How did casino interests get mixed up in marijuana debate?

BY FRANK CERABINO
Bradenton Herald
 
So what’s a Las Vegas casino mogul doing in the middle of Florida’s medical marijuana debate?
Sheldon Adelson, the owner of the Las Vegas Sands, donated $2.5 million this month to the Drug Free Florida Committee, which was formed to oppose the legalization of medicinal marijuana in Florida, an issue state voters will decide in November by referendum.
Adelson doesn’t live in Florida, and he is a huge supporter of research that supports using marijuana to treat debilitating diseases.
He and his wife, Miriam, are the principal benefactors of the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Center for the Biology of Addictive Diseases at Tel Aviv University.
“Marijuana has long been known to relieve pain and nausea, but the medical benefits may in fact be much more significant,” the center reported. “Researchers at the Adelson Center are finding major medical properties in marijuana that could affect the way neurodegenerative diseases and brain injuries are treated.”
So you would think if Adelson was going to throw his money around in Florida on the marijuana issue, it would be to support medicinal legalization, not fight it.
Unless you consider that Adelson’s money has nothing to do with marijuana.
Adelson’s primary interest in Florida is as a locale for his casinos.

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