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A recent opinion poll of likely Alabama voters found that four in five Alabamians strongly support medical cannabis in the state.
The poll, conducted by the Montgomery-based Mowery Consulting Group in partnership with the Alabama Medical Cannabis Association, found that 79 percent of likely voters favor legal, medical cannabis in Alabama, with 9 percent of respondents against medical cannabis.
“These numbers are a little better than even we expected,” Alabama Medical Cannabis Association Executive Director Patrick Lindsey said in a statement on Wednesday. “It shows both the need for the product, and that this process is establishing an industry that is here to stay.”
In May of 2021, Alabama became the 37th U.S state to legalize cannabis for medical use and enabled the creation of the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission to regulate the production and distribution of marijuana to individuals for medicinal purposes. Medical cannabis is not yet available in the state, with the AMCC just beginning to accept applications from potential growers, processors, transporters, state testing labs, and dispensaries.
With license applications sent out this month to companies and organizations wishing to secure a commercial place in the future industry, those groups have until Dec. 30 of this year to submit those applications to the medical cannabis commission for consideration. Patients will likely not be able to begin receiving medical cannabis until late 2023.
“We rarely see this type of support for a product or service that is not currently allowed in the state,” said David Mowery, Chairman of Mowery Consulting Group, in a statement on Wednesday. “These are the types of numbers any politician would be happy to use as a vehicle for signature legislation. Anyone wishing to revert the laws on this issue is going to have a tough row to hoe when it comes to the next election.”
