Hello. I’m Ted Corless, editor of News Munchies. I’m also a private citizen in the state of Florida. Why does that matter? Because on November 8^th, Floridians are going to have an opportunity to vote on Amendment 2, to regulate cannabis as medicine. Now, we’ve seen Amendment 2 before. In 2014, the same amendment was put on the ballot and received 57 per cent of the vote, but it wasn’t enough, because 57 doesn’t get you an opportunity to alter the state constitution. Instead, that requires a vote of 60 per cent. Now, how many people voted for it? Well, 600 000 more people voted  for Amendment 2 in 2014 than voted against it. More people voted for Amendment 2 than voted for Pam Bondy  for Attorney General. And more people voted for Amendment 2 than voted to elect Governor Rick Scott. The problem that the No on 2 people have  with Amendment 2 is the fact that they believe it will cause the creation of two thousand pot shops in the state of Florida. Well, let me stop for a second and tell you that’s two thousand more opportunities to employ more people in the state of Florida. That’s more than two thousand locations where people’ll be able to cultivate marijuana and employ people to do that. It will also require people to process it. It will also require people to regulate it. Plenty of opportunities to not only educate people about the real opportunities associated with some kinds of marijuana, but also to stop putting people in jail at an enormous economic and social cost. Most of the arguments you’re hearing about Amendment 2 against it have something less to do  with what the law really says versus the unknown. What I mean by that is once Amendment 2 passes, and it is expected to pass, recent numbers showing it as popular as 70 per cent of likely voters, what the amendment will do is then provide an opportunity next year for the state legislature to propose a regulatory scheme for keeping it safe and available only for those who have specific prescriptions to access it. The questions being raised  by the No on 2 people are simply premature, and I can tell you that because for the last several years, I’ve been tracking, researching and interviewing people in other states where the same or similar measures have passed. The amendment provides an opportunity to reduce the costs associated with maintaining the war on drugs, but more importantly, gives an opportunity for people with very special neurological deficits to gain access to the medicine they need for themselves as well as for their children under the supervision of a physician. The reality is that Amendment 2 is not about whether people should start smoking pot, it’s about whether or not, if they choose to do it, whether they should be jailed. I tell you the answer to that is no. I would encourage you to go to my website at www.NewsMunchies.com or follow me at Twitter where we’ll continue to monitor Amendment 2 and educate the public on the real marijuana. Be well.