Soon after the US Federal government passed the Farm Bill in 2018, the Alabama Senate Judiciary Committee revised the Code of Alabama 1975. One of the sections revised was Section 2-8-381.
These revisions in the Alabama Code separated hemp from marijuana, and legalized industrial hemp and hemp products.
The office of Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall issued a public notice which affirmed the legality of CBD products with less than 0.3% THC concentration by weight. The notice allowed licensed vendors to distribute such products and advised consumers to be cautious when purchasing these items, because the state has yet to regulate testing and licensing.
In June 2019, Governor Kay Ivey signed Alabama Senate Bill 225, which allowed state pharmacies to redistribute CBD products.Until the bill was signed, Alabama pharmacies were prohibited from selling the products, even if you could purchase them online or in-store.
Currently, hemp-derived Delta 8 THC products like tinctures, lotions, and edible goods are legal in Alabama. This means, there are no federal or state restrictions on the use, possession, purchase, or sale of Delta 8 in Alabama.
Senate Bill 144 sponsored by Alabama Senator Tim Melson was introduced on Feb. 1, 2022. This bill would provide that only non-psychoactive cannabinoids derived from or found in hemp are exempt from the Schedule I controlled substances list. Senate Bill 144 is referred to the Senate Committee of Healthcare on 2 January 2022, and is still pending.
Medical Marijuana in Alabama
The term “medical marijuana” refers to using the whole unprocessed marijuana plant or its basic extracts to treat a disease or symptom. Studies show that the marijuana plant contains chemicals that may help treat a range of illnesses or symptoms, and can assist patients suffering from serious medical conditions by alleviating pain and improving their quality of life.
While some states have already legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes, the issue is still being hotly debated in many others. As of 2019, a total of 41 states in the US have successfully legislated medical marijuana programs, with 19 states adopting recreational cannabis programs, and 23 states decriminalizing cannabis entirely.
Alabama became the 36th State with a full medical Cannabis law.Known as the Darren Wesley “Ato” Hall Compassion Act, the law permits the use of medical cannabis to treat certain medical conditions including Crohn’s disease, depression, epilepsy, HIV/AIDs, panic disorder, Parkinson’s disease, persistent nausea, post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic or intractable pain, among others. The licensing process should begin on Sept. 1, but applications are not expected to go out until Oct. 24 2023.
According to Alabama state regulations:
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Physicians will have the option of joining the medical cannabis program
- A person who wants medical cannabis must have an ongoing patient relationship with a physician who will diagnose the patient with a qualifying condition
- The physician will also have to submit documentation that includes a physical exam, evidence that conventional treatments have been attempted, and a treatment plan
- The 2021 law specifically forbids smoking medical cannabis or using it in edibles
- Medical cannabis will be offered in the form of tablets, capsules, gelatins, oils, gels, creams, suppositories, transdermal patches, or inhalable oils or liquids.
- Most patients will be allowed up to 50 mg of legal cannabis per day.
The use of recreational marijuana in Alabama is still illegal.
Section 2-8-381 Definitions
(3) HEMP PRODUCTS. Any and all products made from industrial hemp, including, but not limited to, cloth, cordage, fiber, food, fuel, paint, paper, particleboard, plastics, seed, seed meal and seed oil for consumption, and seed for cultivation if the seeds originate from industrial hemp varieties.
(4) INDUSTRIAL HEMP or HEMP. The plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, cultivated or possessed by a licensed grower or otherwise in accordance with the state's USDA-approved regulatory plan, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis. Industrial hemp shall be considered an agricultural crop or an agricultural commodity, or both, in all respects under state law. The term excludes marijuana as defined in subdivision (14) of Section 20-2-2.
(14) MARIJUANA. All parts of the plant Cannabis sativa L., whether growing or not, the seeds thereof, the resin extracted from any part of the plant, and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant, its seeds or resin. Such term does not include the mature stalks of the plant, fiber produced from the stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of the plant, any other compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the mature stalks (except the resin extracted therefrom), fiber, oil or cake, or the sterilized seed of the plant which is incapable of germination. Marijuana does not include industrial hemp as defined in Article 11 of Chapter 8 of Title 2 Section 2-8-381.