OPINION —
Opelika, and the area, are very familiar to where we lived in Bryan, Texas. An old train town growing its economy and reviving its downtown, with a diverse community as its backbone. We’re happy to join and be a part of this city. Our kids have started school and fall sports, my wife is finding success at her new job, and it seems I’ve moved in to be the town crank.
I am ‘right knee creaks going up the stairs’ years old; which makes me old enough to be able to read more than a headline. Sometimes, I’m even able to understand what I read. Something stinks about the business license revocation for Top Shelf Alternatives, and I don’t mean the dank. Before you stop reading, this won’t be a screed supporting marijuana/hemp or its sale/usage. This is about local officials forgetting they have to live by the law too.
The police suggest a simple timeline: Top Shelf Alternatives received a license to distribute hemp from the state of Alabama, then immediately started selling marijuana out of their storefront. In the shadow of the Municipal Court Building. If I squint, and meditate on my DARE training, sure drugs can make people stupid. Am I the only one applying Occam’s razor to the presentation the police and city council made? Is it more possible that marijuana was being sold out of glass jars in sight of the police station, or the mayor and city council don’t like how the law was written and went above it? As the fashion mogul Mugatu said, “Doesn’t anyone notice this? I feel like I’m taking crazy pills!”
This past Tuesday, the city council held a kangaroo court to force the closure of the business, simultaneously passing ordinances limiting where hemp can be sold (which does not include Top Shelf’s current location). You and I can keep our attention on this matter long enough to remember, the trial hasn’t even happened yet. Charged, not convicted. Innocent, until proven a nuisance to the city council it seems. The council member “debate” is easy to summarize, it only included the voice of one member. Ward 4 Council Member Chuck Beams laid out two possible futures: If the Haddons are convicted, “We’ve got someone who could reapply for a business license who is a convicted felon.” More dubiously, if the court finds the Haddons innocent, “At least we have the stop gap in place where we get to decide if this business owner gets to have a business again in this great city.”
Could that mealy mash-up of words make less sense? If they are exonerated, meaning the police department wrongfully arrested the couple, then we have a say in if they have a business again? On the other hand, the horrible fear of a felon business owner? Consider my pearls clutched, sir!
Feed me crap, and I’ll tell you how it tastes. Beams, and the wet socks that unanimously voted alongside him, acts like a puffed-up HOA calling the police because they don’t like the view on their commute. Our city’s HOA board used taxpayer dollars to go undercover, purchase the product and ultimately raid the business and home. Because they didn’t want to knock on their neighbor’s door and talk to them. The Alabama statute around hemp products requires that the business be able to produce lab work showing the product is in compliance. Trust me, I’ve done whole minutes of research. Research the city either forgot or ignored. The OPD’s own statement said their investigation started with them going undercover. It seems the police and city officials are willing to wager and wait until trial to see if the Haddons have that lab work on hand. Are the taxpayers willing to take that same bet? Because we are. Following the council’s actions Tuesday night, the only way this doesn’t end in a lawsuit against the city is if the Haddons are convicted or strong-armed into [pleading guilty]. That doesn’t sit well with me.
My Tuesday was a familiar fall day to many families with young children. School, sports, the scramble to feed hangry kids later than I meant to. Wednesday I woke up, made my coffee, took my kids to school; and suddenly it’s Thursday. So if you feel like my tin-foil hat is on too tight, I agree. Mostly because there’s flag football practice again tonight, a cracked tub I need to fix and a lawn to mow. I’m not judging you, I’m joining you as we continue down the busy road of a full life. I’m only pointing at the beaten merchants on the side of the road as we carry on by.
Parker Tant
Opelika
