John Morgan: Medical Marijuana Amendment Will 'Overwhelmingly' Pass

Not only will medical marijuana be legalized once Florida voters head to the polls this November, the initiative, firm founder John Morgan says, will pass with little resistance from its outspoken opponents.

“It’s going to pass in a landslide,” Morgan told the Tampa Bay Times in a recent interview. “We are at a tipping point with marijuana in this country and usually when things start to tip, it turns into an avalanche.”

As it turns out, the metaphorical tipping point Morgan referenced may be his own demographic, a segment of baby boomers born between 1954 and 1964 known as “Generation Jones.”

“Jonsers have smoked far more pot than any generation before or after us, which has resulted in more toleration and acceptance of that drug—and comfort with its legalization,” speculated Jonathan Pontell, a social commentator who coined the term Generation Jones.

Centered around the “Generation Jones” sect of baby boomers—of which Morgan, born in 1956, is a member—the interview noted that these “GenJonsers” now hold positions of power within government and serve as a major target for advertisers. As it pertains to Florida’s pivotal 2014 election, this particular segment of baby boomers is viewed by political analysts as perhaps the key demographic in passing the initiative to legalize marijuana for medical purposes.

“That group votes tolerant,” Morgan said. “It’s much less afraid of it than the Greatest Generation (those born between 1911 and 1924), which had much less exposure to it.”

When asked whose votes besides the Baby Boomers’ may be essential to passing medical marijuana legislation, Morgan said it’s those who themselves or who have loved ones that have suffered the effects of debilitating illnesses without the option of medical marijuana as treatment.

“People who are 65 to 70 . . . or anyone who has had a loved one in a chemo ward or watched them suffer in any way,” Morgan said. “They don’t give a damn if marijuana is legal or not if it can provide some relief.”

Morgan said the legalization of medical marijuana will also provide relief in Florida’s long-running war against prescription drug abuse.

“It’s a step to not only providing safer pain relief and treatment methods for those with legitimate diseases, but also to help end the rampant problem of prescription drug abuse—and abuse of other drugs like heroin—in Florida,” Morgan said.

To his critics, Morgan stands firm behind his reasons for supporting the medical marijuana cause in Florida.

“Disease and illness doesn’t pick a political party. It’s not a political issue, it’s a medical issue.”