The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) will no longer allow prospective applicants to download paperwork for applying to grow, dispense, transport, or process medical marijuana in the state of Alabama. At 5:00 p.m. today, the AMCC website will close the portal allowing prospective applicants to download the paperwork.
The portal opened, and people could download the forms following the publication of the AMCC rules on August 31.
The 171 pages of rules were adopted by the Commission after a public hearing and a long public comment period over this summer.
The AMCC-issued licenses to grow, process, transport, or dispense medical cannabis will be issued on July 10, 2023, at noon unless there is an appeal that is ongoing and if the Commission is able to maintain the proposed timeline. Completed applications are due in late December. The number of licenses issued is strictly limited by the original medical cannabis legislation that was passed during the 2021 Alabama Regular Legislative session. That legislation, Senate Bill 46, was sponsored by State Sen. Tim Melson and State Rep. Mike Ball. SB46 passed both Houses of the Alabama Legislature in May of 2021 despite having to overcome a nine-and-a-half-hour filibuster by social conservatives in the Alabama House of Representatives and was signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey. The legislation created the AMCC and tasked the Commission with writing the rules, awarding the licenses, and regulating the medical cannabis industry in Alabama.
The Commission was appointed by Gov. Ivey as well as leaders of the legislature. The AMCC has appointed former Alabama Agriculture and Industries Commissioner John McMillan as its executive director.
Chey Garrigan is the founder and President of the Alabama Medical Cannabis Industry Association (AMCIA).
“This is an exciting time for the industry and for people with a medical need treatable by cannabis,” Garrigan said. “There have been over at least 170 people download forms to look at applying for one of the licenses. There is a lot of work that an applicant has to do in order to meet all of the demands of the AMCC’s rules. The Association is busy helping applicants understand and work their way through the process.”
Alabamians who have a documented medical need will be able to get a recommendation for cannabis from their doctor and purchase Alabama medical cannabis no earlier than late 2023.
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