Alabama Bill Would Require Women to Submit Pregnancy Test Before Purchasing Medical Cannabis

A bill introduced in the Alabama Senate would require women of child-bearing age to submit a negative pregnancy test prior to buying their doctor-recommended medical cannabis, according to a Growth Op report. Under the proposal, women between the ages of 25 and 50 would be required to submit the negative test at least 48 hours before buying medical cannabis.

The pregnancy tests must be administered by a doctor or a state-certified lab, according to the report. If she becomes pregnant, a woman must “report her pregnancy status to her registered certifying physician and shall be prohibited from obtaining medical cannabis throughout the pregnancy.”

Sponsored by Alabama state Sen. Larry Stutts (R), the proposal “prohibits breastfeeding women from purchasing medical cannabis unless as a registered caregiver.” Additionally, the legislation adds a 305-meter buffer between medical cannabis dispensaries and schools, daycares, home daycares, and colleges.

Commenting on a case in Arizona in which the state charged a woman with child neglect for using medical cannabis, National Advocates for Pregnant Women wrote in a statement last summer that “Peer-reviewed scientific research does not support the conclusion that prenatal exposure to marijuana causes harm or creates risks of harm different or greater than exposure to many substances as well as medications prescribed to pregnant women.”

Oklahoma tried a similar change in 2018, but the call for a pregnancy test was eventually removed, the report says. If passed, the measure would take effect on the first day of the third month after passage.