Single Parent Advocate Seeks Amendment 2 Approval

Coach Judy

Judy Romanoff, better known among her peers and clients as ‘Coach Judy’, has been called the ‘The Dr. Phil of family court.” Romanoff was the recipient of the National Phoenix award by Parenting Coalition International for her work helping single parents navigate the legal system and deal with family matters.

Unfortunately, Coach Judy has been sidelined from doing live in-person appearances and the volunteer work she loves with Fibromyalgia, a chronically painful and debilitating disorder of the central nervous system.

Fibromyalgia symptoms include everything from widespread physical pain throughout the body to short and long-term memory loss, but Coach Judy hasn’t let that slow her down completely.

“I didn’t let it stop me or have control over me,” Romanoff said. “I continued to be as active as I could be. Only in the last few years of aging and a severe fall have I been restricted greatly from what I love to do, primarily volunteering.

“I’m now having to seek out volunteers to help with my work because of my condition.”

Coach Judy thinks the passage of Amendment 2 and subsequent access to medicinal cannabis for those with chronic pain offers a potentially effective option for her treatment. She said based on past experience doctors should be using any drug that is truly effective.

“In the late 90s I was on a treatment plan that used a form of cocaine, and when I look back all I can think is ‘God, I wish I could get those treatments now so I could be in less pain and have more energy.’

“If marijuana is legalized for medical usage there is an opportunity for me to potentially improve my overall health to some degree if not greatly,” she said. “I would love to regain the energy and mobility I once had.”

One of the biggest concerns voiced by voters including Coach Judy is whether or not insurance companies will be willing to pay for medicinal cannabis in spite of its federal drug classification.

“A lot of people in chronic pain generally do not have a lot of money,” she said. “Yes I’d like Florida to legalize marijuana as a medicine, but if I don’t have the funds to purchase it, I’m left out.”

Another of Romanoff’s concerns includes regulating medicinal cannabis should it be approved, specifically how to prevent children from getting access.

“Kids are already getting it, but if (cannabis) is legalized medically the government can regulate it like alcohol and tobacco,” she said. “A child’s brain develops until their early 20s and (cannabis) can interfere. Like any medication if you take too much you may have a problem with addiction and becoming dependent.”

Coach Judy

In spite of the concerns surrounding access to medicinal cannabis in Florida, Coach Judy says there is strong support for Amendment 2’s passage among the community as well as major potential economic benefits.

“I’ve heard that users are excited about it becoming legal medically and potentially recreationally down the road,” she said. “Pain treatment aside I think (medicinal cannabis) would create significant jobs and opportunities. Revenue would be generated that can help pay for the education and welfare systems, roads in disrepair, schools in bad shape.

“The more money being generated by the state, the more people can be helped.”

For more information or to donate to Coach Judy and her work with single parents, visit www.nationalsingleparent.org. Businesses seeking to contact Coach Judy, please visit www.coachjudy.info.