ALCAP President Greg Davis:
Recreational Marijuana Creeps into Alabama
Legal Hemp—a variety of the Cannabis sativa plant—contains trace amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is psychoactive at certain levels. By law, hemp must measure less than 0.3% Delta-9 THC by dry weight at harvest to qualify as non-psychoactive cannabis. However, a loophole in a 2018 federal law, which legalized hemp and its derivatives, has enabled labs to exploit this regulation. By extracting CBD from hemp and chemically altering it through various processes, labs can produce psychoactive cannabinoids such as Delta-8, (stronger) Delta-9, and Delta-10 THC. These lab-created substances are basically “synthetic marijuana” and potentially just as potent; they are also being widely distributed across Alabama, where they often end up in the hands of minors and in schools.
Various Bills Related to the Banning or Regulating of Hemp (Marijuana) Products Have Been Filed
For more information on marijuana in Alabama, listen to and read about the conversation between Greg Davis and Christine Carr (CRNA) here.
For information regarding SB273 (Hemp Regulation Bill), click here.
For a comparison of three THC bills (HB445, SB273, SB274) by Eagle Forum of Alabama, click here.
For a comparison of two THC bills in the Senate (SB237, SB255) by Eagle Forum of Alabama, click here.
ALCAP’s Position: Banning marijuana products is more effective than attempting to regulate them. Regulation is another word for legalization, and the end result will not change. Countless lives are and will be devastated by these drugs, and minors will still be able to obtain these products illegally and bring them into schools.
*Update* SB186 and SB187:
Protecting Children from Pornography
Summary of SB186: This bill would require manufacturers of certain Internet-enabled devices, including smartphones and tablets, to contain a filter that is enabled during the activation of the device if the user is a minor.
This filter would be capable of preventing the device from accessing or displaying obscenity through Internet browsers or search engines.
Status: This bill passed the Senate and awaits a vote in its House Committee.
Summary of SB187: This bill would would require app stores to implement various age-verification processes.
Status: This bill passed the Senate and now moves to the House.
HB67: Banning Drag Shows in Public Schools and Libraries
Summary of Bill: This bill would prohibit public K-12 schools and public libraries from knowingly presenting or sponsoring drag performances in the presence of a minor without the consent of the minor’s parent or legal guardian.
Also, this bill would also prohibit certain state entities from allowing minors to share certain facilities with members of the opposite sex during overnight programs operated or sponsored by the state entity, unless the other individuals are family members of the minor and the minor’s parent consents.
Status: This bill passed the House and moves to the Senate.
HB246: Using Proper Pronouns and Protecting Employees Who Use Them
Summary of Bill: This bill would prohibit employees of public schools and public institutions of higher education from using names or pronouns inconsistent with a student’s legal name or biological sex without written permission from the student’s parent or guardian.
Also, this bill would protect employees from adverse employment action for declining to use a name other than a legal name or a pronoun other than a pronoun corresponding to the student’s biological sex or for declining to identify his or her own pronouns.
Status: This bill passed its House Committee and awaits a vote on the House Floor.
*Update* HB244: Ending the Indoctrination and Sexualization of Children in School
Summary of Bill: This bill would prohibit classroom instruction or discussions related to gender identity or sexual orientation from being provided to public school students in prekindergarten through twelfth grade.
Status: This bill passed the House and now moves to the Senate.
*Update* HB179: Chaplains in School
*Update* HB178: The 10 Commandments in School
Summary of HB179 (Chaplains): This bill would authorize each local board of education and the governing body of each public charter school to vote on whether to allow schools in their jurisdiction to accept a campus chaplain as a volunteer and, if the vote is in the affirmative, would allow volunteer chaplains to be made available to provide services at the request of a teacher.
Status: This bill passed the House and moves to the Senate.
Summary of HB178 (10 Commandments): This bill would require each local board of education and the governing body of each public institution of higher education to display the Ten Commandments and a context statement in a common area of each school under its jurisdiction.
Status: This bill has passed the House and its Senate Committee; it now awaits a vote on the Senate floor.
*Update* HB231: Prayer and Pledge in Schools
Summary of Bill: This bill would propose an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, relating to public K-12 schools, to require each local board of education to adopt a policy requiring that The Pledge of Allegiance be conducted to the United States flag and a prayer consistent with Judeo-Christian values be conducted at the commencement of each school day in each public K-12 school.
Status: The bill passed its House Committee and awaits a vote on the House Floor.
SB85: Religious Exemptions for Vaccines
Greg Davis and Alabama State Senator Arthur Orr discussed religious exemptions for vaccines on Priority Talk Radio related to public K-12 schools and public institutions of higher learning. For more information, click here.
Summary of Bill: This bill would further provide for the process to exempt a student at a public K-12 school from vaccine requirements for religious reasons; and to require public institutions of higher education to provide medical and religious exemptions to vaccine or testing requirements.
Status: This bill passed the Senate and awaits a vote in its House Committee.
Status: The bill awaits a House Committee vote.
Follow Greg Davis on Twitter/X
Greg posts highlights from Montgomery during the Legislative Session on his Twitter/X account @AlcapGreg. Make sure to follow to hear the latest news!
2025 Legislative Priorities
ALCAP is your daily representative at the Alabama Statehouse ministering, monitoring, and advocating on our church’s behalf in order to do the following:
– Ensure Religious Liberties
– Protect the Unborn
– Champion the Biblical Family (including issues on Sexuality and Gender)
– Oppose the normalization and legalization of Destructive Addictive Behaviors.
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