ALABAMA CANNABIS COALITION

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Founding Philosophy, Mission Statement & Guiding Principles

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Grassroots. Independent. Relentless.

United We Stand • Divided We Fail.

OUR FOUNDING PHILOSOPHY

“We do not seek permission to exercise individual freedoms. We seek an end to the laws that criminalize them.”

The Alabama Cannabis Coalition (ACC) was founded on the belief that individual freedoms and liberties are fundamental to the principles upon which the United States was established.

We believe the citizens of Alabama deserve the freedoms and liberties that are central to the American constitutional tradition.

We believe cannabis should never have been prohibited or placed under federal controlled-substance scheduling.

Our objective is not simply the “legalization” of cannabis through government-controlled systems of licensing, regulation, and taxation.

Our objective is to end cannabis prohibition, advance decriminalization and complete federal descheduling, and protect the individual freedoms and liberties of the citizens of Alabama.

We seek freedom from prohibition, not permission from government.

Bodily Autonomy and Personal Responsibility

We believe individuals possess the fundamental freedom to make decisions concerning their own bodies.

Adults should have the freedom to determine what substances and products they choose to consume without being required to seek government permission.

We recognize that individuals make personal decisions involving varying degrees of risk. We believe adults have the right to evaluate those risks for themselves and make their own choices without being required to obtain government permission.

Personal responsibility accompanies individual freedom. Neither should depend upon government approval.

While our founding philosophy embraces bodily autonomy as a broad principle of individual liberty, our organizational mission and advocacy are specifically focused on cannabis.

We recognize that individuals may hold differing opinions concerning other substances. Supporting ACC does not require agreement on those separate issues.

Our philosophy embraces individual liberty. Our mission focuses on cannabis.

Our Definition of Adulthood

For purposes of ACC's philosophy and legislative objectives, we define an adult as an individual 18 years of age or older.

We believe adults 18 and older should have the legal freedom to:

Possess cannabis.
Cultivate cannabis.
Consume cannabis.
Purchase cannabis.
Share or trade cannabis.
Sell cannabis they personally cultivate.

We believe the same age standard should apply consistently to these activities.

This is ACC's advocated policy standard, recognizing that existing laws may establish different age requirements.

Home Cultivation Is an Individual Freedom

We believe adults should have the legal right to cultivate cannabis for personal use without obtaining a government-issued permit or license.

The freedom to cultivate should not depend upon government approval, the payment of licensing fees, or participation in a commercial cannabis program.

We further believe individuals should have the freedom to share, trade, or directly sell cannabis they personally cultivate.

The opportunity to benefit from one's own labor should not be reserved for corporations or individuals with the financial resources to enter a licensed commercial cannabis industry.

Home cultivation is an individual freedom, not a taxable privilege granted by government.

Individual Freedom, Not Commercialization

The Alabama Cannabis Coalition advocates for the freedoms and liberties of individual citizens, not for the establishment or expansion of a commercial cannabis industry.

We distinguish between the personal activities of individual citizens and the operations of large commercial enterprises.

We believe individuals should be free to cultivate cannabis and offer their harvests directly to other adults, including through community-based markets, without being forced into costly commercial licensing systems.

ACC does not believe that access to cannabis should depend exclusively upon purchasing products from government-approved commercial businesses.

Our advocacy places individual freedom ahead of commercial interests.

From the Garden to the Marketplace

Consider the individual who grows tomatoes in a backyard garden and sells the harvest to neighbors.

Consider the small farmer who raises chickens and sells eggs, or the dairy farmer who produces fresh milk and yogurt and sells them to willing customers.

These familiar activities illustrate questions about personal responsibility, economic independence, and the appropriate limits of government authority.

We recognize that different products may present different health and safety considerations. Nevertheless, we believe government restrictions should be justified, proportionate, and respectful of individual freedoms.

We believe individuals should have the opportunity to produce, exchange, and sell the products of their own labor without unnecessary government interference.

Cannabis should be approached through the same founding commitment to individual liberty.

Individual freedom is not a privilege reserved for those who can afford government permission.

Our Position on Taxation

ACC opposes cannabis-specific excise taxes.

We also oppose imposing cultivation taxes, licensing fees, or sales-tax obligations on individuals for personally cultivating cannabis or directly selling their homegrown harvests to other adults.

We believe individual home cultivation and direct community-based sales should be distinguished from commercial cannabis business activity.

Our philosophy does not attempt to establish a comprehensive tax structure for commercial cannabis enterprises. Those activities involve separate business and taxation considerations.

Our concern is protecting the freedoms of individual citizens from unnecessary taxation and regulatory burdens.

Home cultivation is an individual freedom, not a taxable privilege granted by the government.

Decriminalization and Federal Descheduling

We believe cannabis should never have been criminally prohibited or included in federal controlled-substance scheduling.

ACC advocates for the removal of criminal penalties associated with adult cannabis possession, cultivation, consumption, and individual exchange.

We support the complete removal of cannabis from the federal Controlled Substances Act.

We do not consider moving cannabis from one federal schedule to another an adequate substitute for complete descheduling.

We recognize that descheduling alone would not automatically eliminate every state restriction or establish all the individual freedoms we advocate. State-level reform remains essential.

Our objective is not merely to replace cannabis prohibition with another system that restricts individual freedom through government permission.

We seek an end to cannabis prohibition—not simply a different system of government control.

Expungement and Justice

We believe individuals should not continue to suffer the consequences of criminal records resulting from conduct that ACC believes should never have been criminalized.

We advocate meaningful opportunities for expungement and relief from past cannabis convictions.

Ending prohibition must include addressing the lasting consequences of its enforcement.

Grassroots Independence

The Alabama Cannabis Coalition is an independent, grassroots advocacy organization.

We are not an industry-funded organization, and our mission is not to advance the commercial interests of cannabis businesses.

Our advocacy is guided by the freedoms and liberties of individual citizens.

We believe in factual public education, transparency, civic participation, and direct engagement with lawmakers.

We encourage citizens to become informed, speak for themselves, and participate in shaping the laws that govern their lives.

Our principles are not for sale.

OUR MISSION

The mission of the Alabama Cannabis Coalition is to defend and advance the individual freedoms and liberties of Alabama citizens through independent, grassroots cannabis advocacy.

We work to end cannabis prohibition through decriminalization, complete federal descheduling, public education, civic engagement, and legislative reform.

We advocate for the rights of adults 18 years of age and older to possess, cultivate, consume, purchase, share, and directly sell cannabis, including the freedom to cultivate cannabis at home without government-issued permits or licenses.

We support meaningful expungement of past cannabis convictions, oppose cannabis-specific excise taxes, and challenge laws and regulatory barriers that unnecessarily restrict individual freedoms.

Our mission is focused on cannabis, while our founding philosophy remains grounded in the broader principles of bodily autonomy, personal responsibility, and individual liberty.

We do not seek permission to exercise individual freedoms. We seek an end to the laws that criminalize them.

OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Individual Liberty: Personal freedoms and liberties are the foundation of our advocacy.

Bodily Autonomy: Adults should have the freedom to make informed decisions concerning their own bodies.

Cannabis-Focused Advocacy: Our organizational work is dedicated to cannabis reform, even though our underlying philosophy of individual liberty is broader.

Adulthood at 18: ACC advocates a consistent minimum age of 18 for adult cannabis activities.

Freedom to Cultivate: Personal home cultivation should require no government permit or license.

Freedom to Share and Sell: Adults should be able to share, trade, and directly sell cannabis they personally cultivate.

Decriminalization: Cannabis-related personal activities should not carry criminal penalties.

Federal Descheduling: Cannabis should be removed entirely from the federal Controlled Substances Act, not merely moved to another schedule.

Expungement: Individuals harmed by cannabis prohibition deserve meaningful relief from past convictions.

Opposition to Punitive Taxation: We oppose cannabis-specific excise taxes and taxation of individual home cultivation and direct homegrown sales.

Grassroots Independence: ACC serves individual citizens, not commercial cannabis interests.

Civic Participation: We encourage citizens to become informed, find their voices, and participate in the legislative process.

OUR COMMITMENT

The Alabama Cannabis Coalition remains committed to the principles upon which it was founded: individual freedoms, personal responsibility, and the belief that citizens should not be required to seek government permission to exercise freedoms that belong to them.

Our philosophy embraces individual liberty.

Our mission focuses on cannabis.

Our commitment is relentless.