Then came the suicides. Brandon Murphree had just graduated from the only highschool in town, earning a full-ride scholarship to Jacksonville State University, right up the road. Murphree was handsome and popular. College was going to be a party.

But the party started early, then went sour. A few weeks after Murphree graduated, his parents started finding empty packets of Spice, or synthetic marijuana, scattered around the house. At the same time, their son began acting erratically. Normally happy and polite, he was suddenly sullen and rude. But the bizarre mood swings were only the beginning of the Murphrees’ midsummer nightmare.

ORANGE BEACH, AL --

An Alabama man stumbled upon a 10-pound package of marijuana that washed up on the beach.

Multiple news outlets report that Ron Smith was taking a morning walk near the Cotton Bayou Beach access in Orange Beach on Tuesday when he noticed what he thought was a seat cushion floating in the water.

Upon closer inspection, he realized the package was actually a bag full of compressed marijuana.

Smith called police, who picked up the package. Authorities say the bag weighed 10 pounds and was worth about $8,000.

If you drove along Highway 31 this afternoon in Vestavia Hills, you might have seen a crowd gathered in front of City Hall.

Members of the Alabama Safe Access Project held a rally around 1 p.m. on Saturday in support of Senate Bill 326.

That bill would legalize medical marijuana in the state of Alabama.

The legislation would allow patients who suffer from 25 specific conditions to use a limited amount of marijuana, a maximum of 10 ounces per month.

Supporters want to see the bill make it to the Senate floor for debate before the end of the regular legislative session.

Alabama medical marijuana advocates are set to hold a protest rally in the home district of state Sen. Jabo Waggoner on Saturday.

Medical marijuana legislation (Senate Bill 326) received approval in a Senate committee last week, but Republican lawmakers are hesitant to put Sen. Bobby Singleton's bill on the calendar to even be discussed on the Senate floor.

Waggoner, chairman of the Senate rules committee, told AL.com that Alabama isn't ready to allow medical marijuana usage, but he would poll members of the committee about putting it on the calendar.

One of the latest patients to begin the University of Alabama at Birmingham's study known as Carly's Law that uses a marijuana-derived medication to treat severe seizures is the young girl who inspired the legislation.

Carly Chandler, the 4-year-old from the Birmingham area who has a rare genetic disorder that causes multiple seizures daily, is expected to soon receive her first treatment of cannabidiol, also known as CBD, her father, Dustin Chandler, said in an interview.

"It's almost a little bit of shock that it's actually here," Chandler said, thinking about when he had walked the halls of the Alabama Legislature almost two years ago to start generating support for allowing use of the experimental medication to treat seizures.

Monday wasn't a very good day for 13-year-old Mary Ann Coleman who suffers from low-functioning autism.

The report sent home from Glenwood Autism & Behavioral Health Center where Mary Ann attends day school shows she tried to hurt herself 337 times Monday while at school or riding the bus, her father Mark Coleman said. That number has been as high as 800; a typical day though is about 40.

"(Mary Ann) scratches herself to the point where she bleeds," he said. "She hits herself upside the ear. She pulls her hair out. She slams her head into the wall .... She has gone through my bay window. She had gone through two windows at school."

In a somewhat surprising move, a comprehensive medical marijuana bill passed in an Alabama Senate committee on Wednesday.

The Senate Judiciary Committee gave Sen. Bobby Singleton's bill a favorable report on a 4-3 vote after little debate. The Medical Marijuana Patient Safe Access Act can now be considered on the Senate floor.

See related: Could medical marijuana legislation pass this year in Alabama?

Senate leadership could, however, refuse to put the bill on a calendar so it can be debated and voted on by the full body.

For the first time ever, the Alabama Legislature will hold a discussion about legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes.

A bill is now on its way to the Senate floor.

The committee vote was straight down party lines -- four democrats voted for it, three republicans voted against it and one member abstained.

Sen. Bobby Singleton's bill would require a doctor's complete evaluation and oversight during treatment. It would approve the use of marijuana to treat 25 medical conditions like cancer, AIDS, lupus, fibromyalgia and autism.

Ft. Payne mother Wendy Ponson says it's been a game changer for her daughter, Aurora.

Eight-year-old Aurora has attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, insomnia, seizures and autism.

We know the end is coming, but pot prohibition is going to have to be undone state by state. Here are the ones least likely to jump on the bandwagon.

Marijuana prohibition in the US is dying, but it isn't going to vanish in one fell swoop. Even if Congress were to repeal federal pot prohibition, state laws criminalizing the plant and its users would still be in effect—at least in some states.

And it's probably a pretty safe bet that Congress isn’t going to act until a good number of states, maybe more than half, have already legalized it. That process is already underway and is likely to gather real momentum by the time election day 2016 is over.