Alabama senators took only about 15 minutes this afternoon to pass a bill to regulate the production, sale, and use of medical marijuana.
The legislation would still have to be passed by the House of Representatives to become law.
With a vote of 21 to 8, the Senate passed Senator Tim Melson’s bill, R-Florence. It would allow doctors to recommend medicinal cannabis products for a wide variety of conditions such as anxiety, nausea, chronic pain and sleep disorders.
It would set up a Medical Cannabis Commission that would oversee a seed-to-sale system and issue licenses to grow, process, distribute, ship, and test medical cannabis. Patients with qualifying conditions would receive a medical cannabis card.
The bill, called the Compassion Act, would make Alabama the 37th state to allow medicinal marijuana, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The Senate has also passed the bill over the past two years, but it has stuck in the House of Representatives. Melson said the legislation this year is essentially the same as the one the Senate passed last year.
Melson, a medical researcher and anesthetist, said the evidence makes a strong case that people in Alabama should be able to try medicinal cannabis products for conditions that conventional drugs don’t solve.
“I was skeptical five years ago,” said Melson. “I started to listen to patients instead of the prejudiced people and this is where we are now.”
He said medical marijuana is not a panacea, but it can make a dramatic difference for some people who have tried other remedies without success.
“I think we need that to open our eyes and be willing to give people that chance,” Melson said.
Another senator who is also a doctor voted against the bill. Senator Larry Stutts, R-Sheffield, an OB-GYN, has opposed Melson’s bill for the past three years. He said there is no reason to call medical marijuana products “medical.”
First, there is no such thing as medical marijuana. It’s just marijuana, ”said Stutts. “Medically it’s just marijuana. And we have a process for products, for drugs, for drugs that have to be approved, and we’re bypassing that whole process. “
Under Melson’s bill, doctors could recommend medicinal cannabis products to patients suffering from more than a dozen conditions, including anxiety or panic disorders; autism; nausea and weight loss caused by cancer or HIV; to attack; fibromyalgia; Crohn’s disease; posttraumatic stress disorder; menopause or premenstrual symptoms; sleep problems; spasticity associated with certain diseases or spinal cord injuries; a terminal illness; Tourette syndrome; and chronic pain.
Stutts said the list of qualifying terms is too broad and general. He said it will lead to an increase in the recreational use of marijuana.
“Anyone who wanted marijuana could get a cannabis card and qualify for any of these medical conditions,” said Stutts. “So it is a back door to say that we are going to increase the availability of marijuana.”
Melson said that was not his intention.
“I am not a recreational marijuana person,” Melson said. ‘I don’t want that in this state. I just want the patients who need it to get it. “
The bill would not allow the use of raw plant material or products that would be smoked or vaporized.
The medicinal cannabis can consist of tablets, capsules, gel cubes, oils, creams, suppositories, patches and liquid or oil for use in an inhaler.
Senators added two amendments, including by Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, to add sickle cell disease to the list of conditions. The other, by Senator Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, made several changes, including a restriction on the daily dosage and a ban on sugar-coated gel cubes.
Two years ago, the House rejected Melson’s attempt to legalize medical marijuana and changed the bill to create a committee to study the matter.
Related: What Were the Alabama Medical Cannabis Study Commission Findings?
Last year, the COVID-19 pandemic cut off the session.
Melson believes that there is more support in the House of Representatives this year, partly because representatives know more about the possible deployment.
“They’ve had that family member who needs it, or they realize they have a friend or neighbor who needs it,” Melson said. “I think you will be surprised.”
Stutts said he opposed the bill not only for medical reasons, but also opposed it as a small conservative government because of the size of the body it would take to regulate the industry.
The bill would impose a 9% sales tax on medicinal cannabis products and impose licensing fees. The money would go to a fund of the Medical Cannabis Commission. It would be used to cover the costs of regulating the program. Most of the remaining money would go to the state general fund and a consortium of Alabama universities for medical cannabis research.
Read the Legislative Services Agency summary.