The Senate approved medical cannabis bill, SB 46, finally made it to the House floor for debate. Unfortunately, that’s as far as the bill made it. Many opponents of the bill, though few and far between, filibustered the bill to halt the legislative process.

A filibuster is a tactic used by members of a lawmaking body to prevent a full assembly or chamber from making a decision or conducting a vote. Tactics include making long winded speeches and trying to answer hypothetical questions. It takes up time until the clock runs out. And while a member of the assembly is speaking on the floor, they can’t be interrupted. They can even pass on the floor to another member to keep taking up time. And that’s exactly what Alabama House members did to SB 46 Tuesday May 4. 

SB 46

This bill, called the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission, would establish a medical cannabis program for qualifying patients in Alabama. If approved, legal sales of medical cannabis would begin at the beginning of 2022. Prescriptions will open for people diagnosed by a licensed physician with one of 20 or so approved conditions. 

Several amendments were added by the two House committees that discussed the bill before it made its way to the full House. Some amendments include removing a few conditions from the list, like menopause and fibromyalgia. Others required that any physician wanting to recommend medical cannabis to a patient must complete a continued education course. Its around four hours long and costs about $500 and requires renewal every few years.

But physicians seem to be in agreement that this is a good option. A recent poll from the Lister Hill Center, which is part of the University of Alabama, shared around 70 percent of physicians said they agreed on medical cannabis legalization. It has several proven health benefits and they would happily participate in the course to provide better care for their patients. Even 42 percent of physicians agreed with the legalization of adult-use, or recreational, cannabis use. 

Opposition

However, SB 46 has received a lot of opposition from a select few people. There were 23 district attorneys who shared an opinion letter using fear based tactics over Reefer Madness. Even though this idea is proven inconsistent with research, it’s still a strong way of thinking for those who are against cannabis legalization. Plus there are some lawmakers who have shown extreme opposition to medical cannabis, including the state’s Attorney General.

This opposition is what caused the filibuster within the state House yesterday. Activists are hoping the bill will be back to the floor on Thursday May 6. However it is unclear if SB 46 will need to return to the Senate since the House made a lot of changes to the bill. But before lawmakers even begin to think about that, SB 46 must pass a House vote.

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