Alabama top stories in brief

• The Equal Justice Institute reported last Tuesday that they had received multiple reports that Terrance Guyton died on May 31 in the St. Clair Correctional Facility. The same report said that Steven Seay died of suicide on June 11. This is corroborated by a report from Alabama Appleseed, which also said that on June 3, William Smith died at Donaldson prison. According to Appleseed, there have been at least 56 deaths in Alabama Department of Correction prisons this year. ADOC has not yet released statistical reports for the months of April and May, which would include the total number of deaths in the incarcerated population. When asked by The Sunrise News, ADOC said that the April report could be expected either during the week of the 19th or 26th, and the May report should be expected in mid-July. 

• AL.com reported last Monday that Alabama’s Department of Transportation Director, John Cooper, was jailed due to a harassment/intimidation charge. Cooper was released after posting a $500 bond. The Marshall County Sheriff’s Office said it could not detail the allegations against Cooper. Cooper has declined a request for comment from AL.com. 

• Alabama will have until July 21 to draw new congressional districts for the 2024 election. Alabama Daily News reported that Alabama’s Attorney General, Steve Marshall, put forward the possibility of a July 17 special session in a court filing requesting that Alabama be given until July 21. The date for a special session has not yet been confirmed by Gov. Kay Ivey’s office. 

• Gov. Kay Ivey announced that a special election will be held on Sept. 26 for Alabama House District 55, located in Jefferson County. The seat was previously held by Fred Plump, who resigned after pleading guilty to charges by the U.S. Department of Justice for wire fraud conspiracy and obstruction of justice.

• An annual report details that Alabama now ranks 45th for children’s well-being. This is one ranking above from last year. While it appears that Alabama children’s well-being is improving, the national data shows that Alabama is decreasing at a slower speed than other states. Ranked nationally, Alabama’s highest statistics are high school students not graduating on time (9%) and children without health insurance (5%). Its lowest rankings are low birth-weight babies, child and teen deaths per 100,000 (44%) and teen births (23 per 1,000 births). Other states among the lower overall percentile include Mississippi, Louisiana and New Mexico. 

• A lawsuit filed against a Jefferson County correctional officer claims that the officer’s indifference led to serious injury. An article on Tread by Lee Hedgepeth details how, while the woman was on suicide watch, she was able to attempt suicide by jumping off a balcony due to the officer remotely unlocking her cell without another officer present outside the cell. According to the court filing, while she did survive her fall, the circumstances that led to it were completely preventable. The court filing also alleges that she was unable to control her bodily fluids due to severe fentanyl withdrawal, but was refused a change of clothing, which only assisted in the deterioration of her mental condition. 

Alabama Medical Cannabis Commision issues medical marijuana licenses, then pauses proceedings

The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission awarded 21 total medical cannabis business licenses to businesses in Alabama, authorizing them to participate in the new medical cannabis industry in Alabama. Then, on June 16, AMCC voted to stay all proceedings related to the licensing process. 

This stay means that those businesses who have been awarded licenses will no longer have those licenses issued to them on July 10 and no longer have to pay their license fees by June 26. Similarly, those who were not awarded licenses no longer have a deadline of June 26 to submit a request for an investigative hearing. 

A press release from AMCC said that once the stay is lifted “the Commission will reconsider the award of licenses, and provide a timeline for the payment of license fees, request for investigative hearings, and issuance of licenses.”

AMCC said that the stay was due to a discovery of potential inconsistencies in the scoring data which they used to determine who, out of the 90 potential applicants, they would award licenses. 

The scoring process was done through the University of South Alabama. The AMCC has said that an independent review will be conducted.

AMCC was allowed to award four processor licenses, four dispensary licenses, five integrated facility licenses, 12 cultivator licenses and an unspecified number of secure transport and state testing laboratory licenses. 

A processor license costs $40,000 annually and authorizes the purchase or transfer of cannabis from a cultivator, processing cannabis into medical cannabis — including labeling and packaging — and selling or transferring medical cannabis to a dispensary.

Dispensary licenses cost $40,000 annually and allow the holder to acquire medical cannabis from a processor or integrated facility and to dispense and sell medical cannabis to a qualified patient or registered caregiver. 

A cultivator license costs $40,000 annually and allows for the cultivation of cannabis and the sale or transfer of cannabis to a processor. 

An integrated facility license costs $50,000 annually, and allows a single company to serve in the role of cultivator, processor and dispensary, as well as allowing for transportation between its facilities. 

Secure transporter licenses and state testing laboratory licenses each cost $30,000 annually. Transporter licenses give the holders the authority to transport cannabis and charge a fee for its transportation to licensed facilities. Testing laboratory licenses allow companies to test cannabis provided by licensed facilities. 

Medical cannabis was legalized in 2021 by Alabama Act 2021-450 for cases when “documentation indicates that conventional medical treatment or therapy has failed unless current medical treatment indicates that use of medical cannabis is the standard of care.” 

While cannabis was originally legalized in 2021, applications for licenses were not opened until 2023, and it is expected that even after the approval process is completed, it will be several months before it is available to eligible patients. 

Medical cannabis will be available to patients who have been diagnosed with: autism spectrum disorder; cancer-related wasting syndrome, nausea, vomiting, weight loss or chronic pain; Crohn’s disease; depression; epilepsy or a condition causing seizures; HIV/AIDS-related nausea or weight loss; panic disorder; Parkinson’s disease; persistent nausea; PTSD; sickle cell anemia; spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis or spinal cord injury; Tourette’s Syndrome; a terminal illness; or conditions causing chronic or intractable pain.

The law forbids smoking cannabis or eating it in foods. Cannabis gummies have been approved, but they are required to be exclusively peach-flavored. 

At this time, it is not clear how long the stay by AMCC will last. 

Our articles you might have missed

• Last week’s roundup focused on the recent decision by the Supreme Court to uphold the ruling of a lower court that Alabama must redraw its district maps.

• Alabama’s regular legislative session came to an end this month. Check out our update where we cover some of the most impactful bills passed, as well as some of the major bills that didn’t pass.