A right thus denied
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Give me Liberty
Rodger Williamson
A free person has dominion over what they do with their own body. They may choose to get a tattoo, or a piercing, or to wear a certain style of clothing. They may choose to get a seasonal flu shot, or they may assume the risks and forego said shot. They may choose to consume alcoholic beverages, either in moderation or in excess, or choose to not imbibe at all.
Freedom means personal responsibility. A citizen of the United States is allegedly a “free” person. In contrast, someone who is not “free” is either a prisoner, or in past times was considered a “slave.” Neither a prisoner nor a slave has any of the aforementioned freedoms. Neither has dominion over what they do with their own body. They may not choose to get a tattoo, or a piercing, or to wear a certain style of clothing. They may not choose to consume alcoholic beverages, either in moderation, excess, or to not imbibe at all. Their choice was taken away from them. They do not have liberty. They do not have freedom.
Prohibition happens when persons in government use the powers of government to enforce their will upon the citizenry. When a person has their freedom of choice removed, under threat of retribution for failing to comply, they have in effect become either a prisoner or the property of those that have asserted control over their persons. They have in essence become a slave.
President Abraham Lincoln once said that “Prohibition goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man’s appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes.”
The prohibition of alcohol in the late 1920s and early 1930s was a complete failure, and so, too, has been the War on Drugs. Both the prohibition of alcohol and the prohibition of drugs fell victim to the Law of Unintended Consequences, where politicians pass a law with the intent of a positive outcome. Unfortunately, most laws written have failed to account for all possible unintended consequences and thus fail to achieve their intended results.
Many states began to prohibit usage of marijuana during the first half of the 20th century. Nearly all of them did so with the intent to control the primary users of cannabis, those with darker skin, whether Latinos or negros. In the 1970s, President Nixon signed off to place marijuana as a “schedule I” drug, with no medical properties, as a big “F.U.” to the hippies and radicals of that era. And with that, began the failed war on drugs.
In the United States today, cannabis is now legal in 24 states for recreational use and in 38 states for medical use. While Alabama is considered a “legal for medical use” state, in practice it is still illegal. Three years ago, on May 17, 2021, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law Senate Bill 46, the “Darren Wesley ‘Ato’ Hall Compassion Act.”
The bill allowed the use of cannabis only by registered patients 19 years of age and older that have a physician’s recommendation for treatment for any of 15 qualifying conditions that include: autism spectrum disorder; cancer-related cachexia, nausea or vomiting, weight loss, chronic pain; Crohn’s disease; depression; epilepsy or a condition causing seizures; HIV/AIDS-related nausea or weight loss; panic disorder; Parkinson’s disease; persistent nausea; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); sickle cell anemia; spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis or spinal cord injury; a terminal illness; Tourette’s Syndrome; or any condition causing chronic or intractable pain.
Alabama created The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission to control legal cannabis within our state. Unfortunately, to date, after three full years, the commission has failed to make legal medical cannabis available to even one patient, leaving those in need still subject to Alabama law, wherein first-time possession of personal amounts is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in prison, a fine of up to $6,000 and a mandatory six-month driver’s license suspension. Repeat offenses and possession with intent to sell are considered felonies.
I am a veteran. I served my nation, and my state. I am free born and claim every right that was afforded my forebears, that do not infringe upon others. I am neither a prisoner, nor a slave. But I suffer pain throughout every day of my existence from an injury suffered during my service in the military. All I want is to be able to freely treat my pain issues with a natural substance that has been proven to be safe to consume. If it doesn’t work, I will stop, and continue to seek other remedies. I am but one of more than 5 million Alabama citizens who are being denied a basic right.
While Alabama has earned an “F” letter grade for providing relief to patients in need, President Biden has recently agreed to sign off on reclassifying cannabis from schedule I to schedule III, meaning that marijuana does have medical use and a low potential for abuse. I hate to give Biden any credit, as he has earned a long series of “F” letter grades on nearly everything he’s done, but for this, I give him a “B.” Hopefully better things will come, and the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission will stop dragging their feet and get some dispensaries opened sometime soon.