Politics

Jeb Bush "Strongly Urges" Floridians to Vote Against Medical Marijuana

No one really asked Jeb Bush, but it isn't much of a surprise he's not down with medical marijuana.

The former governor, along with the Florida Chamber, the Associated Builders and Contractors of Florida and the Florida Trucking Association, is the latest to join the anti-medical marijuana push.

"Florida leaders and citizens have worked for years to make the Sunshine State a world-class location to start or run a business, a family-friendly destination for tourism and a desirable place to raise a family or retire," Bush said in a released statement. "Allowing large-scale, marijuana operations to take root across Florida, under the guise of using it for medicinal purposes, runs counter to all of these efforts. I believe it is the right of states to decide this issue, and I strongly urge Floridians to vote against Amendment 2 this November."

Granted, 23 states have already legalized medical marijuana. You'd think Bush would cite some evidence coming from those states as to how they've negatively affected business, tourism, raising families and retirements in places like Maine and Minnesota.

Medical marijuana is nothing new in other parts of the country. It's time its detractors use actual facts to defend their position instead of vague concerns about fantasy problems.

Meanwhile, according to the latest polls, 88 percent of Floridians support medical marijuana.

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Kyle Munzenrieder

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