Decriminalization Effort Dies in Alabama State House
Under the current law, Alabamans can be saddled with a felony if theyre caught with a joint twice in their life. This week, Alabamas House Judiciary Committee killed a bill that would have decriminalized marijuana in the state and removed that law.
Cannabis decriminalization has hit a roadblock in the Deep South, as a bill that would have removed criminal penalties for marijuana possession in Alabama failed to advance out of committee.
For years, Rep. Patricia Todd (D-Birmingham) has pushed the issue to no avail in the states House of Representatives. This time, the bill fell via a 7-5 vote in the House Judiciary Committee. The bill would have removed criminal penalties for possessing up to one ounce of marijuana, and instead would have had officers issue a citation of up to $250 for the first two possession offenses. The fine would have jumped to $500 for the third offense.
Currently, those possessing an ounce of marijuana in Attorney General Jeff Sessionss home state could face a misdemeanor on the first offense, with a bump up to a felony on the second. In effect, this means that an Alabaman who was caught with a joint twice could end up with a felony.
The Alabama Media Group reported that the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Republican Jim Hill, had reservations about the decriminalization push and moved against the bill.
I think were probably headed toward either some type of either decriminalization or lesser emphasis being placed on marijuana, Hill told the committee. But its illegal. And to say that no matter how many times you use it, how many times its personal use, it never rises to the level of a misdemeanor, I just think thats a mistake.
Rep. Todd told the Alabama Media Group that she believed political posturing in an election year was what caused the roadblock. Im sad, Todd said. But its an election year. And a lot of people who voted no told me to my face that they were going to vote yes. And I think the roll-call vote scared a lot of people (who) dont want to look like theyre soft on drugs. But most people sitting there have no concept or understanding of marijuana.
The decriminalization efforts companion bill in the Alabama State Senate fared a bit better. A bill that was almost the same one Todd presented to the House was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee by a razor-thin 6-4 vote. Thanks to the efforts of Republican State Senator Dick Brewbaker of Montgomery, the debate over marijuana is now guaranteed to happen on the Senate floor.
After Brewbaker told the committee that nobody wants to hang felonies on kids for life, and that the state is currently arresting more people for pot than opioids, Sen. Phil Williams rebutted that he would be filibustering the bill if it did make its way to the Senate floor for ...
