Dothan Eagle. September 20, 2021.

Editorial: A fast track for medical cannabis

Certain Alabamians will be greatly pleased to learn that an initiative to provide medical cannabis in our state has been so productive that products may become available ahead of schedule.

Lawmakers approved medical marijuana earlier this year, and appointed a 14-member panel chaired by Dr. Steve Stokes, a radiation oncologist from Dothan, and the panel recently hired Alabama’s state treasurer, John McMillan, as director of the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission to oversee the initiative from seed to sale. McMillan has resigned his cabinet post, which will be filled by former two-term treasurer Young Boozer.

Much remains to be done, including establishing cultivation parameters and issuing growing permits and licensing dispensaries as limited by law.

However, Stokes said the commission hopes to shorten the timeline given the progress that’s been made thus far.

That’s good news for sufferers of numerous illnesses whose symptoms can be improved by medical cannabis.

But don’t expect the state to resemble an opium den. Medical cannabis in Alabama does not authorize products that would be smoked or vaped. Prescriptions for medical cannabis are limited to a small list of illnesses, and medical cannabis products will be limited to oils, tinctures, tablets, capsules, gel cubes, creams or transdermal patches.

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Decatur Daily. September 16, 2021.

Editorial: A messy solution for a messy prison problem

The state of Alabama is finally taking steps to deal with inhumane conditions in its prisons brought on by decades of inadequate funding, laws that imprison too many people who are not a threat to the public, deteriorating facilities and dramatic overcrowding. While long overdue, the progress is good news.

In keeping with state government’s approach to the self-inflicted prison disaster, however, its recent progress is marred by its method.

For starters, the normal bid process for the general contractors would be circumvented under the current proposal. Lawmakers expect Montgomery-based Caddell Construction and Birmingham-based BL Harbert International to get the no-bid contracts, mainly because they were the general contractors selected by Gov. Kay Ivey in her earlier plan to lease from private developers three new facilities.

That plan — a valiant effort by the governor to bypass a Legislature that refused to deal with a deadly problem that caused the violent deaths of inmates as well as correctional staff — collapsed.

Issuing no-bid contracts on a project that will require the state to borrow $785 million should cause all Alabamians to scratch their heads.

Under the latest proposal being pushed by legislative leadership, 4,000-bed prisons would be built on state-owned land in Elmore and Escambia counties. A third men’s prison is possible in phase III of the plan. Phase II includes a women’s prison in Elmore County to replace the current Tutwiler Prison.

A primary justification for skipping the bid process is that it may speed up the construction. In other words, the Legislature dragged its feet for so long that it now has to sacrifice sound fiscal practices for haste.

“We’ve got pressure from the courts, we’ve got pressure from the crumbling facilities that we’ve got, we’ve got pressure from the county jails,” Sen. Greg Albritton said. “There’s all kinds of chain reactions just waiting for something to trip. I don’t think we have the luxury of delay or wait or extended review.”

Not only is the current plan to bypass the bidding process for general contractors, the funding source is questionable.

Lawmakers estimate they can use about $400 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars on the plan, and maybe as much as $600 million.

While apparently legal, the use of federal dollars aimed at COVID relief for a long-neglected state obligation is disturbing, especially in a state where funds are desperately needed for COVID-related health care.

Alabama Arise has long advocated for improved prison conditions, but the organization has understandable reservations about the proposed funding for the latest prison plan.

“Those funds were specifically to rescue the American people from the worst impacts of COVID,” said Executive Director Robyn Hyden. “So it’s really disappointing to see our state turn away funding for unemployment assistance and turn away help that could go directly to people who are struggling for health care. But then, the first thing our lawmakers are thinking about when they see this money is, oh, let’s build prisons.”

The one positive of the prison plan is that it shows consistency. Lawmakers have botched the desperately needed reform of the prison system from day one. It is fitting that their planned solution is as messy as the problem they created.

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