“Your Vote Doesn’t Matter”: Despite Majority Voting for Medical Pot, FL Lawmakers Ban Dispensaries

The majority of voters in Florida supported legalizing medical marijuana—but now the cities with the most support for the measure are banning dispensaries.

Not only are medical marijuana dispensaries being prohibited in cities where the overwhelming majority of residents supported their existence, but the excuses lawmakers are giving for the bans are questionable at best.

“Some cities say they are concerned because dispensaries are a cash-only business, and there is a great potential for pot shops to be targeted by thieves,” the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board wrote. “If that’s the case, then they should probably ban all ATMs. Last we saw, ATMs were cash-only.”

The reason given for the possibility of a ban in Boca Raton was that residents could simply go to the dispensaries in neighboring cities such as Boynton Beach and Lake Worth. However, the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board questioned why, when Boca Raton residents approved the measure by a 3-1 margin, their city wouldn’t give them what they voted for. “Public officials very rarely get approved by a 3-1 margin, but medical marijuana did,” the board noted.

“These cities are hurting their own citizens and their own economy,” Orlando attorney John Morgan told the Sun Sentinel. “It’s the arrogance of politicians, and it’s why they are universally despised at the local, state and national level. Those [politicians] are placing themselves at risk in the next election. If I was running against those people, I would use that [attempt to ban dispensaries] as a rallying cry.”

The new trend of banning medical marijuana dispensaries is just another example of the ways lawmakers in Florida have pushed for cracking down on the plant. In fact, they have tighter restrictions than most states on who qualifies for medical marijuana.

Justin Strekal, political director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws told Sarasota Magazine that he believes Florida lawmakers just “wanted to pat themselves on the back” over how restrictive they could be.

“Florida is near the bottom of giving people what they actually voted for,” Strekal said.

While other lawmakers reportedly pushed for bans on medical marijuana dispensaries based on the fact that they were concerned individuals would abuse the law in order to obtain marijuana for recreational purposes, the fact is that this already occurs on a regular basis.

If the failed War on Drugs has taught us anything, it is that if people want marijuana for recreational use, they will find it, no matter what the law says. At the very least, cities in Florida can choose to honor the wishes of the majority of their residents by allowing the plant to be used for medicinal purposes. Otherwise, they might as well be holding up a large sign that says, “Your vote doesn’t matter.”

Source: http://thefreethoughtproject.com/florida-lawmakers-ban-dispensaries/