COLUMN: State makes right call with medical marijuana bill – Shelby County Reporter

From ALEC ETHEREDGE | Editor-in-chief

I’m not going to sit here claiming to be an expert on marijuana. I’ve never tried and I don’t know much about it. But I know that lawmakers recently made the right call when they voted to make medical marijuana legal in Alabama.

In contrast to the lottery, the state is not one of the last to make a decision that benefits people in all facets of life.

Personally, I have no interest or need in medical marijuana, and I know many abuse it as a drug and will continue to abuse it, but I also know that it has been a no-brainer financially and for the health of many.

There are many struggling with chronic health issues, anxiety, depression, and other daily health issues that will benefit dramatically from Governor Kay Ivey’s Senate Bill 46 on Tuesday, May 18.

The bill has many flaws, but it is a big step in the right direction for those most affected, namely those with difficult health conditions.

Those who can benefit from medical marijuana include:

Autism; cancer-related weight loss or chronic pain; Crohns; Depression; Epilepsy or seizures; HIV / AIDS-related nausea or weight loss; Panic disorder; Parkinson’s; persistent nausea unrelated to pregnancy; PTSD; Sickle cell; Spasticity associated with diseases such as ALS and multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries; incurable diseases; Tourette; chronic pain for which conventional therapies and opiates should not be used or are ineffective.

My father is the perfect example of someone who can benefit from this. He has suffered from chronic pain for the last 15 years of his life and while it is still something difficult that affects our family and I am not entirely comfortable on this forum, it could easily benefit him.

As someone who has to take some of the most dangerous prescribed pain relievers on a daily basis with herniated discs in the back, bad knees and other problems in the neck, this can help alleviate some of that pain and bring him back to more normal daily life without the risk of some pain relievers .

For many who have battled some of the world’s most difficult diseases with little help, this is a difficult reality.

Now there may be hope for those who have tried various options to no avail.

It also prevents the state from being last. The state is still fighting over a lottery, all but six statistics of which must benefit roads and schools, and at least now it can benefit from a major financial move.

The ways available to get the product include tablets, capsules, tinctures, or gel cubes for oral use; Gels, oils or creams for topical use; and suppositories, transdermal patches, nebulizers, or liquids or oils for use in an inhaler.

I agree that there are some who illegally abuse it and that cannot happen, but those who did not have legal access to it and needed it most will now have it as an option when prescribed by a doctor .

It will take at least a year for products to become available, but this step is helping so many who need a product they previously did not have access to.