The newly formed Patients Coalition for Medical Cannabis is advocating for the continued implementation of Alabama’s medical cannabis law.
The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) is currently being sued by companies that have never received a license in the multiple rounds of license awards and companies that had received licenses in previous rounds but not in the latest round in December 2023. The medical cannabis program is stalled and under a temporary restraining order in Montgomery County Circuit Court until litigation is resolved.
"I first proposed this law in 2015, and we passed it in 2021! The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission has been operating for almost three years, and they have awarded licenses across business categories three times! We’d like to know what the real hold up is?" former State Rep. Mike Ball said in a statement. "Patients, doctors, advocates, legislators and senators all know this medicine is needed in our state. Talk time is over – we demand action to get this product into the hands of the people who need it most!”
The Patients Coalition for Medical Cannabis advocates solely for patient access under the existing law. The group is a collective of individuals and healthcare professionals dedicated to advocating for the timely implementation of medical cannabis legislation in Alabama, according to a press release.
Ball, the House sponsor of the 2021 medical cannabis law, said he supported the new group “as long as we’re working on behalf of people who need this.”
“There are a lot of people suffering who could be helped by this. The most spiritually pure I’ve ever felt in my life was when I was working on behalf of these patients. Particularly the children with seizures. There are cancer patients, there are so many ways that this could be used,” Ball told 1819 News on Monday.
According to a press release, the coalition is “speaking out against the constant and interminable delays at every turn and demanding immediate action.”
“With licenses awarded by the commission for the production of medical cannabis, the time for implementation is long overdue,” Dr. Marshall Walker said. “Patients are suffering while politicians and businessmen dither, bickering over the spoils.”
The Patients Coalition for Medical Cannabis will host a press conference at 10 a.m. Wednesday at 230 Clayton Street in Montgomery in the parking lot of Walker's office.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email caleb.taylor@1819News.com.
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