Judge Weighs Ban On Patients Smoking Pot
May 17, 2018
Cathy Jordan credits pot with helping her defeat the odds in the battle against Lou Gehrig’s disease she’s waged for more than 30 years.
And although she can now legally obtain the cannabis treatment she’s relied on for decades, Jordan is prohibited from what she and her doctors swear is the best way for her to consume her medicine — smoking joints.
Jordan is among the plaintiffs challenging a state law that bans smoking pot as a route of administration for the hundreds of thousands of patients who are eligible for medical marijuana treatment in Florida.
With her husband, Bob, serving as her interpreter during a trial Wednesday, Jordan told Leon County Circuit Judge Karen Gievers and a packed courtroom that she started smoking pot a few years after she was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, in 1986.
“My doctors are really not concerned with the risk because I’m still alive. In ‘86, I was given three to five years to live. And I’m still here,” Jordan, draped in a pink shawl, testified.
Wednesday’s hearing came more than 18 months after voters overwhelmingly approved the constitutional amendment that broadly legalized marijuana for patients with debilitating medical conditions like Jordan.
Lawmakers last year enacted the prohibition on joints — derided as “no smoke is a joke” by critics — largely to protect the public from the ill effects of smoking, lawyers for the state argued.
Senior Assistant Attorney General Karen Brodeen said “smoking should never be a route of administration for any medicinal product.”
“Smoking is a crude delivery system that delivers harmful substances. It is associated with various respiratory symptoms. It contains many of the same toxins as does tobacco smoke,” she said.
But Jordan said none of the dozens of doctors she’s seen over more than 30 years have ever told her to stop smoking marijuana. In fact, her current neurologist advised her to do just the opposite.
“They’re actually more interested in how healthy I am after having ALS for so long,” said Jordan.
The prohibition on smoking was included in a state law aimed at implementing the 2016 constitutional amendment, but John Morgan, the Orlando trial lawyer who largely bankrolled what was known as Amendment 2 and initiated the lawsuit, is among those who maintain that the smoking ban runs afoul of the Constitution. Gievers did not rule on the challenge Wednesday.
“The amendment itself says smoking is not allowed in public places. I don’t think you need to be too much of a legal scholar to understand that means it is allowed in other places,” Morgan told reporters before the hearing began.
Morgan and the other lawyers representing the plaintiffs also used a “slippery slope” argument, saying lawmakers and health officials could have banned a variety of other routes of administration.
“Look, if the Legislature wanted to, they could have banned edibles, which they tried to do. They could have banned oils, which they tried to do. They could have banned smoke and they could have said, ‘Listen, we’re just going to let it be done by suppository.’ What stops that?” Morgan said.
During arguments Wednesday, Jon Mills, a former House speaker and former dean of the University of Florida law school who was one of the chief authors of Amendment 2, told Gievers the law passed last year is in “irreconcilable conflict” with the Constitution.
Mills also pointed to the Legislature’s outlawing of smoking marijuana as evidence that the Constitution permits it.
“Why would you act to exclude smoking if smoking wasn’t authorized?” he asked.
Lawyers for the state, however, argue that the amendment does not expressly allow smoking and gives Florida officials broad authority to “regulate health, safety and welfare” of the public.
“It’s not anything goes,” Senior Deputy Solicitor General Rachel Nordby said.
But other routes of administration are problematic for Jordan, who grows her own marijuana.
Vaping makes her gag. Edibles give her stomach cramps. Smoking gives Jordan “dry mouth,” which offsets the excessive drooling caused by ALS, she said. And it relaxes her muscles, increases her appetite and helps combat depression, said the diminutive Jordan, who frequently breaks out in an infectious smile.
“It just makes my life a lot more bearable,” she said.
But Nordby told the judge that several provisions in the amendment highlight that “the state has a role in setting parameters” for marijuana use, including the ban on smoking.
“It is not whatever the doctor says. It is not anything goes,” she said.
The plaintiffs, in contrast, insist that the Constitution allows smokable marijuana in a variety of ways, including how marijuana is defined.
The constitutional amendment relied on a 2014 definition of marijuana in Florida criminal law, which includes “all parts of any plant of the genus Cannabis, whether growing or not.” That includes whole-flower marijuana, which is used for smoking, the plaintiffs contend.
The plaintiffs are also relying on an “analysis of intent” of the amendment, published prior to the November election and disseminated broadly to the media and the public, to bolster their argument that smokable pot always was part of the plan.
Ben Pollara, who was the campaign manager for Amendment 2 and is president of Florida for Care, a non-profit organization advocating for patients and the medical marijuana industry, testified Wednesday that the public was fully aware that the proposal would have legalized smoking of medical marijuana.
“It was just assumed by most, if not all, that when we were talking about marijuana, we were talking about the green, leafy stuff that you smoke,” Pollara, one of the authors of the analysis, said.
Speaking to reporters after Wednesday’s hearing, Morgan called Cathy Jordan a “Florida hero” and urged the state to back down.
“Enough is enough. Let’s stop the politics. Let’s let these people live their final years with dignity,” he said.
In a separate marijuana-related lawsuit, Gievers telegraphed how she is likely to rule in the smokable pot case. Gievers last month gave the go-ahead to Tampa strip-club owner Joe Redner to grow his own marijuana for use in juicing. The 77-year-old Redner’s doctors ordered the juicing treatment to keep his lung cancer in remission.
“Nothing in the amendment authorizes the Department of Health (or any other part of Florida’s government) to ignore the rights of qualifying patients to access the medical marijuana treatment to which they are entitled under the Florida Constitution, or to exclude any method by which qualifying patients may take their medicine,” Gievers wrote in a 22-page order, in which she also scolded health officials for being “non-compliant” with the Florida constitutional requirements.
The state has appealed Gievers’ decision in the Redner lawsuit, and Redner has asked the Florida Supreme Court to weigh in on the case.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
ECSO: Cantonment Man Charged After Pulling Gun
May 17, 2018
A Cantonment man was arrested after allegedly pulling a gun at a local VFW post.
Larry Wayne Goodwin, 65, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Goodwin got into an argument with his wife at the VFW on Lillian Highway, according to an arrest report. While across the room from his wife and her friend, he pulled out what the friend “observed to be” a handgun before putting it back in his pocket. The friend said he then pointed at her with his hand, making gesture as if he was pulling a trigger to shoot her.
He was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $10,000 bond.
Atmore Woman Killed In Highway 31 Accident
May 16, 2018
A two vehicle accident Tuesday afternoon claimed the life of an Atmore woman.
Alabama State Troopers said 25-year old Tracie Shenaye Young was killed when her 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt collided with a 2004 GMC Envoy driven by Carolyn Jean Bartley of Bay Minette. The accident occurred about 5 p.m. on Highway 31 near West Road.
Young was pronounced deceased at the scene, according to state troopers. She was not wearing a seat belt.
Bartley was transported to Atmore Community Hospital. Her condition was not available.
The accident remains under investigation by Alabama State Troopers.
ECSO: Century Man Arrested With Ecstasy, Marijuana And Cocaine
May 16, 2018
A Century man was arrested on multiple drug charges after a Pensacola traffic stop.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office stopped Ladarrious Lett’s vehicle on Pensacola Boulevard at I-10 due to a seat belt violation. The officer reported smelling marijuana coming from the vehicle during the traffic stop.
After Lett was placed into custody, a search revealed marijuana, spice, Ecstasy pills, cocaine and $3,208 in cash on his person, according to an arrest report, along with a partially smoked marijuana blunt. The cash and drugs we’re seized.
Lett was charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance, possession of cocaine, and possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute.
Lett was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $2,000 bond.
Escambia Charter School Closing
May 16, 2018
Escambia Charter School in Gonzalez is closing after 22 years.
“Over the last six years, student enrollment has been low and it has been a struggle financially for the school. Due to this continued low enrollment, it is not fiscally responsible to keep the school open,” the school said in a press release.
Escambia Charter was designed for high school students who have excessive referrals or have a case for expulsion. The program provided high school students the opportunity to complete their academic work and receive counseling services as well as other interventions, according to the Escambia County School District.
The school district will assist in the placement of current students.
“Escambia Charter School will be missed not only by the students and parents, but by the faculty and stakeholders that have worked so hard to educate the students that have come through the doors. It has not always been easy, but it was always worth it,” the school news release said.
The graduation for the 2017-2018 school year will be held on May 22 in the University of West Florida’s Conference Center, Building 22.
Taxwatch: Property Taxes Could Rise $700 Million In Voters Reject Amendment
May 16, 2018
Florida TaxWatch released a study Tuesday projecting property taxes could increase by more than $700 million on non-homestead properties like businesses, apartments and second homes. According to the group, the increase would happen if voters reject a proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot.
Known as Amendment 2, the proposal would extend a current 10 percent cap on annual increases in assessed values of non-homestead properties, a cap that voters approved in 2008.
TaxWatch Vice President Kurt Wenner said many Floridians are not aware of how much taxes could go up if the cap is lifted. “If Amendment 2 fails to pass, it doesn’t mean that the cap is just no longer going to be in effect going forward,” Wenner said during a media event at the Florida Press Center.
“It means that all of this property will suddenly be assessed at full value. This can be quite a big sticker shock when some people get their tax bills.” Wenner said he expects potential tax increases would be passed along to renters and business customers, making the issue important whether someone owns property or not.
Supporters of the amendment say it is currently polling at just under 60 percent, which is the threshold for amendments to pass.
The Legislature in 2017 decided to put Amendment 2 on this year’s ballot. Senator Tom Lee, a Thonotosassa Republican who sponsored the proposal in 2017, estimated at the time that failure to extend the cap would effectively lead to a $688 million tax increase. In all, the November ballot will include 13 proposed constitutional amendments.
Florida Sues Drug Manufacturers, Distributors
May 16, 2018
Declaring that she “wasn’t scared to take them on,” Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi filed a civil suit Tuesday accusing five of the nation’s largest opioid manufacturers and four distributors of causing the opioid crisis that is killing an average 15 Floridians daily.
“We are very proud because we have just filed one of the most comprehensive lawsuits in the country on behalf of the state of Florida regarding the opioid crisis,” Bondi, standing in the lunchroom of a recovery center in Tampa, said.
Bondi, who is seeking to recover “all measure of damages allowable,” predicted a settlement with the defendants could be in the “billions.”
Five other states on Tuesday also filed lawsuits against drug maker Purdue Pharma, but Bondi called Florida’s challenge “one of the most comprehensive suits in the country.”
The lawsuit alleges that manufacturers Purdue; Endo Pharmaceuticals; Janssen Pharmaceuticals; Cephalon, Inc.; and Allergan plc — and their related companies — and distributors AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation; McKesson Corporation; Cardinal Health, Inc.; and Mallinckrod LLC violated the state’s unfair and deceptive practices laws and Florida’s criminal racketeering laws.
The manufacturers “promoted misrepresentations about the use of opioids to physicians, other prescribers, and consumers that were designed to increase opioid prescriptions and opioid use,” the 54-page complaint, filed in Pasco County, reads.
The lawsuit also accuses the manufacturing companies of using “front organizations” to promote opioids and of paying alleged medical experts, called “key opinion leaders,” to publish articles that promoted the use of opioids to treat pain but omitted information regarding the risks.
Other alleged misconduct includes misleading veterans about the dangers of mixing opioids with benzodiazepine, a drug commonly prescribed for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Distributors are accused of filling suspicious orders and failing to properly assess customers before filling the orders, among other things.
“These dangerous acts and practices have devastating consequences as you all know,” Bondi said. “It’s time the defendants paid for the pain and the destruction they have caused.”
As the opioid crisis has worsened, hundreds of local governments around the country have already sued drug manufacturers.
After trying to work out a settlement, a federal judge in Ohio last month announced plans to move ahead with three trials in 2019.
Bondi, noting that Florida is the third largest state, said she wanted to pursue separate litigation.
A bevy of law enforcement officials, as well as Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, House Speaker Richard Corcoran, among others, joined Bondi for Tuesday’s announcement regarding the legal action.
Putnam, the leading Republican gubernatorial candidate, said he supports the lawsuit and credited Bondi’s efforts to eradicate prescription drug abuse.
Putnam said he has discovered “a sad recurring theme” in his travels around the state.
“In every community, they’ve had to add staff to the medical examiner’s office and add space to the morgue. That’s how serious the opioid crisis is,” he said, adding that proceeds from the lawsuit can be used to help fund treatment.
But state Rep. Sean Shaw criticized Bondi, who has served for attorney general for eight years, for waiting too long to challenge the drug makers and distributers.
Shaw, a Tampa Democrat who is running to succeed Bondi as attorney general, called the lawsuit “too little too late for the families in our state who have been devastated by a preventable epidemic had action been take years ago before we reached this tipping point.”
In 2016, heroin caused 952 deaths in Florida, fentanyl caused 1,390 deaths, oxycodone caused 723 deaths, and hydrocodone caused 245 deaths, according to a legislative staff analysis of a measure aimed at combatting opioid addiction. More than 4,000 babies were born addicted to opioids in Florida in 2016, an increase of over 1,000 percent from a decade ago, according to the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Those statistics led Gov. Rick Scott last year to declare a public health emergency due to opioids.
Earlier this year, lawmakers passed a bill that, among other things, places limits on prescriptions that doctors can write for treatment of acute pain. Doctors in many cases are limited to writing prescriptions for three-day supplies, though they can prescribe up to seven-day supplies of controlled substances if “medically necessary.” Cancer patients, people who are terminally ill, palliative care patients and those who suffer from major trauma are exempt from the limits.
In the complaint filed Tuesday, Bondi enlisted assistance from five different law firms, including two Panhandle firms — Santa Rosa Beach-based Drake Martin Law Firm and Panama City-based Harrison, Rivard, Duncan & Buzzett — she worked with on a lawsuit filed in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The litigation resulted in a $2 billion settlement.
by Kristine Sexton, The News Service of Florida. Image courtesy The Florida Channel.
Results: Escambia Schools Battle Of The Books
May 16, 2018
Battle of the Books is an annual competition that challenges students to read a set of books designated as Sunshine State Readers for grades 3-8 or Florida Teen Reads for grades 9-12.
Teams are formed at each grade level to compete and see who remembers the most facts, or who can make the best comparisons and connections between the books. Team members have been reading these books all year and they have been quizzing each other and practicing for the battle for months. They must work together and quickly to get all of the questions answered within a 12 minute time limit. This year, 95 teams, comprised of 429 students from K-12 schools in Escambia County, competed in the Battle.
Winnders were:
Third Grade:
- Beulah Elementary School
- Bellview Elementary School
- Oakcrest Elementary School
Fourth Grade:
- Pleasant Grove Elementary School
- Lipscomb Elementary School
- Hellen Caro Elementary School
Fifth Grade:
- Pleasant Grove Elementary School
- Beulah Elementary School
- Ferry Pass & Hellen Caro Elementary schools (tie)
Middle School:
- Brown Barge Middle School (Team A)
- Brown Barge Middle School (Team C)
- Bailey Middle School (Team A)
High School:
- Booker T. Washington High School
- Tate High School (Team A)
- Escambia High School (Team A)
Bond Denied For Man Charged With DUI Death Of Sisters
May 16, 2018
Tuesday afternoon, a judge ordered a man accused of two counts of DUI manslaughter held without bond as he awaits trial for the death of two girls in Pace.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 35-year old Kailen Kelly of Pace, was traveling at a high rate of speed when he crossed into another lane on Woodbine Road and slammed his 2008 Ford pickup head-on into a 2010 Buick driven by 39-year old Melanie Harrell of Pace. . Stormie P. Harrell, 7, and Michaela D. Sidney, 17, were killed. Melanie Harrell and 18-year old McKenzie Murphy were hospitalized but have been released.
Kelly will remain in jail until his trial begins in July.
Testimony Tuesday morning indicted Kelly’s license was suspended until April 2018 — reinstated just days before the crash — after he refused to submit to a DUI test in Okaloosa County in 2017. His past includes threatening a person with a firearm and discharging a firearm in Escambia County and two prior DUI convictions.
He had a blood alcohol level of .149, had marijuana in his system and refused a breath test after the double fatal crash May 6, according to testimony. He showed no remorse, and a 12 pack of beer was found in his truck.
Kelly is facing charges of two counts of DUI-vehicular manslaughter, DUI with serious bodily injury to another, refusing to submit to a DUI test after license suspension, reckless driving, fleeing/eluding police and other traffic offenses.
Pictured top: Kelly’s vehicle following a double fatal crash. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Pace Gets Regional Semifinal Win Over The Tate Aggies
May 16, 2018
The Pace Patriots defeated the Tate Aggies in the 7A regional semifinal Tuesday night in Pace.
Tate held a 4-1 run lead at the end of the first. Pace added five for the lead in the sixth, with Tate answering with two to tie it in the top of the seventh.
Raymond Lafleur hit a home run in top of the first with a line drive to right field, scoring Michael Potts for a 4-0 Aggie lead. Ryan Greene homered on a line drive to right field in the top of the seventh, scoring Darrien McDowell to tie it up 6-6.
The Patriots advance to the regional final on May 22.