[The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the Alligator.]
By the time you read this column, Floridians will know that Amendment 2 — which would have legalized the use of medical marijuana in Florida — was rejected. The amendment would have required a 60 percent voter approval to be enacted; it received about 57 percent.
It’s not that Floridians are too conservative for medical marijuana; it’s simply that a disaster of epic proportions struck a campaign that needed to be perfect.
Winning 60 percent of the vote on anything is a challenge. That’s nearly two-thirds voting ‘yes.’ When was the last time two-thirds of voters agreed on anything? However, support for medical marijuana — and marijuana legalization — across the country is changing rapidly, with some polls indicating that a majority of Americans support legalized marijuana.
National support did not translate into enough votes for victory, and it boils down to the pro-legalization campaign in Florida. The Yes on 2 campaign spent far more time attacking the opposition than stressing any benefits from legalizing medical marijuana.
The opposition campaign was funded largely by casino magnate Sheldon Adelson — who similarly bankrolled Republican presidential candidates in 2012 — but even his pocketbook didn’t guarantee a win for the opposition. It seems as if something larger was at play.
The reason why Florida did not join the likes of 20-plus other states across the country has to do largely with the Yes on 2 campaign. The main benefactor and public face of the campaign is popular attorney John Morgan. Morgan has a compelling, familial reason why he supports medical marijuana, but his gregarious personality and questionable campaign tactics may be the Yes on 2 campaign’s undoing.
A great example is The Daily Beast article about Amendment 2 published just one day before the election. It portrays Morgan as the outgoing man he is but simultaneously portrays Morgan as vulgar, condescending and perhaps a bit out of touch with the state of the electorate. Even though Morgan is a known figure in Florida, his presence may ultimately do more harm than good, despite his best intentions.
Morgan spent time debating officials, combatting claims that his support for Amendment 2 had more to do with getting his friend Charlie Crist elected governor and authoring — or at least signing — emails that were occasionally bizarre, desperate or downright angry.
Additionally, the campaign spent enormous amounts of time combatting the opposition, rather than stressing why Floridians in need could benefit from medical marijuana. Campaign emails seemed to focus an inordinate amount of time on a faceless opposition, asking for contributions to combat attacks, rather than educating or actually campaigning for Amendment 2.
It almost seemed as if there were a schizophrenic mentality behind the online messaging campaign. Based on emails and social media alone, one day it appeared that Amendment 2 was poised for a major victory come Election Day, but suddenly, the situation would appear dire, before recovering to once again proclaim victory.
That’s not how you run a winning campaign, regardless of the issue. A campaign might be a dumpster fire on the inside, but it must present a certain level of poise to the public in order to build confidence. Issue campaigns require education, especially when you need 60 percent of the vote to pass. From the strange, bipolar emails, to a campaign that became more about attacking the opposition, to Morgan’s giant personality, the debate over Amendment 2 seemed to center on anything but the issue at hand. As a result, it’s unlikely Floridians will have medical marijuana anytime soon.
When you read about marijuana in a college newspaper, far too often, it’s a column pushing for legalization of marijuana, because how else can you listen to Phish, man? Regardless of your views on marijuana, and even if you’re currently clouded by a haze of pot smoke, we can all agree that if a state like Florida wants to legalize medical or recreational marijuana, campaigns need to make a stronger argument.
Perhaps it’ll take an epic loss for them to figure that out.
Joel Mendelson is a UF graduate student in political campaigning. His columns appear on Wednesdays.
