Patients who require plant-based medicines in Alabama could soon be getting prescribed medical cannabis. Well, that’s if the Alabama House votes to enact a bill that was recently approved by the Alabama State Senate. 

Alabama’s medical cannabis bill was approved by the state Senate on March 11 with a vote of 22-10. The votes were cast after a five-hour long debate. Despite its success in the Senate, Alabama’s medical cannabis bill may not be quite as popular when it reaches the House.

According to a statement released by the bill’s sponsor Sen. Tim Melson (R) shortly after it passed in the Senate, Alabama’s medical cannabis law would restrict the type(s) of product that can be procured by patients in possession of a prescription; options will be limited to pills, patches and topical solutions.

“There could have been more of an organized effort to slow it down, and I appreciate the body not doing that. We tried to address some very serious things. I’m not taking this bill lightly. It’s a big step for Alabama, and there’s still a long way to go,” Sen. Melson told reporters from the Montgomery Advisor.

In the event that Alabama’s medical cannabis bill is approved by the House and enacted into law, patients would be legally able to purchase the medicine from 34 different facilities spread across the state.

An overview of Alabama’s medical cannabis bill

Patients who have been diagnosed with “anxiety, autism, cancer-related illnesses, Crohn’s Disease, epilepsy, fibromyalgia, HIV/AIDS-related nausea or weight loss, post-traumatic stress disorder, sleep disorders, Tourette’s Syndrome and conditions causing chronic or intractable pain” would be able to purchase medical cannabis in Alabama, says Sen. Melson. However, before the hearing came to an end, the list of qualifying conditions was expanded to include menopause and post-menstrual syndrome.

Oversight will be provided by “The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission,” which is yet to be established. Examples of some duties that will be required of Commission members include developing regulations, selecting/awarding business licenses and administering patient registrations for medical cannabis in Alabama. Dispensary staff will be provided with training opportunities, as well as be indulged with rules and standards pertaining to responsible business practices.

Various license types will be on offer, including dispensary licenses, processor licenses and cultivator licenses. A compulsory tracking system (seed-to-sale) will be implemented into Alabama’s medical cannabis program, so as to monitor the journey that plant-based medicines go on before ending up in the patient’s hands. Hopeful business owners who come from underprivileged communities will constitute 25 percent of the total number of available licenses; as per the social justice segment of Alabama’s medical cannabis bill.  

Patients would be limited to buying prescribed medical cannabis with a THC limit of 75 milligrams (mg). Smoking, vaping and edible cannabis products will not be permitted under Alabama’s medical cannabis law, which legalizes creams, gels, pills, oils, nebulizers and transdermal patches. All products will be created from plants that have been grown by local state cultivators; each cultivator must possess over 15 years of experience in farming.

Alabama’s medical cannabis bill outlines patient enrolment information

Once a prospective patient qualifies to enrol in Alabama’s medical cannabis program, he/she must obtain a card from the state. This card will prove that they meet the eligibility requirement. Enrolled patients would then be able to acquire their medicine from state-licensed dispensaries and each purchase will be capped at 70 dosages.  Data from each patient will be submitted in an electronic patient registry that is yet to be created.

New qualifying conditions cannot be added to the existing list by any member of the Commission; only the Legislature will be in charge of expanding the list of qualifying conditions for medical cannabis in Alabama.

The bill now makes its way to the Alabama House of Representatives for review.