Decatur will soon join a number of Alabama cities in considering whether to allow medical marijuana dispensaries, but Council President Jacob Ladner wants a presentation and a council discussion before taking a vote.
“We need to decide if medical marijuana is something we want sold in our community,” Ladner said.
Alabama became the 37th state to approve medical marijuana when it adopted a law last year, although marijuana — whether recreational or medicinal — remains illegal under federal law. Ordinances, voted on by cities, and resolutions, voted on by counties, are needed before the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission allows a dispensary to operate within a jurisdiction’s boundaries.
The law allows a maximum of 27 dispensary sites in the state.
Lafayette Street Northeast resident Ginger Craig said she would like for Decatur to approve medical marijuana dispensaries. She has epilepsy, a condition she believes comes from having a brain tumor at age 3.
“Three doctors told me smoking marijuana would make me feel better, but I would still have to take my epilepsy medicine,” Craig said.
Craig, 60, had to move from Nashville to Decatur four years ago to be closer to family after a second wreck due to an epileptic seizure. She’s allowed to drive up to 2 or 3 miles from her home, but she doesn’t like to drive because of her deteriorating…
