Medical Cannabis Commission Nominees Set

State officials last week took the first step toward making medical marijuana available in Alabama, finalizing nominations to a new state body charged with regulating medical cannabis. The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission, created under the medical cannabis law signed by Gov. Kay Ivey earlier this year, is charged with registering patients and issuing cards allowing the use of medical cannabis; specifying dosages, and licensing facilities that process, transport, test and dispense medical marijuana. Cultivators will be licensed by the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries. The commission will also oversee cannabis products and maintain data on their use. All the nominees need to be confirmed by the Alabama Senate. Gov. Kay Ivey: Under the law, the governor appoints a medical physician, a pharmacist and a person with experience in agriculture or banking. Ivey appointed Dr. William Saliski, a Montgomery pulmonologist; Sam Blakemore, a pharmacist based in Birmingham, and Dwight Gamble, president of HNB National Bank in Headland in Henry County.

Medical marijuana in Alabama: Alabama has just authorized medical marijuana. Here's what to know. Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth: The lieutenant governor selects a pediatrician, an attorney focused on health law, and a biochemist. Ainsworth appointed Dr. Angela Martin, an Anniston pediatrician; Loree Skelton, a Birmingham attorney, and Eric Jensen, a biochemist who lives in Brownsboro in Madison County. House Speaker Mac McCutcheon: The House speaker appoints a person with a background in mental health or substance abuse counseling and treatment and a person with experience in agricultural systems management. McCutcheon appointed Rex Vaughn, a vice president with the Alabama Farmers Federation, and retired Montgomery Circuit Court Judge Charles Price. Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed: The Senate President Pro Tem picks an oncologist and a person with experience in agriculture and crop development. Reed appointed Dr. Steve Stokes, a Dothan-based oncologist, and Taylor Hatchett, a farmer in Chilton County. Alabama's medical cannabis bill: 23 District Attorneys want Alabama's medical cannabis bill rejected. State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris: The state health officer can select whoever he or she feels is appropriate under the law. The Alabama Department of Public Health had not shared Harris' choice as of Friday morning. Attorney General Steve Marshall: The attorney general names a nonvoting member to the commission who may advise other members. Marshall, who strongly opposed the medical marijuana bill, named his general counsel, Katherine Robertson, to the commission. Alabama Law Enforcement Secretary Hal Taylor: Like Marshall, Taylor appoints a nonvoting member who serves in an advisory capacity. Taylor has selected Dion Robinson, ALEA Special Agent Senior, to serve on the commission.

Wondering what the law is in your state? Marijuana laws are changing at a rapid pace across all 50 states, making things a bit confusing at times. In order to keep up with the ever-changing laws, DISA has provided this interactive map for information on legalization, medical use, recreational use, and anything in between. Are you wondering what the marijuana laws are in your state? This marijuana legalization map clearly defines the laws in each state and remains up-to-date with the latest changes on a monthly basis. It’s important to understand and respect the rules that vary across the U.S. Scroll over each state to learn more about their individual legalization laws. Not sure where to start with Drug Testing? Note: State status reflects current laws at time of update, not pending legislation or future dates upon which marijuana becomes available medicinally or recreationally. Enactment is pending until future date.

The potential medicinal properties of marijuana and its components have been the subject of research and heated debate for decades. THC itself has proven medical benefits in particular formulations. In addition, several other marijuana-based medications have been approved or are undergoing clinical trials. The FDA also approved a CBD-based liquid medication called Epidiolex® for the treatment of two forms of severe childhood epilepsy, Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. It’s being delivered to patients in a reliable dosage form and through a reproducible route of delivery to ensure that patients derive the anticipated benefits. CBD does not have the rewarding properties of THC. Researchers generally consider medications like these, which use purified chemicals derived from or based on those in the marijuana plant, to be more promising therapeutically than use of the whole marijuana plant or its crude extracts. Development of drugs from botanicals such as the marijuana plant poses numerous challenges.

Botanicals may contain hundreds of unknown, active chemicals, and it can be difficult to develop a product with accurate and consistent doses of these chemicals. Use of marijuana as medicine also poses other problems such as the adverse health effects of smoking and THC-induced cognitive impairment. Nevertheless, a growing number of states have legalized dispensing of marijuana or its extracts to people with a range of medical conditions. A new study underscores the need for additional research on the effect of medical marijuana laws on opioid overdose deaths and cautions against drawing a causal connection between the two. Early research suggested that there may be a relationship between the availability of medical marijuana and opioid analgesic overdose mortality. These data, therefore, do not support the interpretation that access to cannabis reduces opioid overdose. Indeed, the authors note that neither study provides evidence of a causal relationship between marijuana access and opioid overdose deaths. Rather, they suggest that the associations are likely due to factors the researchers did not measure, and they caution against drawing conclusions on an individual level from ecological (population-level) data. Research is still needed on the potential medical benefits of cannabis or cannabinoids.