The coalition opposing the latest ballot measure to legalize medical marijuana in Florida is launching an advertising campaign aimed at sowing doubt about the measure among voters.

  • New advertising campaign by coalition against medical marijuana legalization
  • No on 2 tells voters Florida is on a precipice of becoming like California and Colorado
  • Medical Marijuana supporters say the comparison is inaccurate

Calling itself No on 2 - a reference to Amendment 2 - the coalition is following a strategy medical marijuana critics employed successfully in 2014, when a similar amendment narrowly failed to pass by the constitutionally-required 60 percent threshold.

Then, as now, ads warned Florida was on the precipice of following in the footsteps of California and Colorado, where marijuana legalization laws have resulted in the establishment of hundreds of dispensaries.

"OK, it looks like Amendment 2 will put almost 2,000 pot shops in Florida?! Jeez! More pot shops than Walmarts and Walgreens combined!" a three-minute online video released this month by No on 2 declares.

Medical marijuana supporters say it's an inaccurate comparison between Florida and Colorado. The Centennial State has legalized marijuana for recreational use, while Amendment 2 would limit use to patients suffering from "debilitating medical conditions." The ad is being criticized for neglecting to account for the strict licensing requirements that would be enacted if the amendment were to pass.

"I think what they've done, I mean, frankly, is to try to find some argument that would raise some question of doubt that what will happen in Florida will be some wild California experiment, which is exactly what the Legislature did to avoid that," said Jeff Sharkey, who along with lobbyist Taylor Patrick Biehl runs the Medical Marijuana Business Association of Florida.

With the No on 2 blitz already underway, Amendment 2 supporters, led by the group United for Care, are planning to rev up their own advertising campaign this summer. A May Quinnipiac University poll found 80 percent of Florida voters support the amendment.