The trial lawyer who launched the campaign to expand the use of medical marijuana in Florida has filed suit against the state.
John Morgan, on behalf of the non-profit "Florida For Care," writes in the lawsuit filed Thursday that "inhalation is a medically effective and efficient way to deliver THC to the bloodstream."
He claims legislators violated the intent of voters when they prohibited smoking as a form of using marijuana for medical purposes. The governor signed the provision to the amendment that defines "medical use" to exclude smoking.
The Legislature allowed for edibles and vaping in its provision.
If the Leon County court agrees with Morgan's suit, the Florida Department of Health would have to write the rules for implementing the medical marijuana amendment, which captured 71 percent of the vote in 2016.
Here is a letter sent to Newsradio 1290 WJNO from John Morgan and "Florida For Care."
Friend,
Today, I am filing a lawsuit to overturn the state's ban on smoking medical marijuana, which everyone knows is in direct contradiction to the constitutional amendment we passed.
The ban is unconstitutional, and as promised, we are going to take it to the courts and win.
Getting anything passed through the legislature, as you know, was an accomplishment. Tallahassee politicians often forget who the they are working for.
I know who I am working for: The patients and all of you who have fought with us for years to make sure those patients have access to the medicine they need.
Now, thanks to our collective efforts, most patients will get that access via certain types of marijuana. But it's not enough and not everything the voters passed.
So we start the new fight today in the courts. And we will continue to fight anywhere and any place where the will of the voters is attempting to be side-railed or ignored.
We are unified in this fight and we will bring our cause to a complete and unasterisked victory soon.
Believe,
John Morgan
Photo: Getty Images