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By Hunter Dublin | June 13, 2022
The future of medical marijuana in Alabama is coming to fruition. Companies wanting to grow, process, and sell products can submit applications for licenses starting this fall if the current timeline holds true.
An announcement thrilled many patients eager to finally have access after years without treatment options due largely because state laws didn't allow it until 2021 when legislation passed allowing doctors prescribing cannabis.
"Products will be ready early next year, perhaps mid to late spring," AMCC Executive Director John McMillan stated.
The AMCC announced a timetable for developing the regulations that would govern the initiative. On June 21, it will submit the rules to the Legislative Services Agency for publication. The public comment process will last 35 days, beginning June 30.
On July 14, the AMCC will hold a public hearing on the regulations. Speakers must register in advance, which they may do on the agency's website beginning June 30.
The AMCC is set to adopt the rules as amended after public comments. The new laws will be published on August 31 and take effect 45 days later. Giving companies time to prepare for their license applications which must include certain information like names of owners or directors, whether they're organized under federal law and probable licensing.
Based on the National Conference of State Legislatures, Alabama is one of 37 states that will allow medicinal marijuana products under a measure signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey in May 2021. Each integrated licensee will be allowed up to five dispensaries. This implies that the state may have up to 37 dispensaries.
Patients who have a certified doctor's recommendation can purchase the items in the following forms: oral tablet, capsule, tincture, gelatinous cube, gel, oil, cream, patch, suppository, nebulizer, liquid, or oil for an inhaler. There will be no raw plant materials or products for smoking or eating.
Qualified Medical Conditions include:
Autism spectrum disorder
Cancer-related cachexia nausea, vomiting, chronic pain, and weight loss
Crohn's Disease; depression
Epilepsy or conditions causing seizures
HIV/AIDS-related nausea or weight loss
Panic disorder
Parkinson's Disease
Persistent nausea
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Sickle Cell Anemia
spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis or spinal cord injury
Terminal illness
Tourette's Syndrome
Colitis
Today, the 14-member committee received comments from officials from Ohio and Louisiana's medicinal marijuana programs.
The program was initially authorized by the Louisiana legislature in 2015, but items were not accessible until August 2019. Since then, 48,334 individuals in the state have gotten 369,149 prescriptions. This year's figures have grown dramatically. Last year, Louisiana lawmakers amended the program to allow pharmacists to offer raw plant material and smokable goods.
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