Alabama continues to criminalize cannabis consumers

While Alabama remains one of only 19 states that still jails its residents for simple possession of cannabis, Sen. Bobby Singleton (D) has been trying to change that for several years. Sen. Singleton has submitted SB50, which would decriminalize up to one ounce of cannabis and provide a mechanism for individuals to petition for expungement of marijuana-related records after five years without additional criminal conviction. Personal-use possession of cannabis — even the smallest amount — is currently a misdemeanor carrying a maximum penalty of one year in jail and/or a fine of up to $6,000. A repeat offense carries a mandatory minimum of one year and one day in jail. Partial data shows there were at least 7,660 arrests for cannabis possession in Alabama in 2022 alone.

Contact your lawmakers and ask them to make cannabis decriminalization a priority in 2025. Let them know it’s past time to end these draconian penalties and free up law enforcement resources to focus on serious crime.

Alabama stalls on medical cannabis implementation

In 2021, Alabama became the 36th state to pass medical cannabis legislation. Sadly, patients are continuing to wait for relief as the licensing process has been mired in litigation and delays. The patient registry is not open yet, and no one can legally use or access medical cannabis.  

In the 2025 legislative session, SB72 was filed, which could rework the process for vertically-integrated medical licenses to be awarded. The intent is to break the logjam in awarding licenses to get the program launched. Under the original medical cannabis legislation, the program cannot launch until at least one license has been issued in each of the license categories. If this attempt fails, the future of the program lies in the courts.

The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission awarded its first group of licenses on June 12, 2023, but within days decided it needed to review the process in which the licenses were granted. Since then, there have been multiple attempts by the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission to issue licenses. Currently, there are court-imposed stays in the issuance of licenses, brought on by lawsuits from applicants who were not chosen. As of now, there is no timeline as to when another decision will be made on the final granting of licenses.

We’ve provided a summary of the law, the Compassion Act (SB 46), here. While it is far better than what it replaced — no medical protections at all — there are a number of provisions that are unnecessarily burdensome on patients. It steers pain patients to try opioids first, and it requires doctors to jump through hoops — including a four-hour course and a fee of up to $300 — that will depress participation. It also prohibits smoking, vaporization, and whole-plant cannabis, which drives up prices and denies some patients the treatment option that works best for them.

While most medical cannabis states allow qualifying patients to use and possess cannabis products while they wait for licensing, Alabama has no such protections, making the delay all the more harmful.

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