Bill Wohlsifer

New Campaign: Bud or Bud Treat Them The Same – August 11, 2015

Press Coverage, Recreational Marijuana / September 24, 2015

This article was originally written by Nick Evans for WFSU here.

Floridians may have two marijuana initiatives on the 2016 ballot.  The organization Regulate Florida is pushing to legalize adult recreational use of the drug.

You can listen to the interview here

Outspoken personal injury lawyer John Morgan is bankrolling another attempt to bring medical marijuana to Florida through the ballot box.  Now Tallahassee attorney Bill Wohlsifer says the state should go even further.  He’s part of an organization called Regulate Florida, and it’s pushing to treat cannabis like alcohol.

“This will be a regulated product,” Wohlsifer says.  “So it will be safe it will be controlled in quantity, and it’s a national movement in this direction and we think the time’s right for Florida.”

The measure would allow adults over the age of 21 to purchase marijuana for recreational use.

‘Regulate Florida’ marijuana initiative would legalize the plant for adults – August 7, 2015

Press Coverage, Recreational Marijuana / September 24, 2015

This article was written by Michael Pollick on August 7th, 2015 for http://marijuana.heraldtribune.com/

Florida marijuana activists have launched a voter initiative called “Regulate Florida,” which would amend the Florida constitution to legalize and regulate adult use of marijuana in the Sunshine State.

If the Regulate Florida measure makes it on to the November 2016 ballot, Florida voters could face two decisions about the future use of marijuana: one to legalize medical use and another to legalize adult use. The Florida Legislature would be in charge of taxation in either case.

Regulate Florida’s multi-page document “is completely drafted,” said Bill Wohlsifer, a Tallahassee attorney who is the director of legal affairs for the political committee in charge, Sensible Florida. The proposed amendment, said Wohlsifer, “is very comprehensive. It doesn’t leave that much for the Legislature to do.”

Regulate Florida, with details to come as early as next week, would license growing, processing, distribution and retail sales of cannabis and would make possession legal, he confirmed.

“Part of our plan is to protect children by limiting the availability of illegal marijuana,” said fellow director Karen Goldstein, who heads the Florida chapter of NORML, a national marijuana reform group formed in 1970.

Chairing the group is Michael Minardi, a Stuart-based defense attorney specializing in cannabis cases. He successfully defended Parrish residents Bob and Cathy Jordan in 2013 after Bob Jordan was charged with growing marijuana on behalf of his wife, who suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.

To be sure, to become a constitutional ballot initiative, Regulate Florida has major obstacles in front of it, just like those faced by the United for Care, which has resurrected its medical marijuana initiative and is aiming for November 2016 ballot boxes.

The Regulate Florida initiative is now facing scrutiny by the Florida Division of Elections. Later, the initiative will need to pass Florida Supreme Court inspection. Then it will need a total of 683,000 verified voter signatures.

That would put the recreational measure on the same November 2016 ballot with a much more limited medical marijuana proposal being put forward for the second time by United for Care, a group backed by Orlando attorney John Morgan, well known for his “For the People” motto.

“If anything it may drive some voters who are excited about legalizing marijuana who aren’t that excited about medical marijuana,” said Ben Pollara, executive director of United For Care.

While there are no relevant polls on recreational marijuana in Florida, Pollara says he believes public support for medical use remains just as high as it did before last year’s election cycle, in the upper 60 percent to lower 70 percent range.

Pollara said he expects to have all his required signatures on the United For Care petition by Christmas.

The genesis

The Legislature failed to consider a comprehensive medical marijuana proposal during the session held this spring. Any hope of that for supporters disappeared when the spring session melted down over divisions on the Medicaid issue.

To many supporters, that leaves a constitutional amendment as the only alternative, whether for adult use or medical use. Instead of the 50 percent required for an initiative to pass in most states, Florida sets the bar higher at 60 percent.

Pollara figures his group will need $5 million to defeat the Vote-No activists. Getting an adult-use initiative approved by voters could cost that much or more.

Regulate Florida has a web page where interested parties can register for upcoming information, at regulateflorida.com. The group also has a logo and a Facebook page. At least two other groups are said to be seeking ballot status on their own Florida adult-use programs.

If Florida voters were to approve the Regulate Florida amendment, the Sunshine State would join four others — Colorado, Washington state, Alaska, and Oregon — where voters have succeeded in making marijuana use legal for adults.

Ohio voters are expected to consider legalization initiatives in November.

Other states where legalization initiatives are in the works for the 2016 election are Maine, Michigan and California.

As the nation’s third-largest state by population, Florida is an immediate candidate for becoming a billion-dollar market for the marijuana industry, said Matt Karnes, founder and managing partner of cannabis market research firm GreenWave Advisors LLC.

“The first year, we would expect Florida to have $1.05 billion in sales,” Karnes said. “This number totally would apply to 2018.”

By comparison, California cannabis licensees could expect first-year gross revenue of $3.54 billion, GreenWave projects.

California was the first state to legalize medical use of marijuana, in 1996, and it has the largest population of any state.

Ancillary businesses such as marijuana testing, business attorneys and point-of-sale and growing hardware and software would multiply the level of financial activity in any state where the plant is legalized.

“It is a real industry that is going to explode in the next couple of years,” Karnes said.

Bill Wohlsifer Will Remove Cannabis from Schedule I

General Commentary / September 24, 2015

by Matt Wright

We have been living in an outdated society. The norms of yesterday should no longer be held as the standard today. Unfortunately, the leaders of this country are more concerned with special interest groups, and lobbyists who want to keep Cannabis out of the hands of patients across the country. Historically there has not been a leader who would stand up to these entities and tell them their time is over. There needs to be a person who is willing to go to bat for their constituents and allow them the control to make decisions regarding their medical and personal freedoms. Until now.

Bill Wohlsifer is the Libertarian candidate for Attorney General in Florida. He is making waves in the political world by breaking the mold of the leaders in this country by wanting to put the power of the control back in the hands of the people instead of federally funded bureaucrats who claim to know more about what is best for each individual, rather than the individual themselves. Mr. Wohlsifer believes we, as people, should be able to make decisions on our health freedoms ourselves, without the fear of government or police intervention in our most personal and private decisions.

As evidence of the fact that Mr. Wohlsifer wants to give the freedom to choose back to the people of Florida he has outlined a plan that should be making news across the country, but due to a media blackout on third party candidates he hasn’t been able to get his message out to the people he believes matters most…the voters. His plan would remove the plant of the genus Cannabis completely from Schedule I of the Florida’s Controlled Substance List. This would be an unprecedented action, that would change the way Florida looks at almost every factor of their state.

Mr. Wohlsifer has stated that Cannabis with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) level of greater than 0.8 percent would be removed from Schedule I and moved to Schedule II. Any Cannabis with a THC level of .8 percent to 0.3 percent would be moved to Schedule III and Cannabis with a level lower than 0.3 percent would be removed from Florida’s Controlled Substance List. This would redefine all levels of Cannabis and change the way the world views the medicinal value of this plant.

Once Cannabis has been removed from Schedule I a doctor would legally be able to recommend the plant for medical purposes, without the need of a Florida Constitutional Amendment. Also, by removing Cannabis with THC levels of .3 percent and lower would effectively remove hemp from the controlled substance list, allowing for industrial hemp to be grown and produced in Florida. Mr. Wohlsifer has already outlined his plan for industrial hemp on the website Hemp4Water.com.

This is the type of leadership we need in Florida, as well as the rest of the country. We need leadership not being handcuffed by special interest groups, and back room policy deals. It is time we elect officials who are willing to stand up for what they believe, especially if they believe in giving rights and freedoms back to the voters, as opposed to big government groups whose main goal is to approve the medicines produced by the highest donors.

 

Matt Wright is a writer and political activist living in south Florida. He has a BS in communications and is currently working for the Bill Wohlsifer for Attorney General campaign. To hear more from Matt you can follow him on Twitter at @mrwright79 or like him on Facebook.

End the War on Drugs

Billy's Blog, General Commentary / October 9, 2014

by Matt Wright

The War on Drugs has failed. There is simply no other way to put it. America has been dealing with over 70 years of prohibition and all that has truly been achieved is the increased influx of children illegally crossing America’s southernmost borders, and increased funding for excessively militarized police forces through federal grants. It is time that America calls an end to the drug war, and instead changes their approach for the betterment of society.

As the fascination for drugs has grown in America the business side of the industry has grown. People see the movies and TV shows focusing on narcotics and they see a life filled with opportunity. They see possibility. They see an industry with unwavering growth potential. They see a true free market in it’s purest form. This is a market that has only one regulation: drugs are illegal. The reward has grown greater than the risk, as people continue to search for control over their socio-economic future.

This $100 billion annual industry continues to grow, and cartels in other countries grow in numbers, power and strength, forcing the youth of these countries to search for safer pastures in other countries. America’s leaders continue to throw more money at the problem without attempting to solve the issue, which is to end prohibition on drugs. This would essentially end the illegal drug trade, and we could begin using the excess funds to increase public education and drug treatment.

Former Vice Presidential Candidate Judge Jim Gray stated that “Drug Prohibition has resulted in a greater loss of civil liberties than anything else in the history of our country.” He is correct. America leads in incarceration rates, most of which are due to non-violent drug offenses. He also points out that even though studies have proven that people of all races use drugs at basically the same rate, people of color are incarcerated at an exceptionally higher rate than those of Anglo decent.

By ending the so-called “War on Drugs” and releasing all criminals who have been incarcerated for committing non-violent crime we could free up jail space, and save tax payer money who are paying for the room and board of essentially an alcohol purveyor in the 1920s. The need for SWAT teams, which are essentially federally funded, would be reduced drastically saving federal dollars.

Once the War on Drugs in America ends the cartels no longer have the golden goose of American dollars funding their operations. This would then, in-turn, cut many terrorist organizations off at the knees.

Drug cartels are one of the greatest supporters of terrorist organizations. If America ends the drug war, cutting off the financial backing from American citizens to these cartels they will not be able to fund terrorist organizations. Essentially, by America ending the drug war, they will end the unintended American funding of terrorism across the globe.

This is obviously not something that will happen overnight. It will take time and in order for it to eventually happen, the right leaders have to be in place. It is important to elect the leaders who have the right vision in mind.

Bill Wohlsifer is a leader who has the right vision. He will begin by working to give clemency to all non-violent criminals currently imprisoned in Florida jails. Which will save the tax-payers of Florida money, and give new hope to people who previously had no vision for a future that was filled with anything other than a life of crime. With leaders like Mr. Wohlsifer America can finally end the War on Drugs, allowing families to be together, permitting free markets to grow, slowing down illegal immigration, and ultimately crippling terrorist organizations.

 

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Matt Wright is a writer and political activist living in south Florida. He has a BS in communications and is currently working for the Bill Wohlsifer for Attorney General campaign. To hear more from Matt you can follow him on Twitter at @mrwright79 or like him on Facebook.

Equality and the League of Women Voters

Billy's Blog, General Commentary / September 23, 2014

Voters used to care if candidates received equal billing at election time, but those days seem long passed.  We the people have fallen into a disastrous pattern of a two party system, where even the people who clamor on about wanting equality fail to demand equality. In fact, they even defend inequality and have loaded voters with an arsenal of excuses on why they must vote for one of the two establishment parties.

“The other candidates aren’t polling well.” “I don’t really like either one, but unfortunately they are the only options I have been given to choose from.” “She believes this, and he believes that.” “I don’t really like either one, but unfortunately they are the only options I have been given to choose from. I must pick one.”

In most elections it ends up the equivalent of picking a vacation in the Bog of Eternal Stench or the Fire Swamp.

The problem we have in this country is that many of the groups out there working to inform the citizens of their options in the political process have become so inundated with the duopoly of the system they have forgotten the true nature of their purpose; to inform voters of their options. There are options out there other than the Republicans and the Democrats. The average voter, though, doesn’t know about these options because they are not being informed by the people they have been instructed to trust with this information.

When a group, such as the League of Women Voters, puts out a voters guide and it fails to provide information on all qualified candidates in the race it just proves they have fallen victim to the duopoly in this country they say they are striving to rise above. When the country is faced with a future oligarchy, taking the choice out of the voters’ hands and placing it in the hands of a select few who make deals in back rooms while holding back the citizens who lay wanting for freedoms, one would think equality between the candidates would be at the forefront of the activists groups who strive for equality.

Groups such as these use phrases such as nonpartisan, which is a blatant lie, because they show themselves to be partisan in many different fashions. Yes, they have worked hard to find equality for their core demographic, but shouldn’t the end goal be equality for all those in America? Doesn’t their blatant disregard for any political party that doesn’t begin with an “R” or a “D” show their intrinsic bias toward any candidate who may stand for a more universal equality than the options they allow their followers to learn about?

If these groups actually stood for, and believed in, equality, they wouldn’t disregard candidates who were qualified and give childish excuses for their actions. Instead, they would place these names on the voter guides next to the candidates names of who they have been programmed to educate the voters.

Matt Wright is a writer and political activist living in south Florida. He has a BS in communications and is currently working for the Bill Wohlsifer for Attorney General campaign. To hear more from Matt you can follow him on Twitter at @mrwright79 or Like him on Facebook.

Kava and Kratom:New Options for Florida’s Health Freedom

Billy's Blog, General Commentary / September 19, 2014

There has been a new fad that has been sweeping the nation in recent years. This is the recent fad of kava bars opening up in cities nationwide, many of them to great fanfare and with a base of regulars already waiting at the wings. What is it about this new trend that has so many people jumping at the chance to drink what could possibly be just the next in a line of short-lived trends that never seem to grab hold of the general public, like oxygen-bars, or nap-pods?

First, to understand the appeal, one must understand exactly what these bars serve, which is primarily drinks made out of Kava root and kratom leaves. These drinks come with different benefits, according to those who serve them up, such as Hailey B, who is a local purveyor of kava and kratom at Low Tide Lounge in Pinellas County, FL.

image78-150x150
Kratom is a plant from South East Asia and the South Pacific, and a derivative of the coffee tree.

Kratom is the leaf of the kratom tree, a relative of the coffee tree, that comes from South East Asia, and the South Pacific, and has more anti-oxidants than green tea. It has been known to help with pain relief, lowering blood pressure, increasing sexual performance and desire, as well as aiding in opiate and alcohol withdrawal. It also promotes overall happiness and increases a positive work ethic.

Gabi M., another barista at Low Tide Lounge, turned me on to an article by Barbara Lago at the University of Mississippi, who wrote that through testing Dr. Christopher McCurdy concluded kratom has shown positive benefits for addicts who are searching for alternative methods of rehabilitation. Ms. Lago quotes Dr. McCurdy in the article, stating “kratom has long been used for coughs, diarrhea, muscle aches and pain…and has been used to wean people off (opium).”

Kava also hails from the same region of the planet, and many of the people who enjoy one, often will enjoy the other, although mixing Kava with alcohol is not recommended by those who sell the beverage. Kava has been shown to prevent migraines, chronic fatigue syndrome, muscle pain, and for certain cancer prevention. It has also been shown to to relieve anxiety, stress, restlessness, and insomnia.

Kava and kratom appear to be more than just another way for people to achieve a sense of heightened consciousness. Maybe those who drink it regularly are looking toward their futures, as opposed to achieving a buzz for that evening. It could be those who enjoy the muddy-flavored beverages on a regular basis are more concerned with the stabilized euphoric feeling and long term health benefits as opposed to the instant gratification, and long term negative harm, caused by alcohol.

It has been shown to give more energy with a smaller crash than coffee.
It has been shown to give more energy with a less severe crash than coffee.

David DiSalvo, of Forbes Magazine and The Daily Brain website, wrote on his blog about kratom and the effects he noticed he experienced while he was experimenting with different brands. He wrote that he started taking the product in the morning and noticed a burst of energy, much like a “strong cup of coffee,” but he never experienced the caffeine crash that is generally associated with coffee drinkers. He also stated that following the initial burst of energy was a period of relaxation, while falling short of “being sedating.” He also stated he saw no reason to ban the substance if anyone can walk into a Starbucks and buy a large cup of coffee, which he feels is more potent than kratom.

Although, just as with any new fad there are those who feel the need to regulate the industry or to banish the plants entirely. We know of the beneficial aspects of these plants, and while they both cause euphoria-like side effects there is little evidence that has supported any reason to regulate them with anything more than age-limits and labeling laws.

Recently there has been a lot of focus on the health freedoms of the people in Florida. Do they have the right to decide what course of medical treatment they take? While kava and kratom may not be at the forefront of the debate, they are just more examples of naturally-created, medically beneficial options for Floridians who may not want to use synthetic medicines such as Oxycontin, Roxicet, Lortab/Vicodin, or Xanax.

Bill Wohlsifer supports the freedoms of individuals to discover and create new potential markets and products in a free market society, where people have the right to make their own decisions when it comes to their health. He also promises that without quantifiable evidence showing public harm he will not add natural remedies on the controlled substances list.

Mr. Wohlsifer has been quoted as saying, “When it comes to healing or nourishing the body, I endorse holistic, spiritual, dietary, pharmaceutical and surgical treatments. I have personally found value in each.”

For more information about kratom, and its multiple benefits, be sure to check out the video at the link below:

http://vimeo.com/97798130

 

Matt Wright is a writer and political activist living in south Florida. He has a BS in communications and is currently working for the Bill Wohlsifer for Attorney General campaign. To hear more from Matt you can follow him on Twitter at @mrwright79 or Like him on Facebook.

3 Way AG Race Shapes Up according to Sunshine State News

Billy's Blog / September 24, 2015

Florida’s AG Race Shapes Up as Candidates Maneuver for Ground

By: Kevin Derby | Posted: September 3, 2014 3:55 AM

Bill Wohlsifer, Pam Bondi, George Sheldon

Bill Wohlsifer, Pam Bondi, George SheldonHide

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and her opponents are squaring off in the most competitive statewide election in the Sunshine State outside the gubernatorial contest, and they spent recent days maneuvering for position and looking ahead toward holding debates.

Read the whole article here.

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