Slick as a whistle from the midnight train. Cannabis is moving in the legislature and there are CHILDREN EVERYWHERE!!! A “chandelier” of decorated paper children’s hands suspended from the third flood banister quite literally fills the rotunda. It is art. It is also a reminder to lawmakers of their commitment to the children.

In committee, hemp, the plant that is not THE PLANT, similar, with the same latin name, but different, is moving through the process. Will the bills die or move forward? There is no crystal ball and it is too late to write checks.

However, the current market, as it exists today is, as was promised in the “NO on 2” campaign. There are thousands of stores selling cannabis products. We have pet supplies, cosmetics and beauty supplies, gummies and pre-rolled cigarettes on the shelf; all hemp, of course. We have seen a 24-page mailer advertising elder-friendly 5mg CBD gummy bears. “One-a-day” will keep the aches and pains away. At least, if they are legitimate with a pedigree of origin and transit then they are legal, but are they? A strict reading of Florida law would be that all parts of the Cannabis plant are illegal unless it is medicine from at a Medical Marijuana Treatment Center (MMTC).

Some Florida patients have legal flower, freed from the ceramic prison of the vape cartridge. Others have flower still in ceramic prisons. Two Floridians receive 300 pre-rolls from the federal government. A few have, through the courts, secured medical necessity to grow their own. Most of us are just left out of the market, unless we chose to grow hemp as part of the heavily regulated market or the narrow university research program that will be putting seeds in the ground soon.

But, don’t let anyone enjoy themselves. There is no euphoria allowed. This is medicine.This is business. Big money business. It’s Agriculture with a capital “A”.

The least the legislature can do is proceed with compassion in the development of a new consumer market. At best it will require caring about people who have shunned, ignored, ridiculed, laughed at, criminalized, and marginalized.

In the end, if you want to understand the nuances of law, it requires participation and engagement. You have to be there.That is where I stumble. It requires communicating, translating, interpreting, guiding; and enjoying the process helps. It certainly requires giving a portion of your life to the process. It is a blessing that so many leaders from the Florida Cannabis Action Network have taken to the halls.

We have further to go if we want to assure that everyone at the table can enjoy the benefits of cannabis, whether for medicine or frivolity, without fear.