United For Care

United for Care is an organization established in Orlando and run by People United for Medical Marijuana to advocate for the legalization of medical marijuana in the state of Florida for the treatment of debilitating medical conditions. The organization was founded by Kim Russell, after her grandmother — ill with glaucoma — would not break the law despite the medical benefits marijuana could provide her.^[1] The organization is currently chaired by Orlando attorney John Morgan, who has held the position since March 2013.

History

In 2013, United for Care crafted an amendment to legalize medical marijuana in Florida for debilitating medical conditions, with the hope of having it included on the 2014 ballot. In order to get on the ballot, United for Care needed to collect 683,149 signatures for a petition. By the middle of January 2014 United for Care had collected over 1.1 million signatures.^[2]

During the next 10 months a bitter fight was waged in Florida over whether or not medical marijuana should be legalized. United for Care, led by John Morgan, raised nearly $7 million, $4 million of which came from Morgan himself.^[3] The opposition group, Drug Free America Foundation, was led by Mel Sembler and raised nearly $7.5 million,^[4] $4 million of which was donated by casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.^[5]

John Morgan’s fierce advocacy for medical marijuana in Florida stems from family members of his that suffer from conditions that could be treated with it. Morgan’s father suffered from cancer and emphysema, and his brother Tim, was partially paralyzed while working as a lifeguard as a teenager when he dove into concrete pylons while trying to rescue a swimmer.

Despite the millions of dollars United for Care was able to raise, and the enthusiasm polls prior to the vote seemed to show, the initiative failed to pass. In order for an amendment to be added to the Florida constitution through a referendum, 60% of voters must approve of the measure. On November 4, 2015 amendment 2 was defeated with 57.62% (2,478,993 million votes) of Floridians voting in favor of legalization, and 42.38% (2,478,993) voting against it.

Endorsements

• Oscar Braynon State Senator
• Corrine Brown U.S. Representative
• Dwight Bullard State Senator
• Paula Dockery Former State Senator
• Joe Garcia U.S. Representative
• Alcee Hastings U.S. Representative
• Tony Hill Former State Senator
• Cynthia Stafford State Representative

References