Need assistance getting a cannabis business license? Schedule a Free Consultation
A physician, researcher, and professor at UAB Medicine is resigning from the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission.
Dr. Jerzy Szaflarski has resigned from the commission effective April 15, said Brittany Peters, communications director for the AMCC.
Peters said Szaflarski stated that he was resigning because of “multiple time constraints imposed by his current position.”
State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris, who appointed Szaflarski to the 14-member AMCC in 2021, will appoint his replacement, Peters said.
Szaflarski, director of the UAB Epilepsy Center in the Department of Neurology, was a key figure on Alabama’s path to the medical marijuana program, approved by the Legislature three years ago.
Szaflarski was a lead investigator in the UAB study on the use of CBD oil to treat seizure disorders, a program authorized by the passing of Carly’s Law, a predecessor to the medical marijuana legislation, in 2014. He was also a member of a study panel that recommended medical marijuana legislation in 2019.
Szaflarski is the second physician to resign from the AMCC. Dr. Steven Stokes, a radiation oncologist from Dothan who had served as chairman, resigned last year after a lawsuit that challenged his position on the board because he was a trustee at the University of South Alabama. The legislation creating the AMCC prohibited public officials from serving on the commission.
The Legislature created the AMCC to oversee the medical marijuana industry in Alabama, but it has encountered delays. Lawsuits and problems with the AMCC’s procedures have slowed the process of issuing business licenses, which is necessary to make products available for patients.
The litigation is ongoing. A bill intended to try to resolve the disputes is pending in the Legislature.
Szaflarski’s resignation was first reported by 1819 News.
