Sen. Tim Melson is disputing statements made by Amanda Taylor, a Cullman County medical cannabis patient and advocate, that he suggested she could get medical cannabis “off the street.”

In a video posted to Taylor’s Facebook page following the Wednesday, Feb. 26 meeting, she said one of the committee members had told her she should “just get what she needs off the street,” rather than holding out for legal medical cannabis.

Speaking to The Cullman Times Thursday, Feb. 27, Taylor said that it had been Melson — a licensed anesthesiologist and member of the American Medical Association — who had made the suggestion in response to her comments after the committee meeting.

“After the meeting he [Melson] put his hand on my shoulder and assured me that he was doing everything he could to move this forward and I said, ‘No you’re not.” He actually said I need to get over myself and asked why can’t I just get it [cannabis products] off the streets,” Taylor said.

Reaching back out to The Times Sunday, March 2, Melson said he believed Taylor had misunderstood his statements and that he had been referring to legal products containing THC derived from hemp.

“I was talking about how she could go to a Delta-8 shop or something. I wouldn’t expect her to go and break the law to buy cannabis off the street. She misunderstood that,” Melson said. “She should have known better than I would tell her to go buy something from a drug dealer. But, that’s the problem when you have these quick conversations in the middle of all this other stuff.”

During a follow-up interview with The Times on Monday, March 3, Taylor disputed Melson’s version of the conversation.

“There is no possible way he meant anything else. He very clearly said to me, ‘Why can’t you just get what you need off the street.’ Delta-8 isn’t sold on the street, it’s sold in stores. He said what he said. There was no miscommunication,” Taylor said.

Inhalant and edible Delta-8, Delta-9 and Delta-10 products are commonly sold at gas stations, vape stores, online and other specialty CBD retailers through legal loopholes despite potential health risks. Its packaging lists items such as micro- and macrodoses of “psychedelics” and “nootropics.”

In a separate piece of legislation  — SB132 — Melson has proposed classifying all psychoactive cannabinoids, including those which he said he intended to suggest to Taylor, as a Schedule 1 controlled substance.

Melson said he had presented members of the Senate Healthcare Committee a substitute version of SB132 which dials back some of the language around Delta-8 products.

“It will just make it where they have to be out of reach of kids,” he told The Times.

The current, original version of SB132 specifies these products are already not available to minors under existing Alabama statutes.

“Under existing law, these psychoactive cannabinoids sold in Alabama may not be sold to minors and must be located in an area where minors cannot access the products,” the bill states.

Taylor said she also plans to speak in opposition of SB132.

“I’m going to continue to pray for the members of these committees so that they will show us [medical cannabis patients] compassion because there was no compassion at all in what he said,” Taylor said.

The Darren Wesley Hall Compassion Act — sponsored by Melson — created the AMCC and regulated the production and distribution of certain medical cannabis products when it was approved by the Alabama Legislature in 2021. The law also set limits on the number of licenses the AMCC is allowed to issue.

Alabama’s medical cannabis program has yet to come to fruition due to ongoing legal blockades filed by facilities whose licensing applications were denied.

Facilities who failed to submit an application before the previous 2022 deadline would be barred from participating in the new process being proposed.

The bill would also eliminate the current requirement for the AMCC to hold public investigatory hearings after it issues a denial and prevent Alabama courts from issuing injunctions due to a complaint from an unsuccessful applicant. Courts would be required to dismiss any ongoing claims.

Taylor previously worked closely with Melson in advocating for the passage of the Compassion Act. In 2021, as a result of her advocacy work, Taylor was invited to attend the bill’s signing which legalized medical cannabis in Alabama. Melson, presented her with an autographed copy of the bill and Gov. Kay Ivey personally thanked her for her work and dedication in advocating for the bill.