This lab is the only one in the state that can test medical cannabis until AMCC opens the application process again.
By Alander Rocha, Alabama Reflector
Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission voted to give Green Health Laboratories, located in Foley, an Alabama state testing lab license on Tuesday.
AMCC opened the application after Certus Laboratories – a former lab that was awarded a licence – decided not to renew the license because of financial decisions made amid ongoing litigation. AMCC director John McMillan told a telephone interview conducted after the meeting.
McMillan stated that “they chose not renew the annual fee which was pretty expensive given all of this uncertainty regarding where we are in litigation.”
Green Health Laboratories is the only applicant after the Commission reopened the application window to state testing laboratories.
This lab will remain the sole medical cannabis testing laboratory in the state, until AMCC opens the application process again. The commission has no limit on the number of testing lab licenses it can award.
In February, the AMCC gave parties a month to submit a request for obtaining statewide testing lab licenses. Green Health Laboratories was the only one to submit a complete application of the five received by the commission. The 30-day period for public comments ended on 15 June without any responses.
The commission voted to grant the license on Tuesday after Green Health Laboratories’ president Brandon Biles, and the laboratory director Natalie Siracusa had presented the Foley-based laboratory at the June 12th meeting. They said that the company places a high priority on patient safety and compliance.
This was a fascinating presentation. The presentation was excellent. We’re happy to have Green Health Laboratories here for us,” AMCC chair Rex Vaughn said Tuesday.
Vaughn stated that the lab would “be the firewall for the safe distribution of cannabis products” in Alabama, as it was the only one in the state.
Sam Blakemore, a pharmacist and commission member, raised concerns about quality control during Green Health Laboratories presentation. He was particularly concerned with heavy metals, fungi and dispensary issues. Siracusa said that if problems arise, they will be prepared to perform on-site testing and collection.
Alabama’s new medical marijuana law, passed in 2020, allows physicians to recommend cannabis use for qualifying patients. The conditions that qualify include epilepsy, cancer pain, PTSD and chronic pain. It is legal to dispense cannabis in the form of tablets, tinctures or patches, oils, and even gummies. However, they can only be peach-flavored. It is illegal to use raw plant materials.
Alabama Reflector was the first to publish this article.
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