Loved ones and supporters gathered in Sarasota on Sunday to honor the late Cathy Jordan and the integral role she played in Florida's medical cannabis movement.
Jordan died on July 4 in her home in Parrish. She is remembered as a pillar in the medical cannabis movement in Florida by fellow advocates, loved ones and many who met Jordan. Nearly 100 people gathered for her memorial on Sunday, and more than 30 others joined digitally.
Florida Cannabis Action Network President Jodi James was among them. She first met Jordan in 1997 and has spent decades advocating by her side for safe and affordable access to medical cannabis throughout the state.
Previously:Medical cannabis advocate Catherine Jordan dies in her Manatee County home on July 4
"There is energy and healing to this plant, and people having access to it was Cathy's mission and the universe would line up to help her in that," James said. "When people looked at Cathy they saw a woman in a wheelchair. The Cathy that I worked with was amazingly quick-witted, and she also had a fabulous memory. I got to be Cathy's partner in politics and pranks for the last 27 years."
"Yesterday, at the memorial, we put an empty wheelchair with one of the blankets that she was often seen with and a piece of art. Her chair is empty now," she said.
Who was Cathy Jordan?
Born Jan. 1, 1950, Jordan was in her 30s when she was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease. She smoked cannabis for decades to alleviate her symptoms and credits it for how long it helped her live with the disease.
Jordan moved to Florida from Delaware in 1989 and made the Parrish community in Manatee County her home. She chose to move after smoking a strain called Myakka Gold during a vacation in Manatee County alleviated many of her symptoms.
"When she found that Myakka Gold it transformed her life," James said. "She had a better attitude. She was hungry. Her muscles stopped twitching. The hum that was happening in her body from the neuromuscular disease calmed."
Jordan built upon her positive experience with cannabis into decades of advocacy for its medical use. She was a founding member of the Florida Cannabis Action Network and served as a past president of the organization.
What was Cathy Jordan's role in legalization of medical cannabis
Jordan soon became involved in efforts to approve legal access to medical cannabis and was so integral to the effort that in 2013 a bill with her name on it was introduced as the Cathy Jordan Medical Cannabis Act, although it never even made it into a committee hearing.
From the Herald-Tribune archive:Victory at last for Cathy Jordan, the 'patron saint' of medical marijuana in Florida
The Manatee County Sheriff's Office raided Jordan's home in 2013 and confiscated two dozen plants after a news article about her medical cannabis use and ties to the bill. However, prosecutors declined charges because it was grown out of medical necessity.
The next year political efforts turned toward a constitutional amendment, which failed in 2014 but was approved by voters in 2016. Jordan was a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed when Florida lawmakers subverted the will of voters by outlawing cannabis smoking in 2017. She, and other plaintiffs, won the legal battle. The state appealed the decision but reversed course at the behest of Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Advocates have now turned their attention toward raising support for a new amendment that will be presented to voters on this year's ballot. It would allow for recreational cannabis use statewide for adults age 21 or older if approved by 60% of voters.
How did Cathy Jordan's life intersect with that of Donald Clark?
The man who grew the strain known as Myakka Gold, Myakka City farmer Johnny Clark, was pardoned in 2000 from a life-in-prison sentence by former President Bill Clinton during his last day in office. Clark was the man who grew the cannabis that changed Jordan's life.
Clark became one of the state's biggest cannabis growers before his arrest in 1985, and life sentencing in 1991, as part of an intensified "war on drugs." He was pardoned following efforts by an organization called Families Against Mandatory Minimums, an effort that the Cannabis Action Network also supported.
More from the archive:Donnie Clark: Myakka City marijuana legend turned backyard gardener
"The strain of cannabis that she was using was called Myakka Gold," James said. "Well, we knew the man that had grown the cannabis that saved Cathy's life had gotten life in prison. So that was our story for a long time. You can imagine the way begins to unfold, and now this man who got life in prison for growing the medicine that saved Cathy's life is pardoned."
"Talk about a life that was just bigger than reality," she said. "They became the odd couple of cannabis, the woman whose life was saved by cannabis and the man who grew the cannabis and who had gotten pardoned from a life sentence."
Cathy Jordan's death mourned by many
Jordan died on July 4 at home in the company of her son, John Jordan. Her loved ones gathered for a memorial on Sunday at the Fogertyville Media and Art Community Center.
"We will miss her tremendously," James said. "Everyone said how grateful they were to have been a part of the big tent that Cathy created for people. We are grateful that her son and daughter-in-law spent literally the entirety of their lives together caring for Cathy."
"We want to continue to surround John and Karen with love," she said. "I think everybody is excited that they get to go and do new things. We have a lot of compassion for caregivers. We are surrounded by so many patients and caregivers that we certainly understand that it's going to be a big change for them."
Most Popular
Comments / 0