Politics
The Launch Of Alabama Medical Marijuana Sales Is Just ‘Days Away,’ With First Dispensary Preparing To Open Its Doors
“This is a healthcare program. This is for the health of our patients in Alabama, and it says we are not a recreational program.”
By Anna Barrett, Alabama Reflector
Patients in Alabama with qualifying medical conditions are “days away” from being able to purchase medical cannabis with a physician’s recommendation, according to Vince Schilleci, owner of a dispensary.
Callie’s Apothecary in Montgomery will be the first medical cannabis dispensary to open in Alabama. When the program is fully up and running, there will be 12 dispensaries across the state between four companies.
“Our goal is to get any questions answered, but get our patients in and out of here quickly, efficiently, do it in a professional manner, but most importantly, be compassionate,” said Vince Schilleci, owner of dispensary Callie’s Apothecary, Thursday morning during a tour. “These patients are dealing with issues, pain, and dealing with them for a while.”
Schilleci would not give a specific date for the Montgomery location’s opening because it depends on the testing of the products and delivery. He said the order for the first round of product has been placed from the processor, but when it will be delivered cannot be certain.
“We have to remember this product is not like potato chips or something that’s easy to ship, and we have testing that it has to go through. We have to get it into the state’s seed-to-sale tracking system,” Schilleci said. “There’s a lot of moving parts, but we’re close.”
Three of the companies, CCS of Alabama, LLC, GP6 Wellness, LLC, and RJK Holdings, LLC, have licenses and are expected to open their storefronts this summer, according to Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission Director John McMillan. A fourth license is pending litigation, but is likely to go to Yellowhammer Medical Dispensaries, LLC.
“We’re very anxious to move forward so we can become what the Legislature envisioned, and the public and patients need,” McMillan said in a phone interview Thursday afternoon.
The Alabama medical cannabis law, enacted in 2021, allows registered physicians to recommend cannabis for about 15 medical conditions, including cancer, depression, Parkinson’s Disease, PTSD, sickle-cell anemia, chronic pain and terminal diseases. The approved product forms are restricted to tablets, tinctures, patches, oils and gummies (only peach flavor), with raw plant material and smokable forms remaining prohibited.
People who suffer from the qualifying conditions must get approval from their physician and enter the patient registry in order to buy products at a dispensary.
Litigation has also held up access to medical cannabis. Some firms sued the commission for not being awarded a license, citing a discriminatory process. Another case involved five parents that sued the commission over delays in access to cannabis, which was dismissed in August.
McMillan said that there were 181 patients registered with the commission as of Monday. As of Thursday, there are 43 physicians certified to recommend medical cannabis to patients in Alabama, according to the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners.
Schilleci said that Callie’s is just waiting on products to be delivered before it can open. Once it does, patients will present their “cannabis card” that their recommending physician will give them in order to enter the storefront. They will then sign in and enter a pharmacy-like room where they can receive consultation from dispensary staff and select a cannabis product.
“This is a healthcare program. This is for the health of our patients in Alabama, and it says we are not a recreational program,” Schilleci said. “You just can’t come in here and buy something. You’ve got to go through the process of getting the card and going and making sure you have a qualifying condition.”
Schilleci said he is unsure of the total price of each product, but their estimates are lower than their original estimates when they applied. In 2023, Schilleci said CCS estimated that patients would pay $65 for a supply of cuboids, or gummies.
“As time moves on and we have more as the processors get comfortable with the program, I think you’ll start seeing the more advanced, gel caps, or maybe transdermal patches, perhaps inhalers and nebulizers and things like that,” Schilleci said.
Alora Frank, the area manager at Callie’s, worked in the medical cannabis industry in Florida before moving to Alabama, her home state, to work at the Montgomery dispensary.
“On your first visit, there’s a lot of nerves, a lot of fear, there’s a lot of stigma around using this as an alternative medical product. But after their first visit, that second, that third visit, when you start to see people come in and they tell you, ‘Wow, I was able to stop this medication, stop that medication.’ Or you have a patient that had to come in with a wheelchair, and then can come in on their own power. It’s very, very fulfilling,” Frank said. “We are dosing cannabis, but we get doses of humanity back.”
Dispensary Locations:
- CCS of Alabama, LLC
Montgomery, Bessemer and Talladega - GP6 Wellness, LLC
Birmingham, Athens and Attalla - RJK Holdings, LLC
Oxford, Daphne and Mobile - Yellowhammer Medical Dispensary, LLC *pending license approval
Birmingham, Owens Cross Roads and Demopolis
This story was first published by Alabama Reflector.
