Critics of Florida’s marijuana legalization efforts are claiming pot cookies will be the new face of “date rape” according to a new advertisement that criticizes the medial marijuana amendment that will be voted upon in the Sunshine state during the 2014 mid-term elections.
In a related report by The Inquisitr , the critics of the Florida marijuana legalization amendment have been stepping up their attacks in recent months. Calvina Fay , executive director of the Drug Free America Foundation, claims marijuana legalization in Colorado caused “an increase in car crashes, DUIs, and fatal slip-and-fall accidents.” Nora Volkow is the head of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and she claims that marijuana legalization could be more dangerous than already legal tobacco and alcohol . Even the legislation implementation is drawing fire since the state will only allow five dispensaries to be chosen at random and the rules seem to prevent small marijuana businesses from ever starting.
Critics of marijuana legalization reject the idea that there is any difference between recreational marijuana and medical marijuana, which is what Amendment 2 intends on introducing. the new law will be limited to individuals with debilitating diseases as determined by a licensed Florida physician. According to a recent Quinnipiac University poll, 88 percent of Florida voters back legalized medical marijuana, so advertising campaigns are hoping to persuade voters that marijuana legalization is actually a bad idea.
The one anti-marijuana ad that has drawn the most ire is one created by the group “No On Amendment 2,” which conveys the message that marijuana cookies can be used to commit date rape:
Critics say this ad is very misleading since date rape drugs usually refer to ketamines, rohypnol, or even an abundance of alcoholic drinks. Although some say there is evidence that smoking weed can impair judgment or even lower the IQ of an individual, there is not any study or report suggesting that marijuana can be used to commit date rape.
Florida State Senator Jeff Clemens, who is in support of medical marijuana legalization, was appalled by the ad:
“I absolutely thought it was fake. I thought it was a joke. I think any woman should find that offensive to somehow suggest that if you use medical marijuana to deal with a health issue that you’re trying to deal with that somehow that’s going to make you more susceptible to rape. It’s really beyond the pale.”
The group “No On Amendment 2” responded to the controversy by claiming that today’s medical marijuana legalization is “not your daddy’s pot brownie from the 60s, 70s and 80s. Amendment 2 allows for marijuana products and the idea of a pot cookie with this high level THC being abused is scary and dangerous.” What do you think?