Council member who voted down medical marijuana explains decision

Vote is happening again on Tuesday, will not require unanimous agreement

Like many issues, medical marijuana has its fans and dissenters. It’s no different in Tuscaloosa, and on Tuesday City Council members voted 5-1 in favor of allowing dispensaries once the state OKs distribution.

Tuesday’s vote required unanimous consent for the proposal to pass. The proposal is going to council again next week, and that vote will only require a majority.

District 3 Tuscaloosa City Council Member Norman Crow voted against the measure. District 7’s Cassius Lanier was absent from the meeting.

Crow said he has good reasons for his decision.

“The commission that oversees this, there is still a lot of uncertainty in my opinion,” Crow said. “There are some things that have not been defined yet. I voted no because I did not want to vote for something that we did not know all the rules yet.”

The measure is likely to pass next week, but don’t expect to visit a doctor get a medical marijuana card and walk into a store to buy it any time soon. The earliest Alabama could see medical marijuana sales is 2023, but odds are good the state is looking at longer.