Alabama lawmakers approved a bill to legalize medical marijuana, which would make the state the 37th to adopt medical pot, leaving Wisconsin as just one of a dozen states that are refusing reform.
The chances of success of the bill in Alabama seemed shaky, due to the state’s long, storied history of anti-progress policies. The legalization of medical marijuana is not just an important step towards societal progress, it is also a powerful tool to protect Black populations from unwarranted police interactions, which are to this day often carried out under the guise of “smelling weed.”
Maybe it is not so surprising, then, in the state whose constitution still, to this day, mandates “separate schools for white and colored children” (Alabama State Constitution, Section 256), to hear that cannabis reform was nearly killed through a lengthy filibuster. While the bill was ultimately approved, the final version was stripped down through committees; the marijuana tax revenue directed towards research was halved, the list of qualifying conditions to receive cannabis treatment was shortened, and provisions were included to make it difficult and costly for doctors to have the ability to recommend marijuana to their patients. Another source of worry for Alabama activists is that the bill only allows physicians to prescribe marijuana when “conventional therapeutic intervention and opiate therapy is contraindicated or has proved ineffective,” thus encouraging doctors to privilege prescribing addictive opioids rather than non-addictive cannabis.
However, despite the opponents’ best efforts, the legislature approved the bill one day later, sending it to the desk of Gov. Kay Ivey (R) for signing. The governor initially flirted with the possibility of vetoing the bill but, as she told WSFA12-News, she hopes to sign the bill after thorough review.
If she signs it, it will become possible for Alabamans to be prescribed marijuana for nearly two dozen conditions including anxiety, PTSD and chronic pain—although the legislature removed menopause and fibromyalgia from the list of qualifying conditions.
Advocates hold out high hopes that Alabama legalizing medical marijuana through an act of the legislature is a sign that even the Deep South is starting to wake up. Although Alabama’s version of legalization is significantly less complete than could be expected of more progressive states, this is a sign of mounting pressure to enact reform. Neighboring Mississippi also legalized medical pot last year through a ballot measure, giving signs that the remaining 13 states that refuse to step into the modern world might follow suit—hopefully, Wisconsin will do so, as well.
