Attorney: Allow smokable pot ruling to stand

Orlando attorney John Morgan called on Gov. Rick Scott to drop the state’s appeal of a ruling in favor of smokable medical marijuana, saying the governor is “playing with political wildfire.”

Leon Circuit Court Judge Karen Gievers ruled Friday that the state’s ban on smokable cannabis is unconstitutional, a decision followed almost immediately by the state Department of Health appealing the case to a district court.

At his law offices Tuesday, Morgan said Scott alone could determine whether the appeal continues. He said the governor should allow patients like his client, Cathy Jordan, who has had ALS since 1986, to take marijuana in the way that works best for them.

“Gov. Scott should say, ‘enough is enough,’ ” said Morgan, a longtime Democratic fundraiser. “This is plain old meanness.”

Morgan said if Scott doesn’t drop the case, he would try to argue for an expedited appeal to the state Supreme Court because of Jordan’s serious illness.

“How much money is the state of Florida going to spend, how many years will go by, and then Cathy Jordan dies and doesn’t get to see what we fought for?” Morgan said.

Scott’s office referred comment to the state Department of Health, as did Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office.

In a statement, the Department of Health said Gievers’ ruling “goes against what the Legislature outlined when they wrote and approved Florida’s law to implement the constitutional amendment that was approved by an overwhelmingly bipartisan majority. The department has appealed the ruling, and the appeal imposes an automatic stay.”

More than 70 percent of voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2016, backed by Morgan and his pro-medical marijuana campaign, allowing Floridians to use medical marijuana. But the Legislature last year passed laws banning the sale of smoking products, citing a health risk.

The laws, signed by Scott in June, say patients can use cannabis through vaping and in food, oils, sprays and in solutions.

Morgan said the amendment’s language and the larger statement of intent “clearly lay out that smokable medical marijuana can be used.”

“The state has argued, believe it or not, that the statement of intent really doesn’t matter because voters don’t read it,” Morgan said. “That’s like saying people who don’t read the paper can’t vote.”

The language states smoking would not be allowed in public, which he said means it would be allowable in private.

Jordan, who Morgan said was risking jail by growing smokable marijuana herself, has said smoking the plant dries her excess saliva, increases her appetite and works as a muscle relaxant.

“She has tried everything,” Morgan said. “Nothing works. She’s not looking to get high, she’s looking to stay alive.”