. There is nothing in the language of Amendment that would make the sale of recreational marijuana legal. The ballot language of Amendment 2.

Allows the medical use of marijuana for individuals with debilitating diseases as determined by a licensed Florida physician. Allows caregivers to assist patients’ medical use of marijuana. The Department of Health shall register and regulate centers that produce and distribute marijuana for medical purposes and shall issue identification cards to patients and caregivers. Applies only to Florida law. Does not authorize violations of federal law or any non-medical use, possession or production of marijuana.

Attorney John Morgan has been the major backer of Amendment 2. At a debate, Morgan pointed out the lack of logic in the fear mongering of medical marijuana.

“The word slippery slope is a scare tactic," Morgan said. "If we were about slippery slopes and kids getting their hands on them, we’d have to outlaw booze, guns and cars."

You can bet Judd isn't about to advocate for guns to be illegal.

I have no doubt that there are people who back Amendment that whom would love to see recreational marijuana legal in Florida. However, that is not the purpose of Amendment 2. Oxycontin is highly addictive and has had overdose deaths. A report from the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition found more people have died from prescribed opioids than from heroin or cocaine.

The McGill team reviewed existing research, and found that the spike in opioid-related deaths cannot be attributed to one single cause. In fact, there are at least 17 different contributing factors, they say, in particular the increase in prescriptions and sales of opioids, the increased use of strong, long-lasting drugs such as OxyContin and methadone, and the mixing of opioids with other drugs or alcohol.

The team found “little evidence” that online drug sales, or errors by patients or doctors, are significant contributors to the spike in opioid deaths.

Researchers must develop strategies to bring down overdose death rates, not just in North America, the study notes, but for future use as prescription medications become more prevalent in developing countries.

The amount of overdoses from medical marijuana is zero.