An Alabama’s Republican senator has submitted another proposal to authorize medical cannabis. Activists believe that this year is finally the moment that patients are allowed to use marijuana.
Senator Milson Tim unveiled the proposal that would authorize eligible patients to use for therapeutic purposes. Tim also sponsored a similar reform that was Senate-approved last year. However, the bill failed to ascend past the House during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the new reform, an Alabama Medical Cannabis Committee would be created to enact regulations and regulate licensing.
Individuals who are eligible for the measure need to be diagnosed with around 20 conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorders, intractable pain, anxiety and sleep disorders. Regulators won’t be able to directly add extra provisions. That decision would be left for legislators.
One controversial provision from the activists’ opinion is that for folks with chronic pain, they could be prescribed a medical marijuana dosage if opiate therapy or therapeutic approach has proved non-proficient.
Patients will be permitted to buy and possess not more than seventy day-to-day doses of medical marijuana. The committee will set the threshold, however, it won’t exceed 75mg/dose.
The bill has been ascended to the Senate Judiciary Committee. It criminalizes raw marijuana, vaping, smoking and baked or candy food commodities. Patients will only be authorized to buy lozenges, capsules, suppositories, topical patches and oils.
It also advocates for a 9% gross returns tax on medicinal cannabis sales. After funding enactment expenses,60% of the tax proceeds would be allocated for Alabama’s general fund and 30% would be used in research towards the medicinal potential of Marijuana.
Caregivers, patients and medical marijuana ventures would acquire legitimate protection, thanks to the new proposal. This will safeguard them against penalties for state-legalized operations.
For physicians to be allowed to prescribe marijuana to patients, they have to pass an exam and finish a continuing four-hour course.
