Alabama could be the first Southern state to allow the distribution of medical marijuana.
The Alabama House voted to allow the state to prescribe medical marijuana to patients who are in serious pain.
The deadline for the bill was supposed to be last Tuesday, but is being carried over according to Rep. Patricia Todd, D-Birmingham.
The Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act would allow patients with cancer and other painful conditions to legally use marijuana as medication.
"Medical marijuana has been shown to help alleviate a wide range of conditions," said Mike Meno, director of communications for the Marijuana Policy Project. "It can be anything such as a pain reliever for going through chemotherapy or AIDS treatment. It's been used as a substitute of pain relievers when compared to a legal pain medication that may not work for some patients."
Several states have already passed bills allowing doctors to prescribe medical marijuana as a pain reliever.
"There are 14 other states around the country now that have medical marijuana laws and Alabama would become the 15th state and the first in the South," said Gabriel Sayegh, the organizing and policy director for the Drug Policy Alliance. "We think it's a great bill, and that it's the right step forward for Alabama."
Some states that have approved similar bills have run into problems.
"We have had problems with people trying to get it who don't qualify, which does happen a lot, and that is going to happen," said Kris Sells, patient coordinator at Colorado Medical Marijuana LLC. "With medical marijuana there is not really an age limit, but if you are under 18, you do have to have a parent's signature."
The bill allows patients to grow marijuana plants.
"In other states they are allowed to have one or two plants for personal use," Todd said, "which is regulated by the state, but there has been concern with people here wondering how you regulate how much somebody can grow."
Todd sponsors the bill and said she thinks the bill has little chance of being approved in the next few days, but is hopeful for the future.
"Not this year (does the bill have a chance to succeed)," Todd said. "We are just running out of time. We still have a little bit of work to do on the bill."
Another concern regards whether passing a bill like this could lead the way for general legalization of the drug as Rep. Yusuf Salaam, D-Selma, said in a press release.
"In Alabama, it takes anywhere from six to seven years to pass any bill," Todd said. "Next year if we can get it through the committee and to the house we will be happy."
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