Updated: 10:04 PM CDT May 7, 2021 WVTM 13 Digital The Alabama Legislature on Thursday approved medical marijuana legislation after years of resistance.The House vote to pass the bill came after two days of emotional debates in which key Republican lawmakers described switching sides in favor of the proposal. The Alabama Senate later voted to accept House changes and sent the legislation to Gov. Kay Ivey for her consideration. The bill, which was renamed the “Darren Wesley ‘Ato’ Hall Compassion Act,” would allow people with a qualifying medical condition to purchase marijuana after getting a recommendation from a doctor. More than a dozen conditions, including cancer, a terminal illness, depression, epilepsy, panic disorder and chronic pain, would be qualify a person for medical cannabis treatment.The governor s office released the following statement after the bill cleared the final Senate review: “As with any piece of legislation that reaches the g
May 1, 2021 Share
Terrence Hewing was working for a package delivery company in 2007 when police approached his cargo van in suburban Denver. He was early for a pickup, and someone out for a walk called authorities after seeing him napping in the driver’s seat.
Officers found about a pound of marijuana inside the vehicle. That led to a couple of days in jail, thousands of dollars in legal fees and a felony conviction for drug possession. Hewing lost his job and, because of his criminal record, for years struggled to find housing and a stable, well-paying career.
“I felt like I was in a certain box in society,” he said. “There’s people that don’t have felonies and people that do. It makes you almost feel kind of outcast.”
Marijuana social equity: Seeds planted, but will they grow?
As marijuana legalization proliferates in the U.S., social equity has been a selling point By Thomas Peipert and Michael R. Blood, Associated Press
Published: May 1, 2021, 7:55pm
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8 Photos Sarah Woodson poses for a portrait in Denver on Saturday, April 3, 2021. Woodson, the executive director of the advocacy group The Color of Cannabis, runs a 10-week business course to help students navigate Colorado s social equity application process and to connect them with marijuana industry leaders. Colorado s social equity program is aimed at correcting past wrongs from the war on drugs, which disproportionately affected minorities. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)