MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – Callie’s Apothecary off Atlanta Highway in Montgomery will soon sell the first legal medical cannabis in Alabama since the substance was criminalized in the state 95 years ago.
“The fact that I can sit here today and say we’re days away from getting this to patients is a blessing,” said owner Vince Schilleci.
There is no official opening date set yet.
The process of buying any product will be more strictly regulated than a typical business. Only after showing both your ID and medical cannabis card will you be let in, and you can’t order online.
“Once they show us their card, we’ll buzz them in, we’ll check them in the system here with a security guard at the front desk and once they get through that, we buzz them in onto the sales floor,” Schilleci said. “There will be limited people on the sales floor to give them privacy.”
Patients won’t be lighting up. Instead, they’ll dose their medicine through products like gel cubes (similar to a gummy and only available in peach or unflavored varieties), lozenges, and tinctures.
“It could be that a doctor says you know what, I know my patient, you’re not going to like the gummies, it’s not going to work because of digestive issues, so you need to take tinctures,” Schilleci explained. “It could be that an older patient can’t swallow, so we have suppositories.”
Store manager Alora Frank started in the Florida medical cannabis industry eight years ago and hopes the success stories she’s seen can translate here.
“When you start to see people come in and they tell you, ‘Wow, I was able to stop this medication, I was able to stop that medication,’ or you have a patient that had to come in with a wheelchair and then can come in on their own is very fulfilling,” Frank said. “We are dosing cannabis, but we get doses of humanity back.”
The cost for a pack of gel cubes is still uncertain but is expected to cost less than their original $65 estimate, according to Schilleci.
To get a medical cannabis card you must go through a licensed physician, and there are currently over 30 statewide.
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