Casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson is giving an extra $1.5 million to opponents of a constitutional amendment to permit doctors to prescribe marijuana for medical reasons in Florida, Trib Live reports.
This despite the fact that The Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson Medical Research Foundation, helped produce a report saying that medical marijuana was effective in treating patients with MS. (Cannabinoids Decrease the Th17 Inflammatory Autoimmune Phenotype)
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In the study, published in the Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology in December 2013, researchers from Tel Aviv University and Weizmann Institute of Science found that both CBD (a non-psychoactive compound found in marijuana and one of about 60 known active cannabinoids) and THC (the primary psychoactive ingredient in cannabis that produces the “high” sensation) helped to prevent inflammation in the brains and spinal cords of mice that had diseases similar to MS. The researchers believe marijuana could have a similar effect on humans with inflammatory diseases like MS.
“When used wisely, cannabis has huge potential. We’re just beginning to understand how it works, ” study co-author Dr. Ewa Kozela said.
Adelson has already given $2.5 million to the Drug Free Florida campaign, which opposes a constitutional amendment on the November state ballot.
Adelson’s contributions to the just say no people accounts for $4 million out of of the $4.7 million raised by opponents of the amendment, according to their financial reports.
Orlando trial attorney John Morgan is supporting the pro-amendment campaign with close $4 million of his own money, and expects to spend $6 million on the effort by Nov. 4.
About two-thirds of the money was spent on gathering more than 600, 000 signatures and on defending the initiative in court. It made things more expensive for the pro-marijuana people, comments Trib Live, because their opponents didn’t have to start spending anything until after the measure was allowed on the ballot.
The website Marijuana.com was wondering (between puffs) about the $36 billion tycoon’s motives in preventing Florida cancer patients from being able to ease their pain.
The website’s Michael Lewis noted that Adelson is one of the biggest donors to the Republican party, but the pro-medical marijuana “Amendment 2” has bipartisan support across the state.
“In GOP-controlled districts, support for the legislation surpassed the state’s average (around 70 percent, at last polling). Many conservatives laud the successes of state-level medical marijuana campaigns as victories over big, centralized government, ” Lewis wrote.
In the end, Lewis and others surmise, the Adelson effort has nothing to do with Marijuana or the plight of Cancer patients. If there’s an “Amendment 2” drive across the nation, younger people would show up to vote, and younger people vote Democrat.
See how we solve all these issues for you? Now you know why God gave Sheldon all this money – to keep the Republicans in charge.
