Let’s be clear. Super Attorney John Morgan is the most powerful man in Orlando.
Much respect to Mayors Buddy Dyer and Teresa Jacobs, but even they have to work with their respective councils and commissions, and go before voters every 4 years.
Morgan, with millions of dollars at his disposal, an army of attorneys, and the largest media presence in the region answers to no one. He never loses because, he has the resources to determine the rules of the game.
Which is why his battle to legalize medical marijuana this year was so interesting. He had to fight in the arena of public opinion, against policy professionals who specialize in fighing these wars. The “No on 2″ opponents of the legislation, which would have made prescription of the drug legal knew all the right buttons to push, and Morgan thought he could win this battle the way he had won so many before. With straight talk and a lot of money, to spread that straight talking message around.
This wasn’t about power for Morgan. His brother, Tim, had been paralyzed by an accident and had been suffering before using the drug to curb his suffering. John simply wanted that comfort for everyone else.
The problem was the specifics of the legislation, or the lack of specifics. Attorney General Pam Bondi couldn’t convince a Judge that there were loopholes. The very same loopholes, that would later be exploited by “No on 2″ to defeat the amendment.
At the beginning of the year, the Amendment was poised to pass. It was polling in the 80’s. Distribution companies were booking convention halls to hold seminars over how to get into the business, and even local municipalities like Orange County, Winter Park and others were already drawing up plans over where the dispensaries would go.
Then came the “Drug Dealer Protection Act”. Arguably the most effective tag line in Florida politics, besides “Let’s get to work” in the last three election cycles.
“No on 2″ took to television to exploit those loopholes we were talking about earlier. Providers of the drug couldn’t be prosecuted? Availability was wide open to anyone who wanted it? “Could my child have access to it?”, opponents wanted voters to ask themselves.
Morgan lost his cool during a media scrum at an UCF Rally..
“It’s such *expletive* *” he continued “It’s all *expletive*. You tell me one kid you know that has gotten on their bicycle, tricycle, or scooter, gone to their doctor, when they were sick. And I’ll show you Doogie Howser. ‘Yes, I’m sick, so I’m going to drive up and see my pediatrician without my parents, so my pediatrician can give me marijuana’.. One hundred percent total *expletive*”
This is the way Morgan is. He swears. He doesn’t do it to rebel or to shock. It’s just the way he communicates.
Then came the rant in Polk County.
After a televised debate with Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, Morgan went to a restaurant and had several drinks. He then took the stage at a rally and gave an expletive filled speech to a room full of supporters. The video went viral. “No on 2″ turned it into an ad campaign and the polling numbers of voters in favor of medical marijuana went into a free fall.
Who Won? “No on 2″
On election night, Amendment 2 got 57% of the 60% it needed to pass.
Now, it didn’t all fall on Morgan. The opposition did a really great job working to defeat this thing. Morgan can be an effective field general in the legal field and is one of the best marketers or “finders” (his term) I’ve ever seen in Central Florida.
I grew up in Central Florida and remember when Morgan, Colling, and Gilbert and was here. The Morgan & Morgan empire grew in the community around me. When I was a teenager working in a diner, I used to serve Morgan. He was always kind then, and in the short run-ins we’ve had since being an analyst, he’s been kind now. It was weird watching him take the loss. To listen to “Yes on 2″ radio ads revert back to Morgan & Morgan personal injury spots.
Morgan and the guys at United for Care are preparing to make another run in 2016, when more voters will be involved in the Presidential races. 3% shy. Right now. I certainly wouldn’t bet against him.
Morgan and United for Care have said they will try for Medical Marijuana again in 2016
Tags: florida political blog, frank torres orlando, john morgan orlando, medical marijuana florida, no on 2 2014, orlando political blog, orlando political news, The Feed, united for care
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