The Florida Medical Marijuana Legalization Initiative, also known as Amendment 2, is on the ballot for November 8th in Florida. A vote yes would mean that people with chronic illnesses and diseases would be able to obtain medical grade cannabis from a licensed doctor. A vote no would mean that people who have these debilitating and painful conditions would not be given the opportunity to use cannabis for its medical proprieties. This initiative was enacted by the citizens of Florida, with the idea of people who suffer from conditions like cancer, epilepsy, PTSD, ALS, Parkinson's and glaucoma, could use cannabis for its medical worth. Back in 2014, United for Care attempted to have the amendment passed but when Election Day came, it was outvoted with a no. In Florida, constitutional amendments need a 60% majority vote to be passed, in 2014 57% of voters were in favor but a mere 3% kept the initiative from being passed. This is the second time the amendment is on the ballot in Florida, and there is a massive chance of it being voted in favor of well over 60%, but that will only happen if people actually go vote. Yes on 2, is currently the biggest support group for the legalization of medical marijuana, the supporters include Democratic Party, Senators, Planned Parenthood, the NAACP, and countless support from the media. The Tallahassee Democrat, The Palm Beach Post, and the Miami Herald are just a handful of newspapers that are in favor of the ballot. But the opposition from committees has been just as strong as the support. The Drug Free Florida committee has spent millions of dollars to create those Vote No on 2 commercials saying that children will be exposed to extreme pot candies and that here will be thousands of unregulated head shops all over the state. It’s our job as citizens for the Amendment to vote yes and make this change that so many of us want and need. How many of us have loved ones who suffer from debilitating conditions like rheumatoid arthritis or even a mental condition like cerebral palsy. There is no denying that cannabis has medical properties. THC is the component in marijuana that actually gets you high, but there are ways of producing strains that have little to no THC levels at all and very high CBD levels. CBD is the component that has been tested and proven for medical use. CBD does not affect your CB1 receptors in your brain which cause the high when they interact with THC, which makes CBD totally non-psychoactive. As reported by medical studies and journals for years, CBD has many medical benefits, it reduces nausea, suppresses the severity of seizures, helps with psychotic disorders like schizophrenia, is an antioxidant which means it helps prevent neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's, combats cancer cell production and is an anti-depressant. But CBD is still classified as a Schedule 1 drug in the U.S.

There is a possibility of having a product that can help with pain without all of the risks like prescription pain killers have. Florida is a leading state in the trafficking and addiction of pain killers. So much so that people who truly need them are unable to get them because of the strict regulations on them now. Providing those same people with a new, less risky drug seems like an amazing option, but now it’s up to us as voters to really go out there and make a change that will benefit the lives so many people.