Photo by Robert Noles
By Morgan Bryce
Staff Reporter
District 38 House Representative Isaac Whorton spoke to members of Opelika’s Kiwanis Club at their meeting last Thursday, discussing the latest happenings in the special legislative session last week.
State budgets and various pieces of legislation were the items of discussion in Whorton’s talk, and in particular, problems such as Medicaid funding and authorizing a state lottery to help solve the general fund budget problem and the passage of Leni’s Law, which decriminalizes the possession of CBD oil, a medicinal oil derived from marijuana plants.
“The problems that we’re having in the general fund budget is the reason why we’re in a special session right now, because we are trying to solve those problems,” Whorton said.
In regards to Leni’s Law, Whorton said the legislature approved the legislation because of the overwhelmingly positive effects it has on its users, particularly children who suffer from constant seizures.
“The University of Alabama at Birmingham did a trial run on 51 patients. Fifty percent of those who participated were able to bring their seizures under control, 25 to 40 percent saw a decline in their seizure activity, and two of the patients became completely seizure-free,” Whorton said. “If you have it and want to use it for your child, it’s not illegal to have it anymore. People won’t have to run to Washington, Oregon or Colorado to get the stuff anymore.”
Despite the controversy revolving around Hubbard and funding issues, Whorton maintains that the future of Alabama politics is bright.
“It’s a new day in the statehouse, and I promise you that I’ve seen the difference in four short days in being at the sessions. I’m very optimistic about the direction we’re headed, especially with our new speaker Mac McCutcheon,” Whorton said.
