Legal marijuana: Will Alabama be last?

[TexasTowelie]

As legalized marijuana spreads across the United States, most observers remain skeptical that recreational marijuana will be legal anytime soon in Alabama.

"We're the Bible Belt," said Gary Hetzel, a retired warden at Donaldson and Holman prisons and now executive director of the Alabama Therapeutic Education Facility. "We're too conservative."

Marijuana activists are hopeful, but realistic.

"It will be legal here when the people force their elected officials to stop enforcing an obviously failed and disastrous policy," said Loretta Nall, executive director of Alabamians for Compassionate Care and founder of the U.S. Marijuana Party, which began as the Alabama Marijuana Party. "Having been an activist here and knowing how difficult it is to motivate enough people to make a difference, I'll say that I don't see that happening any time soon."

Alabama's reputation for conservatism and lagging social trends make it an unlikely candidate. Yet everyone agrees the idea becomes less farfetched each time another state votes to legalize it and as popular opinion continues to shift in favor of legalization.

Read more: http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2017/02/legal_marijuana_is_it_coming_t.html

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. Matters not. New

AG is a child, wants to get back at the cool kids who smoke pot.

[regnaD kciN]

2. With Sessions in charge, it's far more likely...

...that states that have already voted to legalize (whether for medical and/or recreational purposes) will find themselves dragged right back into the absolute "prohibition era," as Sessions is an outspoken opponent of any form of legalization, and I doubt he'll be too shy about imposing federal law on the states to make everyone "just say no."

[Glamrock]

3. I'm guessing the same thing.

There is a silver lining though, IMO. That decision will be another major nail in the GOP coffin with a generation they ate already losing....