ALABAMA – The Alabama medical marijuana bill survived another gauntlet Thursday.
The House Health Committee on Thursday approved the legislation from Sen Tim Melson, R-Florence, that would create a medical cannabis program in the state. The bill, already approved by the Senate, heads to the full House for a vote.
“I think it’s going to be close, but I think it will be OK,” Melson said after the vote.
Melson’s bill, SB 46, would allow the use of medical cannabis for more than a dozen conditions, including cancer; HIV/AIDS; depression; sickle-cell anemia and chronic pain. The legislation would allow cannabis to be administered as capsules, tablets, gelatins and vaporized oils. Smoking, vaping or consuming cannabis in the form of edibles would be banned.
“It’s not going to be your first choice of treatment,” Melson said. “But if you tried everything else and this is an option for that particular disease or illness, I think it will be out there.”
Physicians would need to complete education and training to dispense medical cannabis, and patients would need a recommendation from a physician to obtain it. Patients would also need to apply for a cannabis card, costing no more than $65. Cannabis would only be obtainable through licensed dispensaries, which would be forbidden from advertising or marketing products.
The bill would also create a state medical cannabis commission to regulate licensing and cultivation of medical cannabis.
The legislation passed the Senate with little debate in February, but faced a more difficult road in the Alabama House. Leaders directed the bill through two committees instead of the usual one, and the House Judiciary Committee took over a month to vote for the legislation. Attorney General Steve Marshall has opposed the legislation, and his office had members of the Health Committee push amendments on the legislation that Melson opposed and the committee rejected.
The House Health Committee did adopt amendments that removed fibromyalgia, menopause and PMS from the list of covered conditions, as well as an amendment that would require cannabis edibles to have a single flavor.
Alabama currently allows families enrolled in a research program at the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) to use cannibidiol (CBD) oil, a derivative of marijuana.
Melson has been present throughout the committee process, and few amendments to the bill have passed without his approval. The senator suggested he would be reluctant to accept any more.
“I’m sure amendments will be offered on the floor,” he said. “We’re three years on this particular version .. I’m hoping everything will be tabled and we won’t go to conference.”
