5/13/18
Nine states and Washington, D.C., allow for the recreational use of marijuana. Another 22 states have decriminalized the drug, and public opinion suggests legalization is supported by more than 60 percent of Americans. But in the halls of the Statehouse in Montgomery, conservative lawmakers pushed back this past session against efforts to ease up on the tokers. Their concerns varied. Ultimately, two bills to decriminalize marijuana possession never made it to either the House or Senate floors for debate. Standing atop the anti-marijuana barricade was the House Judiciary Committee, where the Republican majority defeated the only decriminalization action to come before them. Rep. Mike Holmes, R-Wetumpka, was one of the "No" votes. He said his constituents simply "were not ready for that." Under Alabama law, someone who possesses any amount of marijuana for personal use is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $6,000 fine. Those who have been convicted before of possessing marijuana face a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $15,000 fine.
None of the states that allow for the recreational use of marijuana are in the South. Alabama also has among the highest concentration of Christians who identify as evangelical Protestants, a segment that opposes legalizing marijuana, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. Among white evangelicals, 60 percent believe marijuana should remain illegal, while only 38 percent back legalization. The polling also shows a partisan split. Democrats overwhelmingly support legalization, by a 69-28 percent margin. Republicans, who dominate the elected offices in Alabama, oppose it by 55-43 percent. Alabama spent $13.3 million on the enforcement of marijuana laws in 2010, that enforcement disproportionately affects blacks who are 4.5 times more likely to be arrested for possession than whites, and that the state's laws lack clarity between marijuana possession and distribution. Appleseed contends that two people arrested for possessing the same amount of marijuana in Alabama can face different punishments based on the "subjective decision" of a government official.
