{"id":6369,"date":"2018-02-12T23:50:41","date_gmt":"2018-02-13T04:50:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lcpllutzlivetotell.org\/?p=6369"},"modified":"2019-08-08T12:41:42","modified_gmt":"2019-08-08T16:41:42","slug":"gaetz-hosts-medical-marijuana-discussion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/?p=6369","title":{"rendered":"Gaetz hosts medical marijuana discussion"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 class=\"headline\">Gaetz hosts medical marijuana discussion<\/h2>\n<p>By\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:jmckeon@nwfdailynews.com\">JENNIE McKEON<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"article-meta-date\">Posted Feb\u00a012,\u00a02018\u00a0at\u00a04:47\u00a0PM <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"article-meta-updated\">Updated Feb\u00a012,\u00a02018\u00a0at\u00a05:06\u00a0PM<\/span><\/p>\n<section class=\"article-v2-left\">\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div id=\"lazyad-1802195711\" class=\"ad ad-300x250\" data-gh-lazy-ad-loaded=\"true\" data-gh-lazy-ad-bucket-targeting=\"{&quot;keyword&quot;:&quot;News,Carousel \/ Featured,Top Stories,Matt Gaetz,medical marijuana&quot;,&quot;ad-type&quot;:&quot;standard&quot;,&quot;slot&quot;:&quot;View Plus Med Rec&quot;,&quot;sov&quot;:&quot;Standalone&quot;}\" data-dimensions=\"[300,250]\" data-google-query-id=\"CMfX-rCPp9kCFclkwQod7vwHBA\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VD-wXvFDlQ8\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>MILTON \u2014 Before returning to Washington, D.C., Congressman Matt Gaetz hosted a roundtable discussion at the West Florida Baptist Church Monday morning to hear from people in the faith-based community regarding medical marijuana research.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy personal journey on this issue has been a long one,\u201d Gaetz said to the 10 people attending.<\/p>\n<p>Gaetz said as far back as 2009, he thought medical marijuana was a \u201choax,\u201d but then he met people in Northwest Florida who have benefited from the drug. One such person is RayAnn Moseley of Gulf Breeze, who was born with Dravet syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy that can render some kids nearly catatonic.<\/p>\n<p>Sitting at the head of the table, Gaetz discussed the main points of his house bill, H.R. 2020, which would change marijuana from a schedule I drug to schedule III drug according to the Controlled Substance Act. Schedule III drugs are defined as drugs with moderate to low potential for physical and and psychological dependence.<\/p>\n<p>Gaetz said he would like to see at least three production facilities working on medical marijuana research. Right now, he said there is just one at University of Mississippi. He would also like to create a safe harbor for such facilities so they\u2019re not punished for researching medical marijuana. He would also like to eliminate the rule that prohibits Veterans Affairs doctors from discussing medical marijuana as a treatment option with patients.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to help in a way that doesn\u2019t create a slippery slope,\u201d Gaetz said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to get the right balance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That slippery slope is just what most of the invited guests spoke about Monday morning. Cindy Roberts, executive director for the Pregnancy Resource Center of Milton, said that while she tries to sympathize for those in need, she worries that more access to marijuana could lead to the next opioid crisis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople say all the time it\u2019s not a gateway drug &#8230; yes it is,\u201d she said. \u201cWhy can\u2019t they produce something else?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gaetz asked Roberts if they were elements of medical marijuana research that give her heartburn. She simply answered \u201cyes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaking any part of it legal scares me,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>In the faith-based community, the problem with medical marijuana is more of a branding issue, said Rabbi Joel Fleekop of Temple Beth El in Pensacola.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis bill is such an early step,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is a branding problem. What if it were a new medicine and we didn\u2019t call it marijuana? The concerns about (recreational) use is a completely separate issue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fleekop also added that a majority of his congregation is in favor of medical marijuana, saying \u201cevery blade of grass has its own blessing and ability to heal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For some pastors, stereotype of a pot smoker is hard to shake. Stan Lollar, executive director of Village Ministry at Olive in Pensacola, said he doesn\u2019t like the idea of people smoking marijuana, even for medicinal purposes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s got to be a better way,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>But Beth Matthews, a local oncology nurse, said smoking marijuana can have immediate effects for patients suffering from issues such as nausea. But even doctors can sometimes feel uncomfortable talking about medical marijuana, she said.<\/p>\n<p>Traci Wilmoth was one of the only invited guests not affiliated with a church. She\u2019s an Air Force veteran who said she was on the \u201ccombat cocktail,\u201d a saying for multiple prescriptions taken by current and former military members, before she decided to try a more holistic approach.<\/p>\n<p>She said vets don\u2019t want to get high. They want to heal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was on 22 meds &#8230; I was pretty much just laying on the couch drooling,\u201d she said. \u201cYou need to separate the two. On one hand is a person who wants to feel better. And then there\u2019s the person who wants to have the euphoric state and get out of their minds. Vets don\u2019t want to go to recreational use. They don\u2019t want to go to heroin and cocaine. We want to come back to our minds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before the meeting, Justine Teichgraber, a local registered nurse, said she had the \u201coriginal knee-jerk\u201d reaction to medical marijuana. After the meeting, she walked away with a different perspective.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are called to take care of the \u2018the least of these,\u2019\u201d she said referencing the Bible. \u201cI\u2019m not the person that needs it, but does that give me the right to deny to someone else that needs it? It may take awhile, but I pray it moves forward for the people that need it.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Retrieved from: http:\/\/www.nwfdailynews.com\/news\/20180212\/gaetz-hosts-medical-marijuana-discussion<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-newsletter-signup\">\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gaetz hosts medical marijuana discussion By\u00a0JENNIE McKEON Posted Feb\u00a012,\u00a02018\u00a0at\u00a04:47\u00a0PM Updated Feb\u00a012,\u00a02018\u00a0at\u00a05:06\u00a0PM &nbsp; MILTON \u2014 Before returning to Washington, D.C., Congressman Matt Gaetz hosted a roundtable discussion at the West Florida Baptist Church Monday morning to hear from people in the faith-based community regarding medical marijuana research. \u201cMy personal journey on &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6371,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[617],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cannabis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lutzlivetotell.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}