To smoke (and inhale) or not to smoke pot is the big question when it comes to the medicinal marijuana debate currently being hashed out  in Florida this political season.

The” Yes on 2″ campaign being run by United For Care, supports making pot medically legal, while the “No on 2” campaign  ran by  Drug Free Florida, obviously opposes the push to make marijuana legal.

With that said, let’s get to the recent controversy that is making me and everyone else scratch their heads.

According to a press release put out by Christina Johnson, spokesperson for “No on 2,” Johnson said that the group has told “deplorable” lies to Floridians in order to further their agenda.

The lies were allegedly told by Kim McCray, United for Care Outreach Director, in the South Florida Times, where she stated that marijuana does not get you high.

What? Que?

Here is the first alleged lie, or for those of you in Hialeah, first mentira told –

 “Medical-grade marijuana alone, will not get that patient ‘high,’ no matter what level of THC, CBD or any other compound is found in the plant.”

“No On 2” countered with this:

“This is patently FALSE…THC gets you high no matter what you call it. What’s most astonishing though is that United for Care is perfectly aware this is the case.”-Christine Johnson

It is important to emphasize the term “medical-grade.”

How much THC is in “medical-grade” marijuana?

According to the press release, there may be a little bit of a contraction in what McCray stated, and what the group stated back on July 21, 2016.

 “The vast preponderance of science, medicine and anecdote say that THC, the chemical that gets a person ‘high’, is also the component that brings much of the plant’s medicinal benefits.” –United For Care

Now here is the second alleged lie or mentira –

“The American Medical Association, the Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family Physicians all support medical marijuana access and research,” United for Care email, August 17, 2016.

The “No On 2” counter:

“To the contrary..All three of those organizations agree with the FMA (Florida Medical Association).”

“No On 2” adds that while these organizations support more research in to medicinal marijuana, all oppose Amendment 2 and other legislation like it.

 “This should not be viewed as an endorsement of state-based medical cannabis programs, the legalization of marijuana or that scientific evidence on the therapeutic use of cannabis meets the current standards for a prescription drug product.”-American Medical Assoc.

Johnson then reiterated the position of the three medical groups in stating that they were not “opposed to more research” into legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes.

 “The ‘No on 2’ campaign, the AMA, the FMA, the AAP and others are just opposed to legalizing marijuana under the guise of medicine when there’s no conclusive evidence to prove that it works or that it’s safe. The other side likes to talk about marijuana as some ancient miracle drug. They bring up how doctors used to prescribe marijuana back in the 1930’s. But that’s not very scientific; especially when you consider the fact that doctors also once prescribed tobacco as medicine.”-Christine Johnson

Medicinal marijuana was on the ballot in 2014, but failed to reach the necessary 60% of the total vote to become law. Politicos and media types believe that the measure could pass this year because of the expected higher voter turnout in a presidential election year, and because more Floridians seem to be warming up to the idea pot being used as medicine.