I am aware your role in state government is sometimes thankless and contentious. Therefore, I address you with only the greatest respect and as briefly as practical. I am aware some legislators are strongly opposed to the medical marijuana legislation that will be considered Monday, the last day of the 2021 session. This will be the last chance this year the leaders will have to say “Yea” or “Nay” to a proposal that could provide comfort to the dying: our mothers, our fathers, our sons, daughters, grandchildren, and thousands of God’s children we will never meet. I am begging, yes begging you, to drop your opposition to the medical marijuana bill or hold fast to your support, whichever the case may be.
Some of you have stated your reason to oppose it is for personal reasons. I, too, have personal reasons to hope for approval: I watched my brother die of cancer. He was a strong man, an officer in the Alabama National Guard, and the most devout patriot I have ever known. We knew death was winning the battle for life, and we were helpless to stop it. However, medical marijuana could have alleviated the excruciating pain he had to endure for his final 18 months in this world. Pain that left him delirious at times, unconscious at times, and weeping at times. We loved him so much, and knowing we were losing him was the greatest sorrow my family had ever experienced. That great sorrow was intensified, not only by his death but his suffering. In all medical probability, medical marijuana could have caused the horror of his last days to be less horrible.
I do not use recreational marijuana, and I oppose its legalization. Medical marijuana is not about getting high. It is about peace in the flickering candle of life as it nears the final glow. It is about a period when one of our fellow human beings sees the horrifying approach of his/her own death nearing their bed. It is about the comfort of seeing this pain of a loved one being lessened in a way no current synthetic medication can. It is about lessening the impact of young children, like my nephews, when their lives and family were torn apart. Their sadness, the loss, the feelings of abandonment, the anger, their grief was exacerbated by seeing the intensity of their daddy’s suffering. Those emotions will never go away.
Some of you are worried about addiction. I understand that, but there is no credible evidence to support that. Medical marijuana is formulated to prohibit this. Will there be misuse? Probably, but when the wayward realize they will not get high, it will not be a public health issue. Medical marijuana is NOT a gateway drug. I have generational addiction in my bloodline. I would never promote anything that could cause addiction or relapse. Medical marijuana is a solid pro-life concept.
It seems reasonable to make a drug from a drug. When I had significant stomach disorders as a teen, I drank what seemed like gallons of a chalky over-the-counter medication. One of the active ingredients was opium. I do not think there are many Maalox addicts my age.
Please consider overriding the opposition to this legislation and do not push for amendments. The well-being of thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of Alabamians is in your hands. Please do not enable the well-intended but misinformed to force torture on those who are dying or have illnesses that can be so treated.
I leave you with the very statement with which I opened: your job is sometimes thankless and contentious. I, however, honor you for the many sacrifices you make to be a public servant. I appreciate you for taking the time to hear me out. God bless you all.
Grady Thornton is a Southern Baptist Sunday School teacher and a member of church committees, a supporter of Second Amendment rights, and a Republican. He is a member of the Alabama Republican Party Executive Committee, the Shelby County Republican Executive Committee, Steering Committee, and Zone Coordinator. He is a member of the Alabama Minority GOP, Associate Member of a Republican women’s club, a volunteer for selected Alabama Federation of Republican Women events, and a volunteer on many Republican activities in the past.
