4-29-25

Here’s one for you…. Big Government, Marijuana and Dr. Frankenstein all walk

into a bar.... sounds like a cheap joke, I know…..the problem is it may sound like a

joke but in reality the joke is on us……because that’s basically what we got in

Alabama when our Republican leadership formed the Alabama Medical Cannabis

Commission ……

But the question of THC products, legalized marijuana, and all of its related

questions is back in the news…..there is a bill currently making its way through

the Alabama legislature as I speak….the bill seeks to regulate THC gummies and

other THC filled products that are being sold over the counter in gas station quick

marts…..it’s a never ending fight…..back when I was in the Senate we had to pass

a similar bill in 2012 to clamp down on “spice” sometimes called “bath salts” for

some reason….synthetic marijuana….manmade pot….really potent stuff and really

dangerous and really really bad for the multitudes of kids who found out they

could get a buzz with something that wasn’t banned due to age…..we fixed it…but

the problem is back and now it’s actual THC from legal hemp…..same problem

different day……

Let me step back and remind us all that we have a Republican super-majority in

Montgomery…..the GOP controls all three branches of government in this

state….by a long shot….so if there is something that the GOP wants to do, or not

do, it has carte blanche to do it……with that said let me just recite some of the

platform issues that are currently on the Alabama Republican Party Platform

which can be found on their website……among other things the GOP stands for,

“limited government and that the growth of government should be curtailed by a

combination of the elimination of programs and transitioning of government jobs

to the private sector”……it also says that they “support lower and fair tax

models”….”that business growth should be encouraged through elimination of all

unnecessary regulations”……the platform expresses support for constitutional

liberties to include “equal rights, equal justice, and equal opportunity”…..I’ve

been a member of the State Republican Party for many years…..I ran as a party

member….. I helped establish the GOP as the super majority that it is today in the

state legislature……and I fully support that platform and the efforts of the party to

promote that platform…..but then I watch as members of the legislature enact

laws purporting to be for the greater good that fly in the face of that platform

despite the fact that they have an “R” by their name as members of the Alabama

Republican Party……and that’s exactly what’s happened with the establishment of

the Alabama Cannabis Commission……

Let’s pretend for a minute that marijuana is FDA approved for use on medicinal

grounds…..it’s not…..but we can pretend……there are studies that indicate that

marijuana is helpful to ease pain, to calm seizure disorders, to add calm to an

otherwise anxious mind……every time we have a hearing, or an official position,

we are given studies that indicate how safe medical marijuana is….it’s wonderful

they say……its harmless they say…..its all natural they say…..live and let live, get

out of the way, you naysayers!.......all good bro! Ganja gonna help ya!.....it sounds

a lot like aspirin…..simple and non-threatening…..and the more libertarian among

us would say that stodgy old died in the wool conservatives just want to get in the

way of someone following their own desires…..really?

If all of that were true……and there are as many studies that clearly state that it is

not…..but IF all of that were true and medical cannabis is a non-issue and should

be made readily available across our great state then why is it that the Republican

super majority had to violate every principle of the party platform to make it

available?......ask yourself with all honesty and personal candor…..if medical

marijuana is harmless then why did the GOP grow government by establishing a

fully separate and autonomous wing of government called the Cannabis

Commission…..a commission that has no limitations on the size of its staffing…..a

commission that will have its own enforcement officers that will be clothed with

arrest and investigative authority……and did you know that the way that the

Republican supermajority wrote the law that the Cannabis Commission

enforcement officers will have the power of search and seizure without a

warrant…..you heard me, they can enter your business or home without a

warrant and take such action as they deem necessary…….and did you know that

the GOP supermajority wrote the law to allow the Cannabis Commission to collect

taxes at 9% with another 2% collected at the local level…..that’s 11 cents on the

dollar for each medical cannabis “prescription”…..but wait, I thought that the

state sales tax rate is only 4%! No, no, it gets worse…..you see under title 40 of

the Alabama Code we don’t tax prescriptions at all……but the value and efficacy of

medical marijuana is so great, so awesome, that we will tax it at ten times the

usual rate……who gets that money? The Cannabis Commission……ok, ok, but its

necessary…..people need it…..they need it right away…..ok, so we will at least

have the pharmacies plussed up right away and ready to dispense? No, we

won’t….because marijuana is not FDA approved pharmacists could lose their

license if they dispense it, so it will have to be sold at a separate specially licensed

dispensary by a non-medically trained clerk hired off the street…..Wow….well, but

at least there will be dispensaries nearby for everyone who needs to get their

prescriptions filled, right? No, not really…..the law only allows for 37 dispensaries

statewide….out of 67 counties with over 5 million residents there will be just 37

locations allowed by law……OK, but if someone in my family needs it then I will

just go where it is and bring it to them….maybe not. The law says that in order to

be able to administer it you must be approved by the Cannabis Commission as a

caregiver….otherwise someone will have to come to your house to give your child

a gummy……

So let’s get this straight……despite the absolute assurance that medical marijuana

is a much needed thing for the citizens of the great state of Alabama the

Republican supermajority has decided that the way forward is to make

government bigger, limit the growth of a private sector business, tax it heavily,

violate basic rights in enforcing it, invade the privacy of your home to administer

it, and do so in a way that is in violation of Federal law and could get a pharmacist

fired…….So why are we doing this?.....and why is it really happening…..it’s

happening because recent studies show that the industry is peaking now with

$13.8 billion in sales in 2022 alone…..states like Alabama have a chance to push

that market share up by a projected 21% growth by 2030……

But as we sit here today recent studies indicate that the combined results of 30

separate studies show that legalization and decriminalization of marijuana has

resulted in a three-fold increase in marijuana poisoning…..and focusing on

children reveals an even higher number with poisoning episodes increasing at

four and half times…….Cannabis Use Disorder is a horrible thing…..decreased

brain function, fatigue, long term impairment to physical health, mental health,

relational health….basically, despite all assertions to the contrary the constant

bombardment of the human body by THC in marijuana has addictive qualities that

ruins lives…..

We also have the fact that the Alabama Cannabis Commission has been mired in

lawsuits and challenges since the day it kicked off…..multiple suits have been filed

claiming that there has been partisanship and a lack of transparency in the

licensing process and a new lawsuit last week seeks to have the head of the

Commission removed from his position for allegedly double dipping on state

compensation……As of this week one suit on appeal threw out the licenses that

were issued 2 years ago and mandated that the process start over…..at the same

time, another lawsuit was filed by a family seeking medical marijuana for their

daughter and claiming that the cannabis commission has failed…..

It’s a mess….an absolute mess….a mess, even though the proponents say its

harmless…..The bottom line is that if its so good then why not just legalize it?.....I

don’t want that personally – not at all……but you have to ask why something

touted as being the panacea for all of our ails is still off limits to our military, and

requires such government overreach to make it work……it’s a mess…. And now

we’re staring at the use of THC laden products in convenience stores made to

look like candy for kids…..and the legislature better get its act together and fix this

problem…..

This is exactly what you get when Big Government, Pot and Dr. Frankenstein walk

into a bar together…….

…And that’s a wrap for the Rightside Way