Work begins on Alabama’s Medical Marijuana Program

The 14 people who will oversee Alabama’s medical marijuana program will gather for the first time Thursday.

The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission, created by legislation that passed in May, will meet at 1 p.m. at the State House in Montgomery.

The panel faces several deadlines to set up the rules to launch what will be a fully intrastate program.

The law directs the commission to set up rules to allow companies to apply for licenses to cultivate, produce, transport, and open Alabama dispensaries by Sept. 1, 2022. By that same date, commission must set up a registry of patients and caregivers who can buy the products.

Alabama became the 37th state to legalize cannabis products for medical purposes, according to the National Conference for State Legislatures.

Gov. Kay Ivey, Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth, House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed and others appointed the 14 members, who will lead a “seed to sale” regulatory system for medical cannabis.

The legislation allocated the slots to…..

 

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ST. JOSEPH’S BUDDING MEDICAL MARIJUANA BUSINESS BLOSSOMS

(ST. JOSEPH, Mo.) The medical marijuana industry is trying to blaze a trail through St. Joseph as product sales hit an all time high in Missouri.

Missouri legalized medical cannabis in 2018. The state began selling the product in October 2020. In the last ten months from October to July, Missouri medical marijuana sales grew from roughly $350,000 to $91.36 million which is an increase of 26,000%.

July saw its single highest month of sales at $21.03 million, the first time sales have topped $20 million.

The numbers show the budding business is growing fast and so is St. Joseph.

“We had a big line waiting for us on the very first day we opened, which was super awesome. I think it was a Wednesday, so in the middle of the week to have such a large audience just waiting for us to be here was a really special thing,” said Jericho Heese, Director of Marketing for Fresh Karma Dispensaries.

St. Joseph is going green.

This year, the city saw two medical marijuana joints pop up: Vertical Enterprise and Fresh Karma.

Fresh Karma was the first dispensary to open in…..

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Law expanding Texas medical marijuana program takes effect September 1st

MCALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A law that will expand the use of medical marijuana in Texas is going into effect on Sept. 1.

“Every condition being treated with medical marijuana is dosed very differently, its consumers very differently,” said Dr. Sujan Gogu a Family, Sports, and Pain Medicine Doctor at South Texas Health System Clinics.

The expanded law under the Compassionate Use of Medical Marijuana will now be open for people like veterans who suffer from PTSD, cancer patients, and other medical conditions. According to Dr. Gogu, there is still a process that has to be followed.

Current TX Qualifying Conditions List | TXD

“You’d go to your primary care physician and you’d talk about the condition you have and see if it’s a viable option for you, it may or may not be a viable option for you,” he said.

What happens after the MMJ doctor approves your use of medical marijuana with other specialists?

Considering there isn’t a Texas dispensary in the Rio Grande Valley and only a few in the state of Texas, Dr. Gogu said the process could take…

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Medical marijuana legalization keeps advancing in North Carolina Senate

A bill legalizing marijuana for medical use in North Carolina and developing a system to grow and sell it cleared two more legislative hurdles this week in the Senate.

The Senate Health Care Committee voted for the measure on Thursday, two days after the judiciary committee approved an updated version compared to what it originally recommended in late June. The measure could be on the Senate floor as soon as next week.

The measure would let patients purchase and use marijuana from medical cannabis centers if their physician declares in writing they have one of more than a dozen “debilitating medical conditions” listed and that cannabis could bring health benefits. An amendment approved Thursday increases the amount of a prescribing physician’s required training from three to 10 hours.

A new state commission would issue 10 medical cannabis supplier licenses, each of which would allow the opening of four sales centers. Additional restrictions would prevent centers from locating near churches or…

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Agriculture Commissioner wants no part of Mississippi medical marijuana

Lawmakers are still working out the details of a medical marijuana program in Mississippi.  They’re considering having the Dept. of Agriculture license and regulate growers and processors.  Agriculture and Commerce Secretary Andy Gipson made it clear this morning during an interview with SuperTalk Mississippi that he wants no part of it.  Gipson worries it will distract the agency from their primary focus, which is to support the farmers.  He’s also concerned about what it would cost to run the program.

“Our farm groups do not want this program under the Department of Agriculture.  We gotta stay focused on supporting our farmers and legal agriculture, not this illegal substance that they’re basically asking me to bless.  I’m not ready to do that,” Gipson stressed during an interview on The Gallo Show.

Gipson says he has legal concerns, as well.  “They’re asking the Dept. of Agriculture to license something that is illegal under federal law.”  He says marijuana is a drug, it’s not an agriculture product.  “Agriculture is the production of….

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