Alabama became the latest state to legalize cannabis for medical use this week after Gov. Kay Ivey signed Senate Bill 46 into law, capping years of debate at the State House over whether and how to allow patients access to the drug for treatment of specific illnesses.
Ivey signed the measure alongside its sponsor, Republican state Sen. Tim Melson of Florence, a physician who has pushed similar legislation in previous sessions. The bill cleared the Senate with relatively little resistance but hit a rougher patch in the House of Representatives, where it stalled for a time before lawmakers attached a series of amendments and ultimately sent it to the governor’s desk.
The new law creates a state commission tasked with regulating medical cannabis in Alabama, including licensing and oversight of growers, processors and dispensaries. Physicians who complete additional training and pay a required fee will be authorized to recommend cannabis to patients suffering from a defined list of conditions, rather than prescribing it outright. Qualifying conditions include depression, autism spectrum disorder, Crohn’s disease, epilepsy and other seizure disorders, panic disorder, Parkinson’s disease, nausea, pain or vomiting associated with cancer, and nausea or severe weight loss linked to HIV.
The law does not permit smokable cannabis products or raw plant material. Instead, patients will be limited to forms such as pills, oils, creams, patches and other manufactured products, a restriction lawmakers included in part to distinguish Alabama’s program from more permissive recreational marketplaces in other states.
In a statement following the bill signing, Ivey said she was encouraged by the possibilities medical cannabis could offer patients living with chronic and difficult-to-treat illnesses, while stressing the need for a carefully managed rollout.
“As research evolves, Sen. Melson and I discussed how critical it is to continue finding ways to work on this to ensure we have a productive, safe and responsible operation in Alabama,” Ivey said. “Signing SB 46 is an important first step. I would like to again thank Sen. Tim Melson and Rep. Mike Ball for their hard work over the last few years and their willingness to address the legitimate concerns.”
The vote broke down along mostly party and regional lines rather than a strict partisan divide. Among members of the Mobile and Baldwin county legislative delegation, only three Republican lawmakers, Matt Simpson, Shane Stringer and Harry Shiver, voted against the bill, while the remainder of the local delegation supported its passage.
With the law now in place, attention turns to the newly created commission, which will be responsible for writing detailed regulations covering licensing, product testing and physician certification before patients can legally access medical cannabis. That rulemaking process is expected to take time, meaning residents of Mobile and Baldwin counties who might qualify under the new law will likely need to wait months before the program is fully operational.