Alabama is going to be moving forward with a medicinal cannabis market and it might not be open until around 2023 for people to start making their purchases.
In some places the cannabis market has been able to get going a lot quicker, in Arizona for example we saw one of the fastest starts to the cannabis market. In Alabama it might take a bit longer.
Just recently a group started working on that program for the state. There will be 14 people overseeing the program overall. They will be looking to establish rules for cultivating cannabis, producing it, transporting etc. There will also be a registry established for patients and caregivers so that they can be able to access medicinal cannabis products.
There are many families who suffer in areas like Alabama who still do not have access to cannabis, not without risking their freedom to medicate. This leaves them with other options in the market to turn to, ones that might be more potentially harmful to them than a natural plant based option like cannabis. For many patients they have demonstrated that they prefer cannabis for their symptoms over more common medications but still many don't have the freedom to choose cannabis.
Alabama was one of those states that still upheld strict cannabis criminalization. Those who get caught with cannabis could end up in prison and face thousands in fines.
It doesn't strengthen the Alabama community to have medicinal cannabis patients or growers etc locked away in prison. And it doesn't put the limited police resources to good use to continue to police a plant like cannabis when there are other issues like human trafficking, assault, missing children, murder etc, that could use that attention from those authorities. It is time to reprioritize and cannabis shouldn't be at the top of the list. It is good to see them starting to make what small progress they are with the move for at least medicinal cannabis.
There is widespread support for legalization of cannabis, even with a number of doctors in Alabama too. But that freedom for those in the market to make cannabis exchanges isn't going to be something that comes quickly.