The Alabama Cannabis Coalition on Friday called for the full legalization of cannabis.
Alabama Cannabis Coalition Marty Schelper told Alabama Today that her group favors allowing the people of Alabama to grow their own marijuana.
“We want the right of home grow,” Schelper said.
The Alabama Legislature has passed legislation that will allow licensed growers to grow marijuana, but if you are not a licensed and regulated grower it will remain illegal to possess the plant.
“Prohibition does not benefit anyone,” Schelper said.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden pardoned 6,000 people who were convicted in the federal system for marijuana crimes.
“It is an election year stunt,” Schelper said of the Biden gesture. “It does not affect many people in Alabama.”
Schelper explained that most federal marijuana arrests are people arrested by agencies like the National Park Service or Capitol Police. Most marijuana convictions are in state court.
“While the Alabama Cannabis Coalition is grateful for any move towards the end of Cannabis Prohibition, the lives and families that have been destroyed the past 85 years by unconstitutional actions will never see reparations for their personal losses Cannabis Prohibition has caused,” Schelper said in a statement. “It is time for the misinformation campaign regarding Cannabis to end and restore Constitutional freedom and liberty to all of our citizens in every State. Cannabis must be removed from the Controlled Substance List. Ending Cannabis Prohibition is very similar to ending Alcohol Prohibition that created deadly crime and a black market. Legal exchanges subject to market discipline and scrutiny of the courts for fraud, contaminants, etc. will be superior to what we observe, just as returning alcohol to these constraints ended much of the crime and gang activity associated with prohibition.”
Schelper said that in addition to home grow legalization, they want the legislature to pass full decriminalization of marijuana and have existing convictions expunged from people’s records.
“Lives have been destroyed,” Schelper said. “They can’t get a job. They can’t own a firearm.”
Schelper said that there needs to be changes to the medical marijuana bill.
“We appreciate any movement toward full decriminalization, but we are not happy with that legislation,” Schelper said. “That bill is going to have to be revisited every year.”
Schelper expressed concerns that the legislation creates a cartel where a handful of marijuana growers and processors control the whole industry to their benefit,
The legislation creates the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission, which is in the process of awarding a limited number of licenses to businesses to grow, process, and transport marijuana, and sets the regulations for the training of doctors authorized to recommend medical marijuana in Alabama.
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