Maria Lago/Staff Writer
The FIU student organization Marijuana Law Education Society (MLES) hosted the event “The Blunt Truth about Marijuana Law” to discuss the definition of marijuana, hemp, CBD and THC and the legality of the drug at a panel event.
Scheril Murray Powell, a member of a general counsel for minorities for medical marijuana and agriculture attorney, said that there is a negative stigma when it comes to marijuana.
“We need to get rid of the stereotypes and we need to get rid of the stigma,” she said.
Michael C. Minardi, a senior partner at Minardi Law, shared how judges and juries act when he mentions that some of his clients use marijuana for medical reasons.
“People have been brainwashed about this topic,” he said.
Minardi said that it is difficult to find attorneys that know about the marijuana industry and that this topic touches base on family, criminal and agricultural law.
Dr. Fernando Fandino-Sende, a medical marijuana doctor, mentioned that some doctors don’t know much about the subject and that they need to be more educated about it.
“It is proven that cannabis causes the death of cancer cells,” he said when talking about the conditions permitted in the state of Florida for medical marijuana use.
So far, Florida has allowed the use of medical marijuana for 12 medical conditions, under the Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act of 2014, including cancer, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and Crohn’s disease, according to Fandino-Sende.
Minari and Scherill mentioned to law students to work with advocacy groups, to vote on laws legalizing the use of medical marijuana and to call their representatives to talk about the subject.
The other panelists present at the event were Samantha Suarez-Burgos, a corporate events and outreach manager at the Miracle Leaf Health Center, Russell Cormican, a criminal attorney and Jenifer Perdomo, a physician and community educator at Truelieve.
For more information about MLES, visit https://law.fiu.edu/student-life/student-organizations/marijuana-law-education-society/
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