Alabama prepares to launch medical cannabis program

In 2021, Alabama became the 36th state to pass medical cannabis legislation. It has been a long road to getting Alabama’s medical cannabis program launched after several years of lawsuits. But, almost five years after the medical cannabis bill became law, the program is nearing a launch in early to mid 2026.

In February, the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission awarded the last standalone dispensary license, after a state Appeals Court dismissed a lawsuit holding up the awarding of the license. That law states that the program could not launch until licenses had been awarded in all categories. With that threshold met, the program is poised to begin serving patients.

To qualify, a patient must be diagnosed with an approved condition by a physician that is certified to recommend cannabis. As of March 11, 2026, there are 20 medical professionals certified to recommend cannabis for patients. After the doctor has recommended cannabis, a patient must create a profile in the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission’s portal. Instructions for the next steps can be found here. Caregiver instructions can be found here.

The program is now nearing launch, with a few steps remaining. The next step is for the state to open the patient registry in March. The registry will issue the state identification cards to patients and caregivers. Rex Vaughn, the Chair of the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission, expects dispensaries to open by late April or early May. You can find the counties that will have dispensaries here.

We’ve provided a summary of the law, the Compassion Act (SB 46), here. While it is far better than what it replaced — no medical protections at all — there are a number of provisions that are unnecessarily burdensome on patients. It steers pain patients to try opioids first, and it requires doctors to jump through hoops — including a four-hour course and a fee of up to $300 — that will depress participation. It also prohibits smoking, vaporization, and whole-plant cannabis, which drives up prices and denies some patients the treatment option that works best for them. There were no bills introduced in the 2026 session that would have expanded the nation’s most restrictive medical cannabis program.

Alabama continues to criminalize cannabis consumers

While Alabama remains one of only 19 states that still jails its residents for simple possession of cannabis, Sen. Bobby Singleton (D) has been trying to change that for several years. Sen. Singleton has submitted SB285, which would decriminalize up to one ounce of cannabis and provide a mechanism for individuals to petition for expungement of marijuana-related records after five years without additional criminal conviction.

Personal-use possession of cannabis — even the smallest amount — is currently a misdemeanor carrying a maximum penalty of one year in jail and/or a fine of up to $6,000. A repeat offense carries a mandatory minimum of one year and one day in jail. Partial data shows there were at least 6,900 arrests for cannabis possession in Alabama in 2023 alone. It deserves mentioning that those arrests occurred when hemp flower was widely available in Alabama. Possession of hemp flower or vapes, even legally procured in neighboring states, is now illegal and a Class C felony with a fine of up to $15,000 and potentially between 1-10 years in prison. It is expected that arrests will increase in the coming years.

Contact your lawmakers and ask them to make cannabis decriminalization a priority. Let them know it’s past time to end these draconian penalties and free up law enforcement resources to focus on serious crime.

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