The hot ballot issue in Florida in November is Amendment 2, which would legalize the medical use of marijuana in the state.
Backers of Amendment 2 say it's the compassionate thing to do for people with serious illnesses whose symptoms can be lessened with marijuana use.
Opponents say it's just going to open the door for abuse.
A group called Drug Free America says that under the proposed amendment, people approved for marijuana use won't get refills for a prescription -- they'll get marijuana forever.
Really?
"We rated this one mostly false," said Josh Gillin of Politifact Florida. "This claim specifically came up because a doctor from Sarasota Memorial was at the Tampa Bay Times editorial board and they were sharing their concerns about the amendment. And the discussion here centered on how the language of the amendment is very broad and leaves a lot for the Legislature and the Department of Health to fill out after it's passed -- if it is passed."
And what worried the doctor is that Amendment 2 does not follow the Food and Drug Administrationapproved process for obtaining prescriptions.
There are no controls over the potency or the amount or the frequency or the duration of the drug that they are taking.
"That's because you get your marijuana cigarettes and you smoke them. The doctor was saying there are really no controls," Gillin explained. "Well, we looked at other states and every other state has controls over it and even the amendment itself says that the state is going to have to set limits for it. It's not the same as a prescription but you can't get it forever. We called it mostly false."
