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Alabama\u2019s governor said on Friday that she hopes to sign a medical marijuana bill that lawmakers sent to her desk<\/a> this week, but only after she takes a close look at its provisions.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope, after thoroughly reviewing it, we can sign the bill,\u201d Gov. Kay Ivey (R) told WFSA-TV, adding that she\u2019s aware of cannabis\u2019s medical benefits but also has some concerns.<\/p>\n \u201cIt helps some people, but you just don\u2019t want it to get out of control,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n #NEW<\/a> @GovernorKayIvey<\/a> tells me she hopes to sign the medical marijuana bill after thoroughly reviewing it. #alpolitics<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Lydia Nusbaum (@LydiaNusbaum) May 7, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The governor has expressed openness to past medical cannabis proposals, but earlier on Friday, a spokesperson for her office declined to say what action she would take on this latest bill.<\/p>\n \u201cAs with any piece of legislation that reaches the governor\u2019s desk, we look forward to thoroughly reviewing it,\u201d the spokesperson wrote in an email to Marijuana Moment. \u201cWe appreciate the debate from the Legislature on the topic. This is certainly an emotional issue. We are sensitive to that and will give it the diligence it deserves.\u201d<\/p>\n While the measure was approved with a two-to-one margin in both the House and Senate, some Republican lawmakers vigorously opposed its passage, staging a lengthy filibuster<\/a> earlier this week that delayed the final votes.<\/p>\n The legislation hasn\u2019t been formally transmitted to Ivey\u2019s desk yet. But when it is, the state Constitution<\/a> sets a tight deadline for gubernatorial action. While the legislature is in session, the governor has six days from the time she gets the bill to either approve, veto or take no action and let it go into law without her signature.<\/p>\n She could also propose line-item amendments and send it back to lawmakers, who could then approve or reject them.<\/p>\n While Ivey hasn\u2019t been especially vocal about the issue, she was asked about a prior medical cannabis legalization bill in 2019<\/a> and said<\/a>, \u201cI\u2019m still trying to get the details, but if it\u2019s tightly controlled and limited to just those illnesses as verified by medical professionals, it\u2019d be worth considering.\u201d<\/p>\n If it\u2019s a limited, regulated medical marijuana program that the governor wants, it stands to reason that the legislation heading to her desk will meet that standard. But in light of that earlier comment, it\u2019s seems possible that any line-item amendments proposed by the governor could target the list of qualifying conditions.<\/p>\n \u2014 Under the legislation, patients would have to be diagnosed with one of about 20 conditions, including anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and intractable pain. Regulators would not be able to independently add additional conditions, leaving that decision up to lawmakers in future sessions.<\/p>\n The bill also prohibits raw cannabis, smoking, vaping and candy or baked good products. Patients would instead be allowed to purchase capsules, lozenges, oils, suppositories and topical patches.<\/p>\n For physicians to be able to recommend cannabis to patients, they would have to complete a four-hour continuing education course and pass an exam. The course would cost upwards of $500 and doctors would also be required to take refresher classes every two years.<\/p>\n For his part, Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth (R) recently called on lawmakers to send the bill to Ivey ahead of their final votes.<\/p>\n \u201cI support legalizing medical marijuana to help those with cancer and other serious medical issues ease their pain,\u201d he posted on Twitter. \u201cThe majority of the medical community agrees. The Alabama House should pass this important bill before the session ends.\u201d<\/p>\n I support legalizing medical marijuana to help those with cancer and other serious medical issues ease their pain. The majority of the medical community agrees. The Alabama House should pass this important bill before the session ends. https:\/\/t.co\/LRjOK6ji3d<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Will Ainsworth (@willainsworthAL) May 1, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Ivey did sign<\/a> a bill in 2019 that established a medical cannabis study commission. That piece of legislation was originally a medical marijuana legalization bill that cleared the Senate but then was gutted in the House.<\/p>\n Another bill<\/a> was sent to the governor\u2019s desk late last month that would expand expungement eligibility for certain convictions, including misdemeanor marijuana possession.<\/p>\n Thanks to @SenLindaColeman<\/a>, @RepEngland70<\/a>, the JeffCo delegation, and all others that got SB117 to @GovernorKayIvey<\/a>‘s desk. <\/p>\n SB117 makes Class A misdemeanors like the unlawful possession of marijuana convictions I pardoned this week expungeable. <\/p>\n Now, it needs a signature.<\/p>\n \u2014 Randall Woodfin (@randallwoodfin) April 22, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Ivey has not yet commented on her plan for that measure.<\/p>\n GOP Senator Highlights Montana Sheriff\u2019s Support For Marijuana Banking Bill In New Ad<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Alabama Governor Hopes To Sign Medical Marijuana Bill After Reviewing Its Provisions<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Alabama\u2019s governor said on Friday that she hopes to sign a medical marijuana bill that lawmakers sent to her desk this week, but only after she takes a close look at its provisions. \u201cI hope, after thoroughly reviewing it, we can sign the bill,\u201d Gov. Kay Ivey (R) told WFSA-TV,Continue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":47587,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47586"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47586"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47586\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47588,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47586\/revisions\/47588"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Alabama Governor Hopes To Sign Medical Marijuana Bill After Reviewing Its Provisions<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"