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Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Vote No On 2 stated on September 22, 2016 in a mailer: \"Amendment 2 will bring kid-friendly pot candy to Florida.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" half-true/6479cbc723379f0ee49c269b0b9790b7.jpg.\\") ![\\"half- true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") * Florida * Marijuana * Vote No On 2 ![\\'Various](\\" Various forms of \"edibles\" on sale at a marijuana dispensary in Denver in 2014. The state has since outlawed products in the shapes of people, fruit or animals. (Times file photo) ![\\"Joshua](\\" By Joshua Gillin September 30, 2016 # Amendment 2 would bring \'kid-friendly pot candy to Florida,\' opponents say Opponents of Florida’s medical marijuana amendment are warning that cannabis- enhanced edibles will endanger children, hoping that voters will eat up their dire predictions and reject the measure. \"Amendment 2 will bring kid-friendly pot candy to Florida,\" the anti-drug campaign Vote No On 2 said in a flier we received in the mail Sept. 22, 2016. The campaign is run by the Drug Free Florida Committee, an anti-drug group started in 2014 by longtime GOP fundraiser Mel Sembler and his wife, Betty, with financial backing from casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. We wanted to find out whether the medical marijuana amendment allows \"pot candy,\" and whether it really would be \"kid-friendly.\" Candy plan As a quick refresher, Amendment 2 would let doctors recommend medical marijuana for patients with a host of certain conditions, including cancer, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and more. It’s only a recommendation, because marijuana still is illegal under federal law, so doctors can’t prescribe it and pharmacists can’t distribute it. The patients would take their recommendations to what is referred to as a Medical Marijuana Treatment Center, which would be regulated by the state to provide the drug. Here’s where we get into Vote No On 2’s assertion about pot candy. The amendment language says the following (emphasis ours): \" ‘Medical Marijuana Treatment Center’ (MMTC) means an entity that acquires, cultivates, possesses, processes (including development of related products such as food, tinctures, aerosols, oils, or ointments), transfers, transports, sells, distributes, dispenses, or administers marijuana, products containing marijuana, related supplies, or educational materials to qualifying patients or their caregivers and is registered by the Department.\" So while the amendment doesn’t specifically mention candy, it does allow edibles. Proponents argue that edible forms of marijuana are better for some patients, in part because the effects can be longer-lasting than other methods of ingestion. That’s also part of the problem, because it can be difficult to gauge how the drug may affect people when eaten instead of smoked. Vote No On 2 cites an uptick of children being hospitalized in many of those states for eating marijuana-laced candy, which they say is tempting to kids if left out. They pointed to several news stories about children in medical marijuana states consuming cookies, chocolate bars, brownies and other sweets and candies. In some of their cases it wasn’t apparent if the candy was medical marijuana or from some other source. (It’s also possible that people could always just buy cannabis in bud form and make their own edibles.) Ben Pollara, director of United for Care, the group behind the amendment, said Vote No On 2 was creating a \"total dystopian fantasy about the way the amendment could be implemented.\" He said a child getting into an adult’s medical marijuana presents the same issues as any medication, and it was up to the adult to prevent accidents from happening. \"Put it away,\" he said. \"That’s Parenting 101.\" #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" ![](\\" Ron DeSantis stated on August 28, 2024 in a press conference The proposal to put golf courses, hotels in Florida state parks “was something that was leaked. … a lot of that stuff was half-baked and was not ready for prime time.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" mostly-false/6a6ef6075c162fdccf5eb960e683dcd1.jpg.\\") ![\\"barely- true\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • August 29, 2024 Kate Bell, legislative counsel at the Marijuana Policy Project, which supports the amendment, said 19 of the 25 medical marijuana states allow edibles, although they all handle them a bit differently. Amendment 2 offers the state plenty of leeway on how it could regulate the marijuana industry. The Legislature would have to pass a law on the issue and the Department of Health would have to write the regulations. What those rules would specifically say is anyone’s guess, and the health department told us that they couldn’t speculate. A health department spokeswoman pointed out that under current Florida law allowing medical marijuana for some epileptics and terminal patients, the only prohibited form is smoking, which Amendment 2 would allow. That leaves us to look to see how other states handle guidelines about things like packaging and sales practices. Washington, for example, bans products designed to appeal to kids. Connecticut requires tamper-resistant packages just like prescription drugs. California, which is phasing in new regulations, requires labels warning patients to keep products away from children. New Jersey only allows edibles in lozenge form, which were previously only available to child patients to take at school. (There’s an overview of guidelines for each state here.) In Colorado, which started selling medical marijuana in 2001 and recreational marijuana in 2012, there has been an increase in the number of children hospitalized for ingesting marijuana. A spokeswoman for the state’s marijuana enforcement division acknowledged in 2014 that edible forms carry \"a significant public safety risk.\" Colorado this year banned some products shaped like people, fruit or animals. The state also requires opaque, tamper-resistant packaging and a label announcing the content of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. The state also is starting to use a universal symbol designating a marijuana product. That doesn’t mean kids don’t end up getting exposed to the drug. Mike Van Dyke, the chief of environmental epidemiology, occupational health and toxicology at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said the state continues to adapt its packaging policies to make edible marijuana less accessible to children. A Colorado report on the amount of emergency room visits and hospitalizations for marijuana exposure shows the number of affected children under 9 — when use is more likely to be accidental — has increased over the last 15 years. But Van Dyke says they still are small numbers. In 2000, prior to medical marijuana being legalized, only 1 child was hospitalized statewide. In 2014-15, there were 37 ER visits and 15 hospitalizations. There’s also been an increase among people older than 9, too, but there are caveats to the data. Hospitals record these as exposures, but they don’t necessarily specify how patients were exposed, or if they were at the hospital because of the exposure or for a related issue. \"We’ve definitely seen an increase, but a lot of people are inflating the impact of these cases,\" Van Dyke said. \"Prior to 2010, we didn’t have commercially available, edible marijuana products, so of course there’s going to be more instances with an increase in availability.\" The Journal of the American Medical Association this year published a study of marijuana exposures in Colorado for kids younger than 10. It found between 2009 and 2015, children’s hospital visits increased from 1.2 to 2.3 per 100,000. The Washington Post noted that means hospitals and poison control centers are much more likely to get calls about diaper cream, toothpaste, laundry detergent and crayons than they are about marijuana. Our ruling Vote No On 2 said, \"Amendment 2 will bring kid-friendly pot candy to Florida.\" The proposal would allow edible forms of marijuana, but the amendment does not specifically identify candy. Calling it \"kid-friendly\" plays on parents’ fears without any proof that’s what will happen. The statement is partially accurate but requires additional context. We rate the statement Half True. #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Vote No On 2, Campaign mailer, received Sept. 22, 2016 CNN, \"Marijuana stops child\'s severe seizures,\" Aug. 7, 2013 USA Today, \"Colo. kids getting into parents\' pot-laced goodies,\" April 2, 2014 Fox 5 San Diego, \"Toddler rushed to hospital after eating pot candy,\" April 25, 2014 USA Today, \"Marijuana \'edibles\' pack a wallop,\" May 8, 2014 Washington Post, \"More and more little kids are finding mom and dad’s (legal) marijuana stash,\" June 9, 2015 Colorado Retail Marijuana Public Health Advisory Committee, \"Monitoring Health Concerns Related to Marijuana in Colorado: 2015 Update, Colorado Hospital Association Data, 2000-June 2015,\" Jan. 25, 2016 WTSP, \"Students sickened by drug-laced gummies,\" April 11, 2016 Today, \"Edible marijuana that looks like candy is sending kids to the ER,\" May 25, 2016 CNN, \"More Colorado kids in hospital for marijuana since legalization, study says,\" July 27, 2016 Washington Post, \"Your kid is way more likely to be poisoned by crayons than by marijuana,\" July 28, 2016 CNN, \"Marijuana candy sickens 19 at quinceañera,\" Aug. 8, 2016 NJ.com, \"Coming soon: A brand new way to take medical marijuana in N.J.,\" Aug. 26, 2016 JAMA Pediatrics, \"Unintentional Pediatric Exposures to Marijuana in Colorado, 2009-2015,\" Sept. 6, 2016 Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, \"Marijuana: Education and youth prevention resources for community agencies,\" accessed Sept. 27, 2016 Leafly.com, \"A State-by-State Guide to Cannabis Packaging and Labeling Laws,\" accessed Sept. 28, 2016 Washington State Legislature, \"WAC 314-55-155,\" accessed Sept. 28, 2016 Colorado General Assembly, \"House Bill 16-1436,\" accessed Sept. 28, 2016 Connecticut.gov, \"State of Connecticut Regulation of the Department of Consumer Protection concerning Palliative Use of Marijuana,\" accessed Sept. 28, 2016 California Legislative Information, \"AB-266 Medical marijuana,\" accessed Sept. 28, 2016 Interview with Christina Johnson, Vote No On 2 spokeswoman, Sept. 24, 2016 Interview with Mike Van Dyke, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment chief of environmental epidemiology, occupational health and toxicology, Sept. 27, 2016 Interview with Kate Bell, Marijuana Policy Project legislative counsel, Sept. 27-29, 2016 Interview with Ben Pollara, United For Care director, Sept. 28, 2016 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Joshua Gillin ![](\\" mugs-mug- independentgroup__________________3/98605b4996e42408507987c4affd735f.jpg\\") ![](\\" mugs-mug- independentgroup__________________3/d34069b2fffce57ddf492536b7c1e859.jpg\\") FreedomJunkshun.com stated on November 6, 2017 in a headline: \"Supreme Court issues its first bench warrant ever.\" ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Susan Areson • November 9, 2017 ![](\\" mugs-mug- independentgroup__________________3/98605b4996e42408507987c4affd735f.jpg\\") ![](\\" mugs-mug- independentgroup__________________3/d34069b2fffce57ddf492536b7c1e859.jpg\\") React365.com stated on November 7, 2017 in an Internet post: Says the University of Florida \"requests to cancel rivalry game\" against Florida State University. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Joshua Gillin • November 7, 2017 ![](\\" mugs-mug- independentgroup__________________3/98605b4996e42408507987c4affd735f.jpg\\") ![](\\" mugs-mug- independentgroup__________________3/d34069b2fffce57ddf492536b7c1e859.jpg\\") YourNewsWire.com stated on November 5, 2017 in an Internet post: \"Texas Church shooter was Antifa and wanted to start (a) ‘communist revolution.’ \" ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Joshua Gillin • November 6, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Sebastian Gorka stated on November 1, 2017 in an appearance on \'Hannity\': Says Jake Tapper said Allahu Akbar was a \"beautiful phrase\" after a terrorist attack in New York. ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Joshua Gillin • November 2, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Bloggers stated on October 6, 2017 in Internet posts: \"California Democrat Maxine Waters charged on 3 counts.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Joshua Gillin • November 2, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Bloggers stated on October 29, 2017 in Internet posts: Says actor Morgan Freeman said, \"Jailing Hillary\" is the best way to \"restore public faith in government.\" ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Joshua Gillin • November 1, 2017 ![](\\" mugs-mug- independentgroup__________________3/98605b4996e42408507987c4affd735f.jpg\\") ![](\\" mugs-mug- independentgroup__________________3/d34069b2fffce57ddf492536b7c1e859.jpg\\") FreedomJunkshun.com stated on October 28, 2017 in a headline: \"Hillary Clinton leaves the country as Mueller indictment is announced.\" ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Joshua Gillin • October 31, 2017 ![](\\" mugs-mug- independentgroup__________________3/98605b4996e42408507987c4affd735f.jpg\\") ![](\\" mugs-mug- independentgroup__________________3/d34069b2fffce57ddf492536b7c1e859.jpg\\") FreedomJunkshun.com stated on October 27, 2017 in a headline: \"Breitbart leaks names of four Dems being charged in Mueller’s Russia probe.\" ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Joshua Gillin • October 31, 2017 ![](\\" michaelmoore/d10e6fe97230119369c8f19eb11ae6a3.jpg\\") ![](\\" michaelmoore/24d3cd2ad61b2369eb03420edf082419.jpg\\") Michael Moore stated on October 4, 2017 in a Facebook post: \"People who die from a home invasion make up a sad but minuscule .04% of all gun murders in the U.S. And over a third of them are killed by their own gun that the criminal has either stolen or wrestled from them.\" ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Joshua Gillin • October 25, 2017 ![](\\" mugs-mug- independentgroup__________________3/98605b4996e42408507987c4affd735f.jpg\\") ![](\\" mugs-mug- independentgroup__________________3/d34069b2fffce57ddf492536b7c1e859.jpg\\") React365.com stated on October 23, 2017 in a headline: \"Tulsa school closes after brutal fire.\" ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Joshua Gillin • October 23, 2017 ![](\\" mugs-mug- independentgroup__________________3/98605b4996e42408507987c4affd735f.jpg\\") ![](\\" mugs-mug- independentgroup__________________3/d34069b2fffce57ddf492536b7c1e859.jpg\\") AsAmericanAsApplePie.org stated on October 16, 2017 in a headline: \"Hillary (Clinton) caught on tape laughing about (Hurricane) Irma ‘wiping out all of those Florida hillbillies’.\" ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") 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We sit down, y’all mad. We speak up, y’all mad. We die, y’all silent.\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Joshua Gillin • October 12, 2017 ![](\\" ![](\\" Bloggers stated on October 9, 2017 in a headline: \"President Trump signs executive order stripping NFL of ‘non-profit’ status.\" ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Joshua Gillin • October 10, 2017 ![](\\" mugs-mug- independentgroup__________________3/98605b4996e42408507987c4affd735f.jpg\\") ![](\\" mugs-mug- independentgroup__________________3/d34069b2fffce57ddf492536b7c1e859.jpg\\") AsAmericanAsApplePie.org stated on October 8, 2017 in a headline: \"Jason Aldean gig canceled after he sells out to liberals on ‘SNL’.\" ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Joshua Gillin • October 10, 2017 ### Amendment 2 would bring \'kid-friendly pot candy to Florida,\' opponents say * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 13, 2024 in a post: Vice President Kamala Harris’ college professors disparaged her as their “worst student.” ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"pants-fire\\"](\\" pants-fire.jpg\\") By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 17, 2024 in a post: Photo shows Kamala Harris posing beside Sean “Diddy” Combs. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sara Swann • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Instagram posts stated on September 18, 2024 in Instagram posts: “BREAKING: Police found ‘explosives’ in car near former President Donald Trump’s rally site on Long Island.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Sofia Ahmed • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Dave McCormick stated on September 13, 2024 in an X post: Charleroi, Pennsylvania, “has grown by 2,000% due to an influx in migrants.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Caleb McCullough • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 13, 2024 in una publicación en Facebook: \"El gran respaldo de Taylor Swift\" a Kamala Harris \"le cuesta $125 millones en acuerdos de marca\". ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Maria Briceño • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Threads posts stated on September 16, 2024 in an Instagram post: Taylor Swift “lost 17 million followers by endorsing Kamala.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Kari Lake stated on September 13, 2024 in a post on X: Rep. Ruben Gallego’s “first act in Congress was to propose legislation to BAN the use of the term ‘illegal alien.’” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Mia Osmonbekov • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Sherrod Brown stated on September 4, 2024 in a TV interview: Of Bernie Moreno, “Now, he’s arguing for a national abortion ban, no exceptions.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Caleb McCullough • September 19, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on September 16, 2024 in a Facebook post: “Country Music Television (CMT) has announced a permanent boycott of Taylor Swift.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 18, 2024 * ![](\\" ![](\\" Viral image stated on September 11, 2024 in a Facebook post: “Disney World officially moving to Nashville.” ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Ciara O\'Rourke • September 18, 2024 Load more ### Support independent fact-checking. Become a member! 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Amendment 2 will bring kidfriendly pot candy to Florida