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State Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, suffered a heart attack Thursday while on a recruiting trip to South Korea with fellow lawmakers and is currently in critical condition, according to a report from WBRC.
Sources told WBRC that Melson collapsed in a coffee shop, and Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, administered CPR until medics arrived.
Melson notably wrote the law making medical marijuana legal in Alabama and establishing the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission, which is currently embroiled in lawsuits as it attempts to award licenses to hopeful cultivators, processors and dispensaries.
The trip to South Korea reportedly involved recruiting industry as well as STEM teachers to help address the state’s teacher shortage.
In a 2014 interview with the Athens New Courier, Melson recounted a close medical call that forced him to retire as chief of anesthesia at Helen Keller hospital, needing a life-saving liver transplant.
