“This sends a powerful message to the public that this drug has an accepted medical use, and presents a relatively low risk.”
By Andrea Tinker, Alabama Reflector
A group of conservative activists Wednesday registered objections to the federal rescheduling of marijuana with the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH).
The ADPH held a public hearing following the April decision by the Trump administration to move marijuana from a Schedule I drug, meaning it has the greatest potential for abuse and least legitimate use, to a Schedule III drug with substances considered to have a low to moderate potential for physical and psychological dependence.
Former President Joe Biden planned to have rescheduling occur in 2024, but hearings on the matter were canceled in early 2025.
In May, the governing body of ADPH voted to object to the federal rescheduling of marijuana to give the agency more time to determine how to implement it. Alabama State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris, the head of ADPH, said during the meeting that the department “fully intends” to implement the change.
Activists speaking at Wednesday’s meeting cited several concerns.
Eagle Forum Executive Director Becky Gerritson said the change would “not only harm children, but we believe it will worsen Alabama’s mental health crisis.”
“Rescheduling marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III puts it on the same level as Tylenol with codeine. This sends a powerful message to the public that this drug has an accepted medical use, and presents a relatively low risk,” Gerritson said. “ADPH’s policy should follow the evidence, not public opinion or commercial pressure.”
Greg Davis, the chief executive officer of the Alabama Citizens Action Program (ALCAP), a conservative organization that represents churches across the state, also spoke in opposition to the rescheduling.
“Whether we call it medical or whatever we want to call it, or however someone gets it, however it comes to them, whether it’s on the corner street or whether it’s in a doctor’s office or at a dispensary, it doesn’t really matter. The effects can be the same, and so I would just urge everyone, on behalf of our churches across the state, who oftentimes deal with the devastation, to oppose this rescheduling in Alabama,” he said.
Susan Short, a member of the public, said she opposed the rescheduling because of the effects it has on teens.
“Teens do not know that marijuana could possibly make you psychotic at 19 years of age for the rest of your life,” she said. “We are losing an entire generation of young people because we have normalized and commercialized and glorified this addictive and harmful substance.”
Under the Compassion Act passed by the Alabama Legislature in 2021, a minor under the age of 19 cannot obtain medical marijuana without approval from a parent or guardian and without a qualifying medical condition. If approved, the minor can only receive medical marijuana that contains no more than 3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
Callie’s Apothecary, a dispensary in Montgomery, sold the first legal medical cannabis in the state last month.
Joey Robertson, CEO and president of Wagon Trail Med-Serv, the sole proponent of the rescheduling at the meeting, said not following what is happening on federal level could instill distrust between patients and doctors and the state.
“This is a controlled program in the state of Alabama that has nothing to do with children outside of those that qualify for those medications,” he said. “This has nothing to do with the illicit market, which will grow no matter what, and really does not care if the federal government or Alabama reschedules from Schedule I to Schedule III.”
General counsel for the ADPH said after the hearing a decision must be made after August 5.
