Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify revenues from the tax will fund additional personnel in the DA’s office.

Wallace State Community College will host a town hall meeting Tuesday, Oct. 29, at 2 p.m., in the auditorium of the James C. Bailey Center for public discussion on local Amendment 1, which will appear on Cullman County ballot Nov. 5. The meeting is open to the public.

Local Amendment 1 proposes an additional 15 percent sales tax on the sale of locally sold medical cannabis products, in addition to all other sales taxes currently imposed by law. Only patients using Cullman County dispensaries would be affected. Medical cannabis products refer to any product lawfully sold in the county in a dispensary licensed by the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission. Those voting yes on the amendment are choosing to vote for the additional local tax, while those voting no would be voting against the additional local tax.

The bill allowing the vote was signed into law May 24, 2023, and was sponsored by state representatives Corey Harbison, Tim Wadsworth and Randall Shedd.

If approved, revenues from the tax would be divided between the DA’s office (at 66.7 percent) and the local legislative delegation (at 33.3 percent), with the provision that the delegation’s 33.3 percent portion must be used on local mental health initiatives of their choosing. The district attorney’s office has stated the funding will go towards personnel.

“The DA had been seeking ways to possibly get additional funding for his office to help hire more staff,” Harbison told The Times in May 2023. “At one point, they got a lot from the worthless check unit, but that really isn’t producing much at all, at this point. We agreed as a delegation to let citizens vote for a tax on it and it is earmarked for the DA’s office and for mental health. It’s pretty cut and dried. The citizens can decide if they want it or not, and our delegation is good with whatever voters decide.”

The event will be led by Cullman County District Attorney Champ Crocker; Chris Van Dyke, Chief Operating Officer of WellStone; and Captain Ed Potter, Victim Services Captain with the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office.