As reported on al.com
Kristy McKinney’s career change from law enforcement to cannabis farmer involved much more than just swapping out her badge for a license to grow.
The former Birmingham police officer had to learn all about cultivating plants and producing CBD while reckoning with her old job and making arrests for marijuana. At times, she struggles with guilt over her role in a War on Drugs she now believes unfairly targeted both marijuana and Black men.
“It’s very unethical for us to be profiting off this plant when we haven’t even attempted to figure out a system for getting these people home,” McKinney said.
Although McKinney began her law enforcement career thinking marijuana was a gateway to more dangerous drugs, it was police work that led indirectly to her change of heart. It started in 2017 when McKinney responded to a call about motor vehicle break-ins.
A victim said thieves had hit two of his vehicles. McKinney had just returned to patrol after six years in the detective bureau handling burglaries. She knew investigators, and the victim, needed her to nail this report.
Disaster struck when she stepped out of the Ford Explorer and collapse
“It was like my body exploded on the inside, the pain was so strong,” McKinney said. “When I came to, I was in the street.”
McKinney had recently taken medical leave for a hysterectomy and thought the pain was related to surgical complications. However, medical exams ruled that out and instead pointed toward another culprit: a spinal injury caused by an on-duty car crash several years earlier.
McKinney found herself stuck in medical limbo, unable to get surgery without first receiving approval from the city, a process that became lengthy and contentious. Her neurologist referred her to pain management.
That started McKinney down the path from Birmingham to the hemp farm in St. Clair County where she lives today.
On the farm
McKinney and her husband have cleared several acres of land near Pell City, about 35 miles east of Birmingham, and built a tunnel house as part of a cost-sharing program with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. To become certified organic, they must allow the land to rest for several years before planting hemp and other crops.
It has given her time to learn more about farming and process the ethical dilemmas her career change has raised.
“Our space is going to look like this until I can get a system in place to help the people who I feel like I victimized by making the arrests that I made,” McKinney said. “I know I was doing my job and I know I have done nothing wrong, but I don’t agree with those laws that were in place.
Her bad experiences with prescription opioids forced her to consider cannabis, which she once considered addictive and dangerous. Now she wants to grow hemp and create CBD products for first responders with chronic pain.
She spent many years patrolling Birmingham’s public housing complexes and often encountered people who used illegal substances.
“I knew there was a lot of struggle and pain and drug abuse,” McKinney said. “I couldn’t figure out how an entire community could be suffering the same way.”
In the city
McKinney grew up in Birmingham and knew several people caught up in crime. Still, from an early age, she wanted to join the police department. As a child, she spotted her cousin’s stolen car speeding down the street. Her mother rallied the rest of the family to track down the thief outside a nearby pharmacy.
The entire family was excited that her cousin had his car back, McKinney said
“When his sister embraced me, I could feel something I never felt before,” she said. “It was just like, well, how do I do this again?”
McKinney applied for the police academy as soon as she turned 21 and gravitated toward the unit that patrolled public housing. Although she knew the neighborhoods well, she said she found it difficult to understand the hopelessness and suffering she encountered.
“I needed answers,” McKinney said. “I used to think it was in the water system. I used to think it was in the fast food. I would spend hours on calls just trying to mentor people. It’s like a revolving door. Putting words down on a report didn’t fix anything.”
McKinney transferred to former Mayor Larry Langford’s protective detail for a year. When that ended, she became a detective in the burglary division. She enjoyed helping victims and recovering stolen property.
Read more at
https://www.al.com/news/2022/02/how-a-birmingham-police-officer-found-a-new-career-in-cannabis.html
