Officials in Alabama have scheduled a public hearing for this week to receive input on whether the state should reclassify marijuana in conjunction with the Trump administration’s move to federally reschedule cannabis.
Under state law, federal rescheduling of a drug automatically triggers state-level reclassification within 30 days unless Alabama officials proactively object.
“In that case, the State Board of Health shall publish the reasons for objection and afford all interested parties an opportunity to be heard,” state statute says. “At the conclusion of the hearing, the State Board of Health shall publish its decision, which shall be final unless altered by statute. Upon publication of objection to inclusion, rescheduling, or deletion under this chapter by the State Board of Health, control under this chapter is stayed until the State Board of Health publishes its decision.”
The Alabama State Committee of Public Health in May issued a preliminary objection to cannabis rescheduling, with members saying they needed more time to determine how to implement such a reform in light of the state’s recently launched medical cannabis market.
Scott Harris, the state health officer, said at the time that Alabama “fully intends” to follow the federal change.
“We’re not saying Alabama’s not going to do this,” he said. “We certainly are going to do this, but if you receive it without objection, it’s scheduled immediately. If you do nothing, it’s scheduled within 30 days. I’m going to ask you to take the third option, which is to object. Then we just have a little bit of time to figure this out with all of our other stakeholders.”
Now, Harris said in a new notice that the committee will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, July 22, to further weigh the issue.
“Following input from the various Alabama governmental entities which could be affected by the rescheduling and from those people who provide testimony at the public hearing, the Committee will reconsider whether to continue its objection or whether to adopt the rescheduling,” he wrote.
Under an order issued by U.S. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in April, marijuana products regulated by a state medical cannabis license immediately moved from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to Schedule III, as did any marijuana products that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). An administrative hearing is considering broader marijuana rescheduling.
“In light of Alabama’s substantial work to establish its own framework for the dispensing of medical marijuana, additional time is needed to evaluate whether the federal rescheduling will alter that framework as outlined by the Legislature,” Harris’s notice says. “A public hearing on this matter will provide [the Alabama Department of Public Health] the opportunity to hear from the citizens of Alabama as well as stakeholders regarding this decision. The Committee wishes to make a reasoned, considered decision on this issue with input from all appropriate persons.”
Aside from the public hearing, people can submit written comments on the issue through August 5.
Alabama is not the only state considering whether and how to follow the federal government’s marijuana rescheduling move.
A GOP senator in South Carolina, for example, said that “medical marijuana is now legal” in the state under a trigger law.
Wyoming’s attorney general determined this month the state will not reclassify marijuana despite the Trump administration’s federal reform.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R), meanwhile, signed legislation this session to block an automatic review that could have potentially legalized medical marijuana under state law following the federal rescheduling of the drug.
Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.
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