Medical marijuana the hot topic at Tiger Bay

At a Tiger Bay Club event Wednesday, Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight and Tampa attorney John Morgan sparred over the merits of legalizing marijuana in Florida for medical use.

In front of a sold-out audience of 400 at the lunchtime event at Michael’s On East, Senior Circuit Court Judge Nancy Donnellan moderated the debate between Knight and Morgan over a proposed Florida ballot initiative, which would legalize doctor-prescribed marijuana for chronic conditions such as pain and anxiety.

Knight, a Republican, opposed the move, citing its potentially negative effects, including easier access to the drug for children, increased crime rates and decreased property values.

"It's not a moral or political argument,” Knight said. "I believe if this amendment passes there will be negative consequences."

Knight referred to the 38% drop in Sarasota County's crime rate since he took office in 2009, saying, "I'm not willing to risk that."

Morgan is pushing for the ballot initiative. He is a founder of the Morgan and Morgan law firm, which employs 260 attorneys out of 1,800 staffers in Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Kentucky and Manhattan, N.Y., and he is an adviser to former Republican Gov. Charlie Crist's campaign to take back the state's top office as a Democrat.

Morgan referenced personal reasons for supporting the legalization movement, explaining how marijuana helped relieve his dying father's suffering during cancer treatments.

"I'm for it because it works; medical science has proven that," Morgan said. "I've seen it work for a lot of people, a lot of really sick people."

Both sides agreed they did not want to see a repeat of the amendments passed in Washington state and Colorado, where marijuana is legal for recreational use, or California, where medical marijuana is legal.

"We don't want to be California or Colorado," Morgan said, defending the regulatory safeguards built into the proposed ballot measure. "But talking about dispensaries on every corner like food trucks is a folly. Try and get a permit to get a wall built in downtown Sarasota — good luck."

Contact Nolan Peterson at [email protected]