The Florida Medical Association, a politically influential doctors’ lobby, came out forcefully Monday against a proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize medical marijuana. The announcement came after the FMA’s House of Delegates voted last month to oppose the marijuana proposal, which will appear on the November ballot as Amendment 2. “Providing compassionate care to our patients is something we do every day. We believe the unintended consequences of Amendment 2 are serious and numerous enough for us to believe they constitute a public health risk for Floridians,” FMA President Alan B. Pillersdorf said in a prepared statement. Pillersdorf also said the amendment “does not have the proper regulations in place, approves an unsafe method of drug delivery and puts a substance that has drug abuse potential in the hands of Floridians, if approved in November.” A recent Quinnipiac University poll showed overwhelming support for legalizing medical marijuana, and backers of the amendment say it would help patients who suffer from diseases such as cancer. “People United for Medical Marijuana,” a political committee backing the amendment, reported raising $261,587 from July 19 to July 25. In all, it had raised a total of $3.87 million in contributions and received $1.9 million in loans, though much of that money went to gathering enough petition signatures to get on the ballot.
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