These are challenging times. If you are like me, you are focused squarely on meeting the day-to-day needs in Coronaville. Like Maslow and his hierarchy of needs, wondering where we will get the supplies we need, whether it be medicines, tissue paper, meat, or 190-proof alcohol leaves little time for elections, politics, and lofty thoughts.

The Florida Channel archives what is happening in state government so if you missed the Supreme Court Review of the Make It Legal Florida (MILF) proposed ballot language like I did then you can watch it here.

Our leadership team members meet each Monday morning to stay on track, share news and discuss strategy. This week we had a very disturbing discussion…

Would passing the MILF petition, as written, give Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers in Florida blanket immunity from prosecution or product liability?

The Supreme Court Justices are pretty concerned about this little clause too. First, it is hidden in the text of the proposed Amendment. The voters are given a 75-word summary on their ballot. One of the jobs of the Justices is to protect voters from misleading summaries. One has to wonder if voters will read past the “Make Pot Legal” part and actually care about the details. Florida CAN knows when it comes to legalization, the devil is in the details.

As the Florida Cannabis Action Network (FLCAN or Florida CAN) we have been lobbying for consumer protections. Federal product liability laws have not yet been tested through the courts, as they relate to Cannabis products. If a legal Cannabis company produces a contaminated or adulterated product that hurts people or kills someone, we assume sooner or later a court will say, “you can’t hold a company liable under federal law for an illegal product”.

Several lawsuits have been filed since November 2019 against hemp companies, so the threat of civil liability is real. I can certainly understand the desire of companies selling Cannabis to be exempt from criminal or civil liabilities and sanctions. Product liability insurance costs thousands of dollars each year and it is an established fact that for now at least, everything related to doing Cannabis business costs more.

As a consumer, I like knowing manufacturers can be held accountable. As a Cannabis consumer, I am offended that groups like Surterra and Med Men paid millions to put a blanket immunity for themselves in the Constitution.

No matter how much we might want to legalize Cannabis, the implication of a class of companies that have no civil liability is a bad precedent. For example, we have long argued against the use of pesticides in Cannabis cultivation. The Department of Health allows certain pesticides to be used.

Should science prove the correlation between pesticides and brain damage, an MMTC using pesticides could not be held liable once the Make it Legal Florida proposal becomes part of the Constitution. The very company licensed to produce medicine for sick people could turn around and sell products to adults and patients that could cause harm with impunity.

Rules are written by people who make mistakes. The rulemaking process, much like the lawmaking process, is influenced by companies’ special interests. Clever operators obscure the truth and sometimes people get hurt. Those clever operators may even be criminally liable. Will you vote yes on the first legalization effort in Florida knowing if people die no one could ever be held accountable?

I knew there were a lot of problems with the language in the 2014/2016 Medical Marijuana proposed amendments. Registry cards only made sense in the abstract, not in the practical. Of course, even calling it “marijuana” was a red-flag to those who work in the Cannabis space. Our members knew that the difference between the words “and” and “or” would change the existing Cannabis industry and so much more. I didn’t speak out then. I have to speak out now.

The views in this blog belong to Jodi James, some members of FLCAN may not agree with some or all of its content.