The CARE Act, a bill authorizing medical marijuana use in Alabama

Does anyone remember a time when tobacco companies spent millions of dollars on advertising that promoted cigarettes? It started before I was born with ads like,“Nine out of 10 doctors recommend Camel brand cigarettes”. What do we know now about cigarettes? It turns out that what was sold to us by the people who were going to profit from it was not true.

Here we go again.

If you think the pending Bill in the House of Representatives legalizing medical marijuana use is about helping people with medical issues, I strongly disagree with you. I think it is really about big money, but not for the State of Alabama or us, as tax payers.

We are being sold something by the people who will profit from it. In my capacity at the Sheriff’s Office I have had the opportunity to hear many experts present the facts about what has happened in Colorado since medical use of marijuana was decriminalized. I am told that the tax revenue from marijuana sales there is less than one percent of Colorado’s total tax revenue. I am also told that the cost of providing services to those abusing marijuana is as much as 10 times that of the tax revenue- a net loss of tens of millions of dollars to the State. Those on the other side of this debate would argue and say that Alabama’s CARE Act is different.

It’s not if you pull the curtain back. Just wait and see.

Alabama legislators have followed the exact same playbook as Colorado’s legislators did and if the Care Act passes, decriminalizing recreational use of marijuana is right around the corner. Why would they vote for this knowing what has happened in Colorado?

The big corporations that will ultimately make tens of millions of dollars from marijuana sales in Alabama will not pay for the costs to society. We will pay that cost. They just put the money in their pocket, except for what they donate toward achieving their goals.

Here is one fact no one can argue with. The marijuana of today is vastly different than the marijuana of twenty years ago. Most marijuana in the past had a THC content of less than 10 percent. Today, some of the marijuana products that will be sold if this bill passes have a THC content as high as 90 percent.

A THC percentage so high that Colorado’s emergency rooms and first responders have seen a sharp increase in psychotic episodes among users and a dramatic increase in traffic related accidents and fatalities where marijuana was found to be a causative factor. There is no field sobriety test for marijuana by the way.

All of those working toward the legalization of marijuana are very adept with messaging and mental imagery. Here are some examples of their good salesmanship. First, the name of the act itself. Who could argue against something called the “CARE” Act? Next, this bill seeks to improve the lives of those suffering from a medical condition. Who could argue against helping someone who is suffering, certainly not me? But here, as in Colorado, the big money behind decriminalization and ultimate legalization is only using the medical argument to get them closer to their goal which is legal recreational use. They know they can’t eat the elephant in one bite so they will desensitize us to the idea of legal recreational marijuana with legal medical use first. There are over 100 known cannabinoids in marijuana. Only a handful has been researched. What other drug has been approved for medical use without thorough testing and research?

The Bill currently being considered, AL HB 243, is bad for Alabama. Here is one glaring example. The Bill recognizes certain “debilitating medical conditions” that would qualify a person for legal use of marijuana. The first condition listed in the Bill is addiction. So the sponsors of this bill are saying they already approve of someone addicted to heroin or cocaine using marijuana also.

If you think I am making that up go to the legislature’s website and pull the Bill up. Read it for yourself.

Next, to make it easier for people to get a prescription for medical marijuana this bill would allow not only physicians to prescribe, but also their assistants and nurse practitioners. The reason this language is so loose is really because when they come back in a couple of years to make recreational marijuana legal they want prescriptions to be easy to get. If your business is to sell something you want your customers to be able to get your product easily. More sales mean more profit. Remember who is really behind this and why it has as much support as it does in Montgomery.

There is no way I can fully give all of the arguments against legalizing marijuana for any purpose in a short op-ed piece. If nothing else maybe this will encourage some people to reach out to their legislators and let them know they also oppose legalizing marijuana.

Major Ken Burchfield is Chief of Staff, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.