Alabama lawmakers just passed a bill that would criminalize smoking marijuana in a car with a “child” present – except their definition of “child” is anyone under 19 years old. You know, those legal adults who can vote, serve in the military, and sign contracts? Yeah, apparently, they’re children now when it’s convenient for criminalizing cannabis.
And it gets worse. Much worse.
Alabama HB72 Criminalizes the Smell of Marijuana
House Bill 72, sponsored by Democratic Rep. Patrick Sellers, passed the Alabama House on Thursday after an unusual floor debate that saw Democrats arguing with each other instead of across the aisle. The bill now heads to the Senate, and if it passes, it’ll take effect October 1, 2026.
Here’s a look at what this legislative disaster would do – and why every single part of it is absolutely absurd.
But it’s for the children!
If you don’t know how I feel about “for the children” defenses from prohibitionists, check out this piece on Ohio’s “protect the children” efforts.
You’re An Adult at 18… Unless We Say You’re Not
Let’s start with the most glaring contradiction in this whole situation. For the purposes of this bill, Alabama defines a “child” as anyone under 19 years old.
Yes, you read that correctly. Nineteen.
So, if you’re 18 then you’re old enough to: vote, serve in the military, be tried as an adult in court (sometimes this happens younger than 18). You’re old enough to sign a legally binding contract, to make your own medical decisions, and old enough to get a tattoo, piercing, or even get married without parental consent…
But you’re still a child when it comes to being in a car where someone’s smoking weed.
You’re either an adult or you’re not. We can’t have it both ways just because it’s politically convenient.
If 18-year-olds are adults for every other purpose under the law, then they’re adults when it comes to this too. But Alabama lawmakers apparently think they can redefine adulthood whenever they want to expand criminalization.
Mandatory Reporting Based on… Smell?
Here’s where things go from ridiculous to genuinely dangerous.
HB72 would require mandatory reporters – including teachers, doctors, counselors, coaches, literally anyone legally required to report suspected child abuse – to report to authorities if a child “smells of marijuana.”
Read that again. If a child smells like weed, it must be reported as suspected child abuse or neglect.
Not if the child has marijuana on them. Or because they’re actively smoking. And not because there’s any actual evidence of harm or neglect.
Just… a smell.
And once that report is made? It’s treated exactly like any other report of suspected child abuse or neglect, triggering an investigation by the Department of Human Resources.
Let me walk you through how insane this is.
The Legal Standard for Search vs. Child Abuse Investigation
In most states – including Alabama – the smell of marijuana alone is no longer sufficient probable cause to search a vehicle or residence. Courts have repeatedly ruled that odor isn’t reliable evidence, especially with the proliferation of legal hemp products that smell identical to marijuana (because they’re the same plant, but I digress…).
However, according to HB72, that same smell that’s not enough to justify a lawful search of your car is enough to trigger a child abuse investigation and get DHR involved in your family.
Think about that. The smell of weed isn’t evidence enough for law enforcement to search you, but it’s evidence enough to investigate you for child neglect.
How does that make any sense?
“Every Parent Knows What’s Happening in Their Household”
During the floor debate, Rep. Sellers made a comment that got me so fired up I had to take a break before writing this piece. Actually, it might be the reason I’m writing this piece.
According to reports from the debate, Sellers essentially argued that every parent knows what’s going on in their household, and if they don’t, they should.
I’m sorry, what?
Sure, in theory, it sounds great. Makes perfect sense. Of course you should know what your children living in your house are up to.
But do you really think that’s the case? Hell no.
I hid so much shit from my parents growing up. Every kid I knew did. Not just some. All of them. That’s what teenagers do. They experiment, they make mistakes, they keep secrets, and sometimes those secrets involve smoking weed with their friends.
Is Sellers seriously standing there telling the world he was the only teenager in history who was 100% honest and open with his parents about everything? Or that if he has kids or raised kids, he always knew exactly what they were up to?
Because if so, I call bullshit. Complete and total bullshit.
Seller’s is Forgetting What Being a Teenager is All About
Parents don’t automatically know everything their teenagers are doing. That’s not how parenting works, and it’s definitely not how being a teenager works.
Even if I had wanted to wear those rose-colored glasses, I couldn’t. Having my niece live with us from the time she was 13 to 16 was enough to remind me of a lot of the stuff I did and never told my parents about.
It also gave me a swift kick in the ass about what raising a teenager is really like VS what you think it will be like.
Under HB72, if your 17-year-old goes to a friends’ house before school, someone smokes weed, and they go back to school smelling like marijuana, you’re now the subject of a child abuse investigation – even if you had no idea he’d stopped anywhere that morning. Even if you’ve never touched cannabis in your life. Yes – even if your kid made that choice entirely on their own, you could be subject to investigation for abuse and/or neglect.
That’s not protecting children. That’s punishing parents for having teenagers.
Why Does HB72 Matter to Alabama Lawmakers Who Haven’t Finished Implementing Voter Approved Medical Marijuana Laws?
Here’s another thing that’s driving me insane about all of this – Alabama is so concerned about children being exposed to marijuana smoke that they’re criminalizing it specifically. They’re going so far as to expand mandated reporting and requiring CPS investigations for abuse and neglect, all over the smell of weed.
But where’s this energy for tobacco? For alcohol?
Sure, they made it illegal to smoke tobacco products in cars while there are children 14 and under present; it’s a secondary violation. Did you catch that bit? It’s okay to smoke tobacco in the car with a 15-year-old, but God-forbid you smoke a joint with your 18- or 19-year-old adult child in the car… Cue the eyeroll.
Let’s go back to that secondary violation piece because I think that’s particularly interesting.
If you don’t already know, that means that you would have to already be pulled over for something else to be fined for smoking with a child in the car. Police can’t just pull you over because you were smoking a cigarette or vaping with a kid in the car.
But smoke a little Mary Jane in the car like the 00s punk rock not quite emo kid you still are at heart and you risk everything from jail for being caught in the act to CPS investigations for abuse and neglect for a lingering herby smoke clinging to their backpack or jacket from your wake and bake that morning.
Possibly the Most Insulting Part of Alabama’s HB72
Which brings me to my last issue when comparing this existing law with HB72. The only consequence of being caught smoking or vaping tobacco in the car with children 14 and under in the car is a $100 fine.
But Seller’s bill proposes that anyone caught smoking or vaping marijuana in the car with children and adults 18 and 19-years old should be subject to a misdemeanor offense punishable by up to a year in prison and a $6,000 fine, with an included educational course requirement.
The course would be created by the Alabama Department of Human Resources (ADHR), who happens to house Child Protective Services (CPS). Since law enforcement will be required to inform the ADHR there’s no getting around the requirement or the CPS investigation.
“It’s about protecting the children, protecting every single child in the state of Alabama,” Sellers said after the meeting. “And that’s the motivation behind making sure that every child has the 100 percent ability to learn in the best environment that they can and keep them safe.”
The inconsistency is glaring at me and I can’t stand it.
State Can Pass This in Days but Can’t Implement Medical Cannabis in Four Years
And here’s the part that makes my blood absolutely boil… like, seriously it’s insulting to the people of Alabama that it’s even happening.
Alabama lawmakers approved a medical cannabis program back in May 2021. Governor Kay Ivey signed it into law. Patients have been waiting for legal access to medicine ever since.
Go back. Read that again. May of 2021.
It’s been almost four years.
The program has been delayed by false starts, accusations of improper scoring, secret deliberations, and endless litigation over licensing. According to the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission Chairman Rex Vaughn, products might be available by spring 2026 – a full five years after the law was originally signed.
“It should not have taken this long. Absolutely, it should not have,” Vaughn admitted in December 2025.
But HB72? This bill to criminalize marijuana use around “children” (and some legal adults) and mandate child abuse investigations based on smell alone?
That sailed through the House in days.
Days.
They can’t figure out how to implement a medical program to help people suffering from multiple sclerosis, cancer, chronic pain, PTSD, and epilepsy.
But they can rush through legislation to expand criminalization that will likely create unnecessary family separations based on the smell of weed on a teenager.
The priorities here are crystal clear – and they’re disguising, greedy, and negligent at best.
What Happens When This Becomes Law
Assuming HB72 passes the Senate, it becomes law in October. After that, here’s what Alabama families can expect:
If you’re caught smoking or vaping marijuana in a car with someone under 19:
- Class A misdemeanor (the most serious misdemeanor offense)
- Mandatory education course through the Alabama Department of Public Health
- Law enforcement must notify the Department of Human Resources
If a mandatory reporter thinks a child smells like marijuana:
- They must report it to authorities
- That report is treated as suspected child abuse or neglect
- DHR launches an investigation into the family
- Even if the parent had nothing to do with it
- Even if the smell came from the kid’s own choices
- Even if there’s no actual evidence of harm
This isn’t protecting children. This is using “protect the children” rhetoric to expand the war on drugs into family homes and child welfare systems.
The Alabama Cannabis Coalition’s Take
The Alabama Cannabis Coalition is urging lawmakers to reconsider HB72, and they’re more than right to do so.
“It leaves too much to interpretation where someone who isn’t a cop could have you investigated for something they may not even know about,” said ACC Vice President Damion McClellen.
Exactly. We’re empowering teachers, coaches, and school counselors to trigger child abuse investigations based on their subjective assessment of whether a kid smells like weed.
Not whether the child is being harmed. Not whether there’s evidence of neglect. Just… does this kid smell like marijuana to me?
That’s not a standard – not one anyone should uphold anyway. What this is, is a fishing expedition with a far-reaching cast net.
The Bottom Line
Alabama lawmakers are redefining adulthood to expand criminalization, mandating child abuse investigations based on smell alone, and prioritizing punishment over patient care.
They’ve had four years to implement a medical cannabis program and still haven’t gotten it done. But they can pass HB72—which criminalizes legal adults and turns the smell of weed into evidence of child abuse—in a matter of days.
You can read the full text of the bill here – if you want to see for yourself the insanity that’s being discussed over helping patients who’ve been waiting for something they were promised years ago.
If you live in Alabama, call your state senator.
Tell them HB72 is government overreach disguised as child protection. That you don’t want DHR investigating families because a teenager smelled like marijuana. And tell them if they can rush through criminalization bills, they can damn well finish implementing the medical program they approved four years ago.
And if you’re Rep. Patrick Sellers? I’d love to hear about your teenage years.
Because if you’re claiming you never hid anything from your parents, never made choices they didn’t know about, and always told them exactly what you were doing and with whom, I’m calling your bluff.
HB72 Needs Serious Reworking Or Booted Entirely
Every parent does not know what’s happening in their household. That’s reality. And punishing families for the reality of raising teenagers is cruel, counterproductive, and a massive waste of state resources.
This bill is bad policy built on contradictions, double standards, and hides behind the go-to rhetoric of “protecting the children” once again. Alabama can – and should – do better.
What do you think about HB72? Should 18-year-olds be considered children for marijuana laws? Should the smell of weed trigger child abuse investigations? Sound off in the comments.
Support cannabis reform advocacy and independent journalism—visit our Ko-Fi page or grab some gear from our shop!
