Since 2003, DPA has been working to develop a coordinated, effective drug policy reform campaign in Alabama. We made considerable progress last year on both medical marijuana and reforms to the probation and parole practices in the state. Our probation/parole reform bill, for instance, passed the House (but died in the Senate).

This year, Alabama’s legislative session begins on Feb 5. We’re busy organizing public education forums, educating policy makers, conducting trainings, developing community leaders, writing op-eds and letters to the editor and, when necessary, holding rallies and marches.  Here is a brief description of our current focus areas in Alabama:

Drug Policy and Sentencing Reform

As a leading member of the New Bottom Line Campaign, DPA worked with our allies at The Ordinary People’s Society to pass legislation that would enact reforms to the state’s probation and parole practices. Currently in Alabama, thousands of people are locked up for years on nonviolent drug offenses, then must serve parole periods that are often 10 - 15 years long. During that period, if a person violates his or her parole with a technical violation (which is pretty easy to do), they end up back in prison.  Most significantly, people who fail their drug tests while on probation and parole would be prevented from being reincarcerated for periods longer than 90 days. We are working to end this egregious practice and create more effective re-entry strategies to stop the flow of people back into the prison system once they’ve been released.

In 2007, the parole and probation reform bill, HB 538, was sponsored by Rep. Marcel Black. The bill passed the House, but died in the Senate when a fistfight broke out between Senators during a filibuster of the bill. We lost the bill, made serious progress.

We’re engaging in broad public debate around the prison overcrowding crisis in the state, demonstrating that the prison overcrowding crisis is driven in large part by the war on drugs. Policy makers, among others, are seeking our guidance and feedback on policy reforms related to drugs, prisons, and criminal justice more broadly.

Compassionate Care and Medical Marijuana

In Alabama, as in many other states, people living with debilitating pain are not legally allowed access to a medicine which may benefit them: cannabis. The majority of Alabamans support legal access to this medicine. A 2004 poll by the Mobile-Register and the University of South Alabama Polling Group found that 76% of Alabama residents think adults should be allowed to use marijuana for medical purposes if prescribed by a doctor. DPA is working closely with Alabamans for Compassionate Care  to educate community members and legislators about this critical issue.

DPA’s lobbying arm, the Drug Policy Alliance Network, is supporting a bill that would allow certified patients suffering from certain approved illnesses to use marijuana, with a doctor's recommendation, for relief from their symptoms. The bill also establishes a safe and secure distribution system within the state, to be operated by the Department of Public Health.

Last year, HB 206, the medical marijuana bill sponsored by Rep. Laura Hall, was referred to a Judiciary Committee subcommittee for review. DPA and ACC members testified in support of the bill, but the bill did not get through committee. We’ll reintroduce a better bill in 2008.

DPA is continuing our work to build and expand our networks in the state, and are also developing the organizational infrastructure necessary to support a growing reform movement.

DPA is providing strong support for these efforts through policy maker education, media advocacy, and development of a strong grassroots base. And we are not alone in this effort: with the combination of a strong grassroots push and support from leading policy makers, the prospects look good for substantive reform in Alabama.

To get involved, please contact project director gabriel sayegh. Together, we can win!

gabriel sayegh
Director, State Organizing and Policy Project
Drug Policy Alliance
(212) 613-8048
gsayegh@drugpolicy.org