In 2021, medical cannabis was legalized in Alabama and the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission was created to facilitate the licensing and regulation of the industry. Three years later, and medical cannabis remains inaccessible to patients.
APR spoke with Paula Savchenko, a consultant and part-owner of Pure by Sirmon Farms — one of the last companies to have successfully secured a cultivation license from the AMCC — about the future of the cannabis industry in Alabama.
When asked about the woes of the current certification process, Savchenko acknowledged that in principle, Alabama’s application requirements made sense, as “many in the industry truly deemed Alabama to have one of the most complex application requirements in the country, so using a merit-based scoring process ensured objectivity, as well as assurance that all regulations were met when it was time for review.”
However, Savchenko expressed disappointment with how the AMCC has executed these processes, saying, “The downfall in my opinion of the process was due to the back-and-forth from the AMCC once it was time for the licenses to be issued, and the rushed timeframe for them to review all application materials, presentations, and the like.”
Savchenko also noted how the AMCC ultimately abandoned its merit-based scoring process, “Alabama’s licensing process is charting unknown waters in comparison to other states we have worked in due to the domino effect the administrative stays had on the overall process. From issuing notices of awarded licenses and then withdrawing them due to mathematical errors, to erasing the scores of each applicant and allowing presentations in its stead, the back and forth has added more layers of complexity to this process… the removal of scores and the use of a voluntary presentation instead did not remove the biases many asserted were at issue; in my opinion, it made it worse.”
“For the remaining categories that have additional licenses to be given, I think for future application rounds they need to reinforce a merit-based scoring process again and have two third-party scorers review each application to guarantee there are no errors; however, litigation may still be inevitable,” she continued.
We then asked Savchenko when she thinks Alabamians might expect to finally gain access to medical cannabis after years of delay. “At this point in time, it is hard to ascertain due to the two license categories embroiled in litigation having no more licenses to be granted under the current law. Hopefully, during next year’s legislative session, lawmakers can come to an agreement to allow an increase in dispensary licenses, so the individual license categories can begin their supply chain while the vertically integrated companies continue in litigation as those licenses are the most profitable and less likely to be settled,” she said.
Savchenko continued to stress the need for legislative action and the allocation of dispensary licenses, saying, “It is essential for dispensaries to be licensed in the near future as current licensed cultivators and processors must continue to meet regulatory requirements yet cannot provide any product at this time. Unless the legislature decides to allow cultivators and/or processors to begin to dispense, it is unknown when product will hit the Alabama market.”
When asked where she sees medical cannabis heading on a national level, Savchenko stated, “At the federal level, cannabis will likely work its way through rescheduling on the Controlled Substances Act, which will remove obstacles for many in the industry from research and development to tax deductions for operators. However, licensing will likely be left to the states for the near future.”
“In my opinion, I think the main, and obvious, issue for the cannabis industry is its classification as a Schedule I drug. Due to its classification, it prevents further research which is needed for standard guidance from federal agencies to then trickle down into the states. Once cannabis is rescheduled and more research comes to light, I think the industry can start tackling the gray areas of the law that they have been dealing with for over the past decade,” she continued.
Savchenko also says that a future where Alabama legalizes recreational use of cannabis is not out of the realm of possibility, “once the medical cannabis program starts to make leeway and fine tunes its processes, I think legalization can come to fruition, especially if federal law changes. Although many states at the beginning of their medical programs state they do not wish to legalize cannabis, it is hard to ignore the economic growth, job development, and tax revenue that comes from legalization when other states reap the benefits.”
“With the legalization of cannabis… rural areas can see a major boon in economic growth from job development and tax revenue to an increase in traffic. As we have seen in many states, such as Colorado, sales tax receipts can be funneled back into the city or county’s operating budget to be used for underfunded projects such as replacing old infrastructure,” she went on to add. “Moreover, with methamphetamine, fentanyl and other opioid use on the rise in Alabama, legalizing cannabis can reduce the burden on law enforcement and help them better allocate their resources to more concerning issues the state is facing.”
We ended our discussion by asking Savchenko to make a case for why Alabamians should care about ensuring access to medical cannabis, “Although some may not view cannabis as a medicine, access to medical cannabis is essential to expanding your neighbors’ options in their personal health decisions. As a society that has personally seen the dire effects opioids have had on our local communities, providing a natural alternative gives our loved ones the ability to care for their pain while reducing addiction and overdoses. Even if medical cannabis just helps one person in your community, that should be enough to understand the importance of ensuring access to medical cannabis in the state that they call home.”
