ORLANDO, Fla. — Amid a crowd of protesters at Orlando’s Lake Eola on a hot summer afternoon, Republicans who say they’ve never voted for a Democrat swore to vote against Florida’s Republican governor as he runs for the U.S. Senate.
The group was calling for veterans to have better access to medical marijuana, almost two years after voters approved medical marijuana in the Sunshine State.
The protesters pledged to vote against Gov. Rick Scott’s bid for the Senate.
“There’s a base of Republicans that’s fairly large that is very pro-cannabis and are not happy with [Scott],” said Nate Jurewicz of the group Christians for Cannabis.
When two cannabis patients sued the state department of health and won, many expected Gov. Scott to step in after the agency appealed.
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One patient sued because she could only be treated with smokable flower cannabis for her type of cancer, but only the oil form is legal here. The other sued because he wanted to grow cannabis in his own backyard, so he could juice it to treat his type of cancer.
“So the question is, does Rick Scott not want to do it because it’s too risky of a political move? Or are his special interests that does all his campaign financing not allowing him to? I don’t know,” Jurewicz said.
Another protester supports medical marijuana because he says it helps his daughter, who has autism.
“Giving her CBD the first time… it took about 10 to 15 minutes for her to start talking in full sentences. She wasn’t doing that before,” Jeremy Gomez said.
Both men plan to ditch their political party in the upcoming U.S. Senate race.
In a statement after the protest, Gov. Scott’s office said: “Medical marijuana is available to patients across the state. There is even a home delivery option. The Legislature outlined how to implement this law and more than 130,000 patients have access to this treatment by more than a thousand doctors. It’s disingenuous for this political protest to say otherwise.”
Cox Media Group
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