Medical cannabis advocate Catherine Jordan dies in her Manatee County home on July 4

Medical cannabis advocate Catherine E. Jordan died in her home in Parrish on July 4 at the age of 74.

Decades of Jordan's advocacy is a big reason why Floridians can legally smoke cannabis for medical purposes. News of her death was made public by the Florida Cannabis Action Network, a statewide nonprofit that aims to end cannabis prohibition.

Jordan was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease when she was in her 30s. She smoked cannabis for decades to alleviate her symptoms and credited cannabis for her long life after her diagnosis. Over the years, she became an outspoken advocate for medical cannabis, she co-founded the Florida Cannabis Action Network and served as a past president of the organization.

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Jordan was a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed when Florida lawmakers subverted the will of voters , who elected to legalize medical cannabis in 2016, by outlawing cannabis smoking in 2017. She and other plaintiffs won the legal battle, and despite state appeal Florida lawmakers approved a bill that legalized smoking of medical cannabis in 2019 while under pressure from Gov. Ron DeSantis.

"She left a lasting memory here," her son and caretaker John Jordan said in a video posted on social media. "It is overwhelming to see how much support she actually had, how many memories she's made, and how many hearts she touched."

"We traveled from California back to Key West in our adventures, and just about every state we stopped at people knew her name in the cannabis movement," he said. "That's when I realized how many hearts she's touched."

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Her death came on a day when many fellow advocates, including members of the Florida Cannabis Action Network, organized to advocate for voter approval of a new amendment to the Florida constitution that would legalize recreational cannabis. Members of the organization could not be reached for comment.

Voters who head to the polls this November to decide the fate of the measure, known as Amendment 3. The effort requires approval by 60% of voters to move forward.

"Even at the end, she was arguing with the doctor about the benefits of cannabis," Jordan said in the video. "The doctor really couldn't go against what she said because even he was impressed she survived with ALS."

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Medical cannabis advocate Catherine Jordan dies in her Manatee County home on July 4