Alabama Lawmakers Pass Bill To Increase Penalties For Smoking Marijuana In A Car Where A Child Is Present

*“It goes back to the heart of criminalization of marijuana in certain
communities. And those are communities that are communities typical of
people of color.”*

*By Andrea Tinker, Alabama Reflector*

The Alabama House of Representatives Thursday passed a bill that prohibits
smoking or vaping marijuana in a car with children.

HB 72, sponsored by Rep. Patrick Sellers, D-Pleasant Grove, would make it a
Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail, for those who
smoke marijuana in a car with a child under 19.

The bill passed 77-2 after an unusual debate largely limited to the 29
Democrats in the 105-member chamber over potential unintended consequences.
Most Democrats abstained from the vote. Four voted in favor; Reps. Mary
Moore, D-Birmingham and TaShina Morris, D-Montgomery, voted against the
bill.

“It’s about protecting the children, protecting every single child in the
state of Alabama,” Sellers said after the meeting. “And that’s the
motivation behind making sure that every child has the 100 percent ability
to learn in the best environment that they can and keep them safe.”

Under the bill, individuals who are found to have smoked marijuana in the
car with a child would be required to go through an educational program
conducted by the Department of Public Health and would be reported by law
enforcement to local county human resources departments.

Several Democrats who spoke on the measure cited the toll that harsh drug
laws had taken on minority communities.

“It goes back to the heart of criminalization of marijuana in certain
communities,” Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, said after the meeting.
“And those are communities that are communities typical of people of color.”

Givan also said House Democrats had wanted to work with Sellers on the bill.

“The Democratic Party, on several attempts, said that this is a bill that
we might need to sit down and curate,” she said. “I’m not sure why the
sponsor of the bill did not do that.”

Morris raised concerns about the bill’s definition of a child during debate.

“So we’re making a parent responsible for an 18-year-old who has a
marijuana smell on them,” she said. “We know at the ages of 16 and 17,
especially with the influence of walking outside and going different
places, that they are smoking, maybe without the parent even knowing.”

Rep. Rolanda Hollis, D-Birmingham, said during debate that parents don’t
know everything that their child does.

“As a parent you may not know, and here I don’t know if the counselor or
the principal can call you in to say ‘Hey this is what we smelled on your
kid’s jacket, how are we gonna handle this?’ But instead you got me going
to a class for something I don’t even know about,” she said.

When asked after the meeting about Morris’ concerns about the bill’s
language regarding age, Sellers said parents should “stop making excuses”
for their children.

“You know whether or not your child is smoking marijuana. If someone lives
in your house, you know they’re smoking marijuana because you can smell it.
It’s a distinct smell,” he said.

Sellers was also asked how the bill would be implemented if all of the
individuals in the car are high school students who have been smoking
marijuana. He said the high schools are already mandatory reporters who
have a process in place.

Messages seeking comment were left with the Alabama State Department of
Education and the Department of Human Resources Thursday.

When asked about the bill Thursday evening, House Minority Leader Anthony
Daniels, D-Huntsville, said “some people don’t know fat meat is greasy,” a
saying used to describe someone who must learn a lesson a hard way.

The bill moves to the Senate.

*This story was first published by Alabama Reflector.*

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