Governor Kay Ivey recently signed Alabama's medical cannabis bill into law, extending a program which gives some people in the state strict access to cannabis for medicinal purposes.
Among the changes with the law though are plans to create a commission that will be tasked with studying the effects of medicinal cannabis, it will also renew Carly's law that allowed children in the state to use cannabis oil to help with seizures.
There was a lot of debate in the weeks leading up to the bill being signed, with many lawmakers still standing aggressively against any sort of cannabis freedom, even if it is peppered with restrictions that have been marketed as providing newfound freedom and cannabis opportunity. It's nice that children in the state who need cannabis medicine will be able to use it in certain circumstances without seeing a threat of violence in-return, but it isn't enough.
There are still many people being harassed and detained over cannabis in Alabama altogether, prisons have been filled with non-violent offenders who're guilty of victimless cannabis crimes. For some, these changes will be life-changing, but for others it won't make a needed difference.
Alabama lawmakers shouldn't need to put together a group to study the effects of cannabis, before they seek to uphold and defend the liberty of people in the state, to be able to consume, grow, and trade cannabis if they so desire. While it might not be something everyone is interested in learning about or interacting with, it's important that people are given the opportunity and their freedom of choice is respected, especially by those who claim to be serving them.
The cannabis and other drug laws in Alabama continue to destroy lives and degrade the quality of life for those who are suffering who might benefit from cannabis access. The war on drugs that they continue to wage, especially on cannabis, is not only harmful, it's immoral, it's ineffective, and it's a waste of taxpayer funds.
