Voters in Cullman County will decide whether medical marijuana products should be taxed to raise revenue for the District Attorney's Office and for mental health.
Medical marijuana is legal in Alabama, though a statewide program has not been rolled out yet and approved. More than three years after Alabama lawmakers gave the go-ahead for medical marijuana , no dispensaries are open. No products have been sold. And not one cent of tax revenue has been generated from it.
Republican Cullman County District Attorney Champ Crocker, who took office in January 2023, said he approached the legislative delegation about the sales tax over a year ago to assist in funding his office at a time it’s facing a backlog of cases. Crocker said he’s not endorsing the measure. “If you add another tax, it just drives the costs up on sick people who really need this,” Ball said. “I hope the people voting for this understand that this is not about getting marijuana to people who want to get high. I don’t think it will be a great cash cow. I can sympathize with what the are facing, but the Legislature and the counties and the state … they need to find a way to fund these District Attorney offices appropriately.
“I know many counties will likely be watching this vote,” said Sonny Brasfield, executive director with the Association of County Commissions of Alabama, who said there are few local laws in Alabama to ensure District Attorneys are fully funded on a county-by-county basis. And since the pandemic, District Attorneys around the state have expressed concerns over a lack of resources to resolve a backlog of court cases.
“What this does is tax the sale of cannabis products, period,” Harbinson said. “It doesn’t exempt medical cannabis. I think we’re a long way away from Alabama becoming recreational. But it would tax that if it comes in effect.”At issue in Cullman County is whether the medical products should be used to provide funding to District Attorney’s Offices, many of whom opposed legislation that creating a medical marijuana program in Alabama in 2021.
“In my office, we have about the same that we had about 20 to 30 years ago,” Crocker said. “I’d love to have three to four more ADAs. If we can increase our personnel, that will allow us to move things quicker which is better for the victim and better for the victims of crime. It’s also better for people accused of crime who are sitting in a jail to have their cases resolved. It’s also good for law enforcement. They are working every day and bringing these cases to us.
The entire program remains in flux amid litigation that has halted its rollout and concerns raised over the selection process.
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