Stephanie Smith, president of the Alabama Policy Institute (API), said gambling will be one of the two biggest issues facing the Alabama Legislature in 2024.

He said the Legislature also needs to address the complexities of the state's legal medical marijuana system. She said the creation of a gambling commission would pose unique problems similar to those currently plaguing the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission, which was established by the Alabama Legislature as a legal framework for patients, businesses, and regulators. He suggested that it would be.

Ms Smith commented: light side radio Friday's event was hosted by former state Sen. Phil Williams (R-Rainbow City). Williams asked Smith what the big issues will be in the state in 2024.

“The big thing is obviously the push for gambling, that's what we know, and then that's what we know that school choice will come to some extent as well,” Smith said. “It remains to be seen whether we will be able to reach any agreement on any of these issues.”

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“Whether this is a legislative event or some kind of regulatory situation, I think something will be done about this marijuana mess,” Smith said. “That situation has to be resolved. So for me, this means that for people who believe like you and I, creating a new government bureaucracy rife with rampant corruption and out of the box is not going to work. It shows, of course. It's not a big surprise.”

In 2021, the Alabama Legislature passed and Governor Kay Ivey signed a bill legalizing medical marijuana in the state. This created a legal structure in which the state regulated the industry and the patients who benefited from it.

Smith has a great deal of respect for John McMillan, former agriculture commissioner and current executive director of the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC), but he believes things have never gone so well under his leadership. He said he was surprised he didn't make it.

“It's a little surprising that it has moved away from him and it has moved away from them, but this shows me that the state government is in disarray. When you give power to the state government, it doesn't have to be that way. It shows exactly what's going to happen,” Smith said.

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“For me, we're now looking at what would have happened if we had passed a gambling bill a few years ago that restricted casinos and basically ceded the right to become casino kings,” Williams said. Ta.

Smith agreed.

“Perhaps the panacea for all the illegal gambling going on right now is to create a gambling commission to regulate it,” Smith said. “What's going on with marijuana? It's not very good.”

“Why would you want to copy that in an industry that is clearly corrupt?” Smith said. “Right now the FBI is in the state for marijuana, but before they were in the state for gambling corruption. Why should this time be different?”

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API released a report earlier this month criticizing the state's push to increase gambling.

Legal gambling advocates hope to pass the bill during the 2024 Alabama legislative session, which begins on February 6th. The bill would require a constitutional amendment, so expanded gambling would need to be approved by voters in November.

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