To legalize or not to legalize? The battle has been brewing across the country when it comes to marijuana, and whether those who need it for medical reasons should be allowed to get it.

A bill to legalize medical marijuana in Florida failed in both the state House and Senate earlier this year.

Could medical marijuana ever see the light of day in Florida? News 13 went In Depth with Orlando attorney John Morgan, of the Morgan & Morgan law firm, to ask his point of view on the issue.

JACKIE BROCKINGTON: It's a very controversial topic, and you've come out in support of legalizing medical marijuana. Why?

JOHN MORGAN: Well, I had a personal dealing with it 20 years ago. My dad had both esophageal cancer and emphysema. Very painful: a lot of pain, a lot anxiety, a lot of nausea. And one of my brothers said, 'Look, we can go get some marijuana for him.' He did, and my dad had an appetite. His anxiety was gone, he wasn't nauseated and he ultimately died, but it wasn't a death that was with pain and anxiety and stress. So, I've seen it work, and I know it works.

JB: How do you feel being an attorney, knowing that you were giving your dad an illegal substance?

MORGAN: I wasn't. But my brother was, and I didn't have any problem with it at all.

JB: So, what would be the benefits of legalizing marijuana for medical use only?

MORGAN: Well, because it works. We know it works. Right now, what happens when people have pain or nausea? They get prescribed medicine that doesn't even work. If you have chemo, the chemo pain and nausea drugs don't even work. Or if you have pain, you're given this poison called OxyContin, which is addictive, which is poisonous. Some 15,000 people died of it last year. You go in with a routine leg injury, you get that medicine, and the next thing you know is you're an addict. It is so backwards from what it should be, that it makes no sense to me. So, I decided to put my name on it and help this group with this effort.

JB: Now, there are opponents to medical marijuana, even though a People United poll that showed that seven out of 10 Floridians would support legalizing marijuana for medical use. So, what are some of those concerns or fears? Medically, can you be addicted to marijuana?

MORGAN: I don't think so, but this is not about the use of marijuana. This is about the use of marijuana for a limited time and for limited purposes. Look, I'm not an advocate of legalizing marijuana. When my children were in high school and college, I kept little drug kits in my house and tested them for it.

JB: You did?

MORGAN: I did. Sometimes they tested positive; sometimes they didn't. But I wasn't sitting still, saying that I'm going to let this happen. So, this is not what this is about. This is about for a limited use for people with real pain: cancer victims, people who have ALS. I mean, it goes on and on, and everybody knows it works. It's just a matter of why won't we let it happen.

JB: Colorado and Washington are two states that have legalized the recreational use of marijuana for adults. Do you think sets a precedent for other states?

MORGAN: No, I don't. I think that someday -- not during my lifetime -- I think marijuana will be legal. Look, no one has ever died of a marijuana overdose, but a lot of people have died of alcohol poisoning. So, I believe not now, in my lifetime, but this new generation sees marijuana as much less toxic, much less dangerous than alcohol or hard drugs. So, if not now, maybe later.