In early May 2021, Alabama took a significant step toward becoming the 39th state to legalize medical marijuana. After a nearly nine-hour bipartisan debate, the state Senate passed an amended version of the Alabama Compassionate Act, Senate Bill 46 (SB 46), 68-34. Governor Kay Ivey signed SB 46 on May 17, 2021 - marking a significant win in the Heart of Dixie state.

The measure created a medical cannabis commission to regulate, license, and oversee the distribution of medical marijuana. The bill will allow doctors to prescribe medical marijuana for several conditions, including cancer, a terminal illness, epilepsy, and chronic pain. Patients will receive medical cannabis cards, and vaping or smoking of medical marijuana will be prohibited while products including gummies, oils, or creams will be allowed.

Because the underlying qualifications for a patient to register for a medical card are non-restrictive, this could lead to a large influx of MMJ patients. However, the bill prohibits smoking flowers, vaping, and edibles, leaving patients to purchase capsules, lozenges, oils, suppositories and topical patches.

This win, however, was short lived, as the process to distribute licenses has been contested by those who were not awarded licenses. They argue that the process for determining license winners was unfair and as a result, the medical cannabis market has not begun operating three years after the legalization of medical-use in 2021.

Lawmakers have introduced new legislation that aimed to alleviate these issues by having a more concrete and transparent rating system for potential licensees and even hiring a third party consulting to determine the best operators. The legislation would also remove the requirement that the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission hold a investigatory hearing after the denial of a license. Although some argue that this could taint the licensee selection process, the bill would help to get this market operational.

No market activity at this time.

It has been a long time coming since the time of medical legalization, and hopefully the new legislation could get the medical-market kickstarted in 2025.

As stated, licensing disputes have held back this market for three years. Operators should keep a close eye on the state as regulation is put in place and sales begin. Regulators have stated that more licenses will be issued as demand in the state is better understood, should the opportunity arise, operators should make a play at the state.