In light of recent questions regarding the legality of cannabidiol sales, several Alabama agencies are reminding the public that when it comes to marijuana, there is almost no legality.

“A brief explanation and review of several relevant Alabama criminal laws might be helpful to the public,” according to a public notice from Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Secretary Hal Taylor, Office of Prosecution Services Executive Director Barry Matson and Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences Director Angelo Della Manna.

Those laws refer to marijuana and cannabis, but the office says it considers the extract cannabidiol, or CBD, just as criminal. The Alabama Criminal Code says it is illegal to possess, receive, sell, furnish, give away, deliver or distribute a controlled substance, including marijuana.

Possession of marijuana is a Class A misdemeanor if possessed for personal use and a Class C felony if possessed for any other reason. Selling, furnishing, giving away, delivering or distributing marijuana is a Class B felony.

Anyone caught selling, manufacturing, delivering or bringing into the state more than 2.2 pounds of the cannabis plant gets “mandatory prison time that increases with the weight of the marijuana in question,” according to the notice.

Don’t think Carly’s or Leni’s laws will prevent an arrest, either.

“Carly’s Law did not legalize the possession or use of CBD,” the notice reads.

Carly’s Law says anyone “who has a debilitating epileptic condition and receives a prescription for CBD approved by the (University of Alabama at Birmingham) Department of Neurology” may still be arrested and criminally prosecuted for possession or use, but they would be able to use the condition and prescription as a defense in court. The same protection applies to the person’s parent or caretaker.

Passed in 2014, the law was designed to allow UAB Epilepsy Center and Children’s of Alabama to conduct studies on CBD and its effects on individuals with debilitating epileptic conditions. Doctors, nurses and other professionals helping with the study were also provided with the ability to use Carly’s Law as a defense in court.

UAB published its findings earlier this year. The university announced researchers were able to reduce seizure frequency by almost 65 percent and reduce seizure severity scores by more than 50 percent for many of the patients involved in the study.

The defense provided by Carly’s Law will end July 1, 2019.

Leni’s Law

Leni’s Law, passed in 2016, provides a similar defense. The notice issued Tuesday said the law only provides a defense for “those who have a chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition that produces seizures for which a person is being treated.”

This is incorrect.

Section 13A-12-214.3 — the Leni’s Law section — of the Alabama Criminal Code says the defense is extended to anyone with a chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition that is being treated. A disease or condition causing seizures is presented as an example, meaning other disorders are also valid for use under the defense.

Parents and legal guardians are also able to use the defense if charged with unlawful possession of marijuana in the second degree if their child is a minor with a disease or condition that fits the above description and is using CBD for treatment.

While the person arrested and charged can use the law as a defense, there is no protection within the law to prevent other potential consequences, such as the appearance of the person’s name in public arrest records or job loss due to an arrest for possession of marijuana.

The law does prevent “any agency of this state or a political subdivision thereof, including any law enforcement agency,” from removing a child from a home or starting child protection proceedings “based solely on a parent’s or child’s possession or use of CBD as allowed by this section.”

The CBD must be “tested by an independent third-party laboratory” and found to have a THC level “of no more than 3 percent relative to CBD” according to ADFS rules for it be considered excusable under Leni’s Law.

There is no “safe harbor” for anyone charged with selling, distributing or trafficking in marijuana, according to the notice.

Epidiolex

The ADPH adopted a rule allowing the medical use of drugs containing CBD that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration. This includes Epidiolex, which can be prescribed by doctors to treat Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome.

The FDA announced Epidiolex’s approval June 25. It is the first-ever approved drug containing a purified form of a substance derived from marijuana.

According to the public notice, ADPH did not adopt the issue until Oct. 28.

“While Carly’s Law and Leni’s Law provide only an affirmative defense to the otherwise illegal possession of CBD, Epidiolex will be regulated in the same way as any other prescription drug,” Tuesday’s notice reads. “… To be clear, all CBD — whether above or below 3 percent THC — is illegal under Alabama law, except for the prescription drug Epidiolex.”

The notice can be read in full at https://ago.alabama.gov.