Now
71°
Fri
89°
Sat
85°
by Austin Pratt
Industry leaders say progress is now being made. H. Marty Schelper, founder and president of the Alabama Cannabis Coalition, said dispensary employee training recently took place as the state prepares to open its first location.
Schelper pointed to May 4, the planned opening date for the first medical cannabis dispensary in Montgomery, a major milestone after years of setbacks.
Some lawmakers like Rep. Juandalynn Givan say the rollout has been troubled from the start, was not properly set up early on and has been plagued by lawsuits that slowed the process.
“This has been a situation from day one that out the shoot was probably not curated properly,” Givan said. “There have been a multitude of lawsuits that has plagued the cannabis board regarding the opening of dispensaries.”
Givan also questioned how, nearly five years later, only one dispensary appears ready to open. “Five years, one dispensary. Make it make sense,” she said. “By now it certainly should have been more dispensaries.”
Supporters say the lack of access has already had real impacts. Justin Sneed of Birmingham said people he knows with serious medical conditions have had to travel out of state to get treatment.
“There are so many people I actually personally know who are actually suffering [who] have to go to other states for their medical marijuana,” Sneed said.
Even as the program moves forward, advocates say the challenge of public awareness and education remains,
Schelper said many Alabamians still don’t know how to participate in the medical cannabis program, warning that without better education and outreach, the system could struggle to succeed.
If the planned opening moves forward, the first dispensary would mark a long-awaited step in Alabama’s delayed medical cannabis rollout.
2026 Sinclair, Inc.