Opelika — Several residents used the public-comment period at the Nov. 18 Opelika City Council meeting to press officials on a range of local matters, including a street-naming request, cemetery preservation near a proposed development, a community holiday event and opposition to a local moratorium on cannabis-related businesses.

Ally Rauch, representing the Opelika Chamber, invited the council to participate in Snowballika on Dec. 5. Rauch said the parade will start at 5:30 p.m., the tree lighting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., and the chamber will send follow-up details by email and provide a VIP area during the parade.

Maurice Edwards asked the council to consider naming a street after his uncle, Jantie Pruitt, who he described as the first Black police officer on the local force. Edwards asked what the council would be willing to do to recognize his uncle’s service.

A representative identified as the president of the Genealogical Society of East Alabama and the Lee County Cemetery Preservation Commission described a historic cemetery near a developer’s project called Blackberry Reserve, off Highway 431. The speaker said the Alabama Historical Commission recommends a 100-foot buffer around historic cemeteries but that the group was asking the city for a 10–15 foot buffer to protect graves and family plots; she asked the city attorney to help craft a resolution to protect the site.

Bradley Hadden, owner of Top Shelf Alternatives in downtown Opelika, spoke against the city’s moratorium affecting businesses like his. He disputed negative characterizations of the regulated market and described internal compliance measures. "The false narrative that this is the Wild West with untested, unsafe products is simply untrue," Hadden said. He also asserted that "the legal cannabis industry in The United States is roughly $29,000,000,000 a year" and that "a little over $9,000,000,000 of that [comes] just through the state of Alabama," statements he presented as justification for access and local economic benefits. Hadden said his business has averaged more than $100,000 in sales tax per year over the last three years and invited council members to visit his store for education.

Jason Reynolds, a veteran who said he served in Afghanistan, described his experience with prescription opioids and said plant medicine helped his PTSD and anxiety. "It has actually helped me tremendously," Reynolds said, and added that he did not believe plant medicine is for children.

None of the public comments resulted in immediate council action during the Nov. 18 meeting; the requests were filed as public comment and will require follow-up from staff if council directs a formal review or resolution.