Is Weed Legal In Alabama, Yes for Medical Us
Beginning September 1, 2022, the Commission will begin to accept medical cannabis business applications. Once the business licenses have been awarded, physicians may begin the certification process to recommend medical cannabis to qualified patients.
QUALIFYING CONDITIONS
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Cancer related cachexia, nausea or vomiting, weight loss, chronic pain
- Crohn's Disease
- Depression
- Epilepsy or a condition causing seizures
- HIV/AIDS - related nausea or weight loss
- Panic Disorder
- Parkinson's Disease
- Persistent nausea
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Sickle Cell Anemia
- Spasticity associated with Multiple Sclerosis or spinal cord injury
- A terminal illness
- Tourette's Syndrome
- Condition causing chronic or intractable pain
PATIENT AND CAREGIVER QUALIFICATIONS
- For Patient:
- State resident
- 19 or older
- Certified by registered physician
- Has qualifying condition
- Registered with the Commission
- Has been issued a valid medical cannabis card
- For Patient Under 19:
- State resident
- Certified by registered physician
- Has qualifying condition
- Has caregiver who is parent or guardian
- For Caregiver:
- State resident
- Registered with Commission
- Issued a medical cannabis caregiver card
- At least 21 years old (unless parent/guardian of a registered qualified patient)
- May purchase and possess medical cannabis, but may not use medical cannabis unless he/she is also a registered qualified patient
MEDICAL CANNABIS PRODUCTS
Allowed Products:
- Tablets
- Capsules
- Tinctures
- Gels, oils, and creams for topical use
- Suppositories
- Transdermal patches
- Nebulizers
- Liquids or oils for use in an inhaler
Prohibited Products:
- Raw plant material
- Products that could be smoked or vaped
- Food products such as cookies or candies
In 2014, Alabama passed ‘Carly’s Law’
To grant patients suffering from epilepsy the right to legally use cannabis-derived CBD products to treat their seizures. Maijuana Medical Benefits. Expanded in 2016 under ‘Leni’s Law.’ to include more qualifying conditions to include, but are not limited to, severe nausea, cachexia or wasting syndrome, seizures, chronic or severe pain, and severe and persistent muscle spasms. Individuals in possession of legal cannabis products are required to affix a tax stamp to their medication.
Marijuana, whether you spell it "marihuana," as Alabama law does
Or call it pot, weed, grass, ganja, Mary Jane, chronic, or anything else, is a common, yet controversial drug. Marijuana law is currently going through a great deal of change throughout the country. Colorado and Washington state have legalized the use of recreational marijuana. Over 23 states have legalized medical marijuana, and this number continues to grow. Also, 18 states, including Alabama’s neighbor Mississippi, have decriminalized the first-time possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use. Generally, in these states you can still get a ticket and have to pay a fine if caught with a small amount of marijuana, but jail time isn’t possible.
Alabama has essentially no legalization or decriminalization laws.
Therefore, almost all forms of marijuana possession, sale, or trafficking in Alabama is illegal. The only legal form of marijuana in Alabama is CBD or cannabidiol, which is a compound in cannabis that has medical effects without the THC to get you high. Patients with debilitating epileptic conditions can use CBD as part of state-sponsored clinical trial at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Alabama legislators authorized this study on CBD in Senate Bill 174 in 2014.
The table below outlines Alabama’s main marijuana laws.
Code Sections
Alabama Code Sections:
- 13A-12-211:Unlawful Distribution of Controlled Substances
- 13A-12-213: Unlawful Possession of Marihuana in the First Degree
- 13A-12-214: Unlawful Possession of Marihuana in the Second Degree
- 13A-12-231: Trafficking in Cannabis, Mandatory Minimum Terms of Imprisonment
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Possession
There are two degrees or levels of unlawful possession of marijuana in Alabama. First degree is possessing marijuana for something other than personal use or for personal use after a previous conviction of unlawful possession of marijuana. This is a Class C felony (the lowest level of felony in Alabama). This can get you between 1 and 10 years in prison and up to a $15,000 fine.
Possession of pot for personal use is only a Class A misdemeanor (the highest misdemeanor in Alabama). This is possession in the second degree. A Class A misdemeanor can be sentenced to not more than a year in jail and up to a $6,000 fine. |
Sale
Selling, delivering, or distributing marijuana and other drugs or controlled substances is illegal. The unlawful distribution of marijuana is a Class B felony subject to 2-10 years in prison and up to a $30,000 fine.
Because Alabama wants to protect its children from drug sales, if you’re an adult over 18 and you sell marijuana to a child under 18, the penalty is increased to a Class A felony. Class A felonies are subject to 10-99 years or life imprisonment and up to a $60,000 fine. On top of that, selling marijuana within 3 miles of a public or private school or university can receive an additional penalty of 5 years in prison, during which you can’t receive probation. |
Trafficking
Trafficking in cannabis or selling, cultivating, or transporting any marijuana, hash, seeds, synthetic tetrahydrocannabinols (THC), etc. is illegal in Alabama. It’s a Class A felony, but the mandatory minimum sentences are based on the amount of marijuana trafficked:
- For 1 kilo to 100 lbs. the minimum is 3 years and there’s a mandatory $25,000 fine
- For 100-500 lbs. the minimum is 5 years and a $50,000 fine
- For 500-1000 lbs. the minimum is 15 years and a $200,000 fine
- For over 1000 lbs. the penalty is life imprisonment without the possibility of parole
In addition, under the Alabama Drug Trafficking Enterprise Act a person who manages at least 5 people and gets a substantial income from the marijuana trade faces higher fines and longer minimum sentences. For a first conviction, the mandatory minimum is 25 years in prison with a fine between $50,000 and $500,000. For a second conviction, the leader is facing life in prison without parole and a $150,000 to $1,000,000 fine. The sentences under this law cannot be less than what the defendant faces under the trafficking and habitual offender laws alone. |
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