“There’s a part of me that my heart’s dancing because we are so much closer. So there’s more gratitude right now than anything.”
By Anna Barrett, Alabama Reflector
The Montgomery location of Callie’s Apothecary does not look like much.
But standing on the concrete floors and surrounded by metal beams, owner Vince Schilleci described how the “pharmacy-adjacent” storefront will look.
And when Callie’s opens—which Schilleci thinks could happen as early as April—it will likely be the first place in Alabama one can purchase legal medical cannabis.
“We’ll have someone come and check in, scan the card to make sure you are an actual patient that’s been recommended medical cannabis,” he said. “For privacy, you have to wait out here until you can come on to the sales floor. Our goal is to get people in and out as quick as possible, because it’s a safety thing. We don’t want people loitering.”
The opening could be milestone, nearly five years after the Legislature passed a law authorizing medical cannabis and following years of litigation and thwarted licensing processes.
Amanda Taylor, a medical cannabis patient advocate, has been a part of the commission’s process since 2021. She has multiple sclerosis with 45 lesions on her brain and one on her spine. She welcomes the openings, but said in an interview Thursday that the delays took a toll.
“There’s a part of me that my heart’s dancing because we are so much closer. So there’s more gratitude right now than anything,” Taylor said. “The suffering, the undue suffering that the patients had to endure because of the lawsuits, that kept this away from the patients.”
Licenses
The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) has awarded three dispensary licenses, and Schilleci’s store, doing business as CCS of Alabama, is expected to be the first to open, according to AMCC General Counsel Justin Aday.
“I don’t think that anybody’s dragging their feet. There’s a lot of balls in the air with different stakeholders at work,” Aday said.
CCS; GP6 Wellness, based in Birmingham, and Montgomery-based RJK Holdings received licenses in December. A fourth dispensary license is yet to be distributed, but is likely to go to Yellowhammer Dispensaries, according to Aday. The commission delayed issuing Yellowhammer’s license in December due to litigation, but Aday said the commission requested an expedited decision, and hopes it will resolve soon. Once it does, there will be 12 dispensaries in the state.
Schilleci said two other Callie’s Apothecary locations will open in a few months: one in Talladega, and one in Bessemer following a last minute location change from Cullman.
Schilleci said in an interview last month that the company was able to take more business risks because it was not challenged during the licensing process.
“We invested in a lot of equipment so we would be ready to go once we had the license in hand rather than ordering them,” Schilleci said. “We kind of gambled a little bit by spending money before we had the license in hand, but we felt good about things.”
A dispensary is not a pharmacy, so the employees there will not be able to give medical advice, Schilleci said. But the dispensary will have a consultation room in case patients have questions about the products they have been recommended by board-certified physicians, a prerequisite for getting medical cannabis.
As of last Friday, there were 20 physicians certified to recommend medical cannabis to patients in Alabama, according to the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners. Aday said in an interview Wednesday that about nine of the certified physicians registered through the commission’s patient registry.
“I think it would be odd for them to go through the process with the board of medical examiners to not then use that certification,” Aday said.
Physicians will not prescribe medical cannabis. Instead, they will recommend a product they believe will work for a patient with a qualifying condition, including cancer, depression, Parkinson’s Disease, post-traumatic stress disorder (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.
Each qualifying patient will have to register with the commission in order to get a recommendation from a physician and to receive a cannabis product from a dispensary.
“We want them to be confident that not only we’re going to be professional and serve our customers, we’re also being compassionate, because these are people with ailments that are tough,” Schilleci said. “This isn’t a retail business. Yes, it’s retail, but it’s something more. It’s a call to serve at the end of the day.”
Litigation has 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.
Who will participate?
As of last Friday, there were fewer than 10 patients registered for medical cannabis, and Aday said that it is hard to estimate how many patients will benefit from the program.
Schilleci knew the process of getting product in patients’ hands would take a while, but said he was thankful it is ending soon.
“For the patients, they’ve been waiting too long, it’s time for us to get this product to them,” Schilleci said. “I can’t get over it. It’s amazing how many folks are calling already saying, ‘Hey, when are you open? We’re ready for this.’”
Taylor said in an interview that through her work as a patient advocate she has received over 700 emails from Alabamians, but patients will contact her through text, phone calls and social media, too.
“It can be overwhelming, but at the same time, if there are days with my illness that I can’t really get around a lot, so I can devote time because I can’t really do anything else,” she said.
Even though the nearly five year journey to get medical cannabis is nearing an end, Taylor said it has been exhausting.
“I just want to say that no matter how you look at it, it’s a victory for the patients,” she said. “I can’t wait to celebrate for the patients.”
Dispensary Locations:
CCS of Alabama, LLC
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- Montgomery, Bessemer and Talladega
GP6 Wellness, LLC
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- Birmingham, Athens and Attalla
RJK Holdings, LLC
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- Oxford, Daphne and Mobile
Yellowhammer Medical Dispensary, LLC *pending license approval
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- Birmingham, Owens Cross Roads and Demopolis
