SB 46 represents history in the making.
Under SB 46, medical marijuana can be sold in tablets, capsules, tinctures, gels, oils, creams, suppositories, transdermal patches, nebulizers and liquids, or oils for use in an inhaler.
In Alabama, possession of marijuana without a medical marijuana card or a cultivation license will remain a Class B felony.
There are many obstacles to medical marijuana usage in the state of Alabama that SB 46 will have to overcome.
In fact, drug offenses account for more felony convictions and new prisons than any other offense, says the AACLJ.
According to the Prison Policy Initiative, a nonprofit aiming to expose the harms of mass incarceration, Alabama has a ratio of 946 inmates per 100,000 citizens, the fifth-highest incarceration rate in the world.
The buildings will not do anything with the culture of corruption in our prisons,” said state Rep.
State Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Chair Greg Albritton said that the bill is a “huge step in curing many of the difficulties we have.” This rhetoric is archaic and tired, and it needs to end.
It’s important to note that America’s attitude toward drugs has been hostile and dangerous since President Richard Nixon declared a war on drugs in the ’70s.
It keeps people from seeking out help, from telling their doctors, from telling their family members that they have a problem,” said Mike Schmidt, district attorney for Multnomah County, Oregon, home to Portland.
The result? A decrease in opioid-related emergencies, found several studies.
Drug treatment percentages increased, HIV diagnoses dropped dramatically, drug overdose fatalities declined, and court cases for drug offenses dropped by more than 60%, according to the Drug Policy Alliance.
People with addiction, especially those who inject drugs, are often distrusted when presenting for care in emergency departments or when visiting other providers.
There is no better time than now to decriminalize natural drugs like marijuana.
There are several student organizations at the University that focus on or feature issues involving the corrupt prison system and its relationships to drugs, like Tide Against Time and AL Students Against Prisons.
Every student can be a part of the solution.