The debate over legalizing medical marijuana in Florida generates talk of young people potentially flooding the polls today. Seniors are the most reliable voters and could be key to the outcome, the Associated Press reports. Seniors have been showing a level of interest in the initiative that underscores the fact they may benefit most from its passage. “You get older, you get sick, you start getting diseases, your bones stop working as well as they used to and you’re presented with this pharmacopoeia of different drugs that you have to take just to get through the day,” said Ben Pollara, who leads United for Care, the pro-Amendment 2 campaign. “To the extent that seniors can use marijuana to supplement or replace any of those drugs I think is a good thing.”
M.J. Seide pays $450 for an ounce of marijuana every six weeks to help her avoid painkillers that left her incapacitated and worried about addiction. “At 64, I’m a criminal because I have to buy this stuff on the street,” she says. Around the state, similar voices have sounded from seniors who say they’ve used marijuana for everything from easing pain to helping them to sleep. If they end up being representative of the overall population of older voters, it would delight supporters of Amendment 2, which requires 60 percent approval to pass. To obtain marijuana, patients would have to get a doctor’s certification of their condition, which in turn would qualify them for a patient ID card they can use at licensed dispensaries.