By Mike Cason
The Alabama Democratic Party announced today the launch of a “Free Weed” website to campaign for legalization of marijuana. The party says arrests for marijuana possession are ruining lives and that statistics show Blacks are much more likely to be arrested than whites.
The state Republican Party chair said the GOP opposes legalization.
The Republican-controlled Alabama Legislature legalized medical cannabis last year. But bills to reduce the penalties for marijuana possession for recreational use, which are introduced every year, have not come close to passing.
The Democratic Party announcement coincides with the date, 4/20, that has come to be recognized by marijuana advocates as a day to to draw attention to what they say are the benefits of decriminalizing marijuana.
Although the “Free Weed” website is new, the party’s position is not. The party announced support for legalizing marijuana on this date a year ago.
In its arguments today for legalization, the Democratic Party used information from a report by the Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice and the Southern Poverty Law Center. The report, published in 2018, is “Alabama’s War on Marijuana: Assessing the Fiscal and Human Toll of Criminalization.”
The report is based partly on a study of marijuana arrests, including the 2,351 arrests for marijuana possession in Alabama in 2016. It says the arrest rate of Blacks was four times higher than for whites in Alabama even though it said there is ample evidence that usage is about the same for Blacks and whites.
Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, the chair of the state Democratic Party, said in a press release that Republican support for the stiff penalties against marijuana possession in state law is costly.
“Alabama’s Republican politicians seem hellbent on wasting money criminalizing ordinary people, ruining lives in the process,” England said. “Rather than pursuing policies that create opportunity and make our state more equitable, taxpayers are now strapped to a $1.3B prison project. Criminalizing cannabis doesn’t make us safer. If we legalize cannabis, we can bring new economic opportunities to Alabama and correct decades-old policies based on outright racism.”
Alabama Republican Party Chair John Wahl issued a statement in response to the Democrats.
“The Alabama Republican Party supports traditional family values,” Wahl said. “It’s important to us that our society and our families stay safe, strong, and healthy. The recreational use of marijuana does not encourage these principles. This is clearly a stunt by the Democrat Party. They know there is no way to pass anything concerning recreational marijuana before the end of the year. The session is over.”
Alabama’s annual legislative session ended April 7.
In 18 states, it is legal for adults to have a small amount of marijuana for recreational use, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Under Alabama law, possession of marijuana for personal use is a Class A misdemeanor, which can carry a sentence of up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $6,000. A second conviction of possession of marijuana for personal is a Class D felony, which can result in a sentence of up to five years and a fine of up to $7,500.
The law does not include any specific quantities of marijuana to define personal use.
A bill this year by Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, would have reduced the penalties for marijuana possession and added weight amounts to the definitions in the law. It passed the Senate Judiciary Committee but did not come up for a vote in the Senate.