Alabama’s age of consent laws are some of the strictest in the United States. For healthcare workers, it’s important to understand these laws when pediatric patients are involved, and most importantly when cannabis is the topic on the table. As Alabama’s marijuana consumption laws become more permissive, questions will arise regarding how the state’s consent regulations will affect the ability for patients under the age of 19 to procure cannabis for medical or recreational use. This article explores the intersection between Alabama’s marijuana consumption laws and age of consent laws.
The legal age of consent in Alabama is 16. In the absence of any prior sexual relationship, a person can be criminally charged with “sex with a minor” or “statutory rape” with a person that is 16 or younger. Importantly, consent by the minor has no bearing on the legality of a sexual relationship if the participant is 17 years of age or younger.
“So what,” you might be thinking. Well, the sustained impetus for establishing a legal marijuana industry in Alabama have been the medicinal benefits that many consumers of cannabis report. However, with restrictions on a minor’s access to cannabis and the inability to obtain medical marijuana without parental consent, will Alabama’s new marijuana consumption laws provide adequate access to a significant portion of consumers? And will minors have the ability to gain access to cannabis products through their parents or guardians?
While Alabama’s age of consent laws may deter some “unhealthy” relationships, their application is objectified when directly compared to Alabama’s age of consent laws (Section 13A-12-191 through 195) with Alabama’s marijuana consumption laws (Chapter 6B of Act 2016-261). After all, a minor may legally consent to engage in any unlawful sexual conduct with an adult but is barred from using marijuana products without parental consent.
But the comparison doesn’t have to stop there. The age of consent laws are relatively lax in comparison to Alabama’s prohibition on minors using marijuana products. Arkansas, for example, has an age of consent of 16 and allows minors under 18 to consent to medical marijuana use with parental consent. Wyoming law is distinguishable based on that state’s absolute prohibition for anyone under 21 (and limited prohibition for anyone over 21) for using marijuana in any form, medical or otherwise.
Notably, even though the state laws are rigidly hierarchical in their interpretation, their enforcement by healthcare providers will not be as cut and dry. Most importantly, healthcare providers must be cognizant of instances when a minor receives cannabis products without parental consent and is conscious of its benefits and risks. In such cases, the healthcare provider must provide appropriate guidance to the minor in order to foster the minor’s ability to make informed decisions.
The age of consent laws are not unique to Alabama. Most states in the southern U.S., such as Mississippi and Texas, have age of consent laws of 17 or 18 years of age. It is possible that a doctor’s relationship with a minor patient could be a continuing sexual relationship, dram shop liability could be imposed on the marijuana consumption industry, or that a caregiver could be required to give informed consent to a minor at risk of abusing the marijuana consumption model. Without a doubt, issues such as this will come up as the marijuana consumption industry expands throughout the South.
And as anticipated, advocacy groups are pushing for an amendment to Alabama’s age of consent laws. However, this push is hardly specific to marijuana. Other sectors, such as alcohol prohibition, and advocacy groups are pushing for the re-examination of the age of consent laws. Time will tell whether Alabama will modify its age of consent laws, but change of any magnitude is unlikely to happen in the immediate future.
Finally, states where a minor may be convicted of sexual battery may experience a corresponding increase in sexual battery laws. This phenomenon is likely to be similar to the experience in states where minority limits exist for alcohol consumption. Dram shop liability may also be implicated in states where minority limits exist for alcohol consumption, thereby preventing minors from consuming cannabis products that contain alcohol; and any alcohol consumption related to sex with a minor in those same states could have a dramatic effect on relationships and the laws surrounding them.
In the end, balance is the key to any law. That’s how Alabama formed its marijuana consumption laws: finding a balance to allow the use of ancient medicinal benefits while protecting society from harm. But who’s to say Alabama’s law makers won’t see a greater good in changing the balance between protection vs. freedom. In the end, the issue will hinge on the legislature, people’s acceptance of their decisions, and the expert opinions of lawyers practicing in the field.
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