Cannabis plants grow at GB Sciences Louisiana in Baton Rouge.
Gulf Coast Reporter
Cannabis plants grow at GB Sciences Louisiana in Baton Rouge.
Amanda Taylor purchased Alabama’s first legal medical cannabis product on Wednesday at Callie’s Apothecary in Montgomery, marking a new era for the state’s medical marijuana industry.
Taylor — a patient advocate who lives with several conditions, including multiple sclerosis — took to social media to call it a “historic day” for medical cannabis patients, who can now legally purchase cannabis products under Alabama’s medical cannabis program.
Access expanded this week with the opening of Callie’s Apothecary, the state’s first medical cannabis dispensary. More storefronts are planned to open this summer, including in Mobile and Daphne, according to the Alabama Reflector.
“The patients have a future because we have an operating program,” Taylor said on social media. “We have physicians, we have growers, we have the dispensary that is open now in Montgomery, and there will be more to follow.”
The opening of Callie’s Apothecary reflects a broader expansion of medical cannabis across the United States in recent years, including along the Gulf Coast, where dispensaries have opened in Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida.
While recreational marijuana remains illegal in Alabama, lawmakers approved medical cannabis in 2021, allowing physicians to recommend it to patients with qualifying conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, depression, epilepsy and post-traumatic stress disorder. Approved forms include gels, oils, creams and raw plant material.
There are currently 35 physicians and about 350 patients registered with the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission, according to AL.com.
Patients must present an Alabama-issued ID, a medical cannabis card and any relevant physician information, according to Callie’s Apothecary’s website. Entry is limited to registered patients and caregivers. In addition to its Montgomery location, the company plans to open a second dispensary in Talladega.
Gulf Coast Reporter
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