Alabama’s Medical Cannabis Study Commission is voting by email this week whether to recommend legislation to legalize medical marijuana, a sweeping proposal that would regulate the products from cultivation to end user.

The commission’s report will not be the final say but could be a starting point for lawmakers debating the issue early next year.

Alabama would be the 34th state to allow marijuana to be used for medical purposes, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The 18-member panel of doctors, lawyers, and other professionals has reviewed a draft bill on how patients would qualify for medical marijuana and how the products would be cultivated, processed, tested, transported, packaged, advertised, sold, and taxed.

The draft bill would allow the use of medical cannabis to treat pain, seizures, nausea, and other symptoms from about a dozen categories of diseases and disorders.

The list of conditions, which could change, includes agitation associated with dementia; Autism Spectrum Disorder; chemotherapy-induced nausea or vomiting; Crohn’s disease or irritable bowel syndrome; chronic pain, including from fibromyalgia and migraines; epilepsy or a condition causing seizures; HIV-AIDs-related nausea or weight loss; post traumatic stress disorder; sleep disorders; spasticity from diseases such as ALS and multiple sclerosis or from spinal cord injuries; a terminal illness in which the life expectancy is six months or less; and Tourette’s Syndrome.

Doctors who complete a two-hour continuing education course could recommend the products for patients with one of the qualifying conditions. The patients would receive medical cannabis cards to obtain the products, which would be capsules, gels, tinctures, liquids, oils, vapors, or inhalers. Patients could not use raw plant material or smokeable products.

Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, the chair of the commission, said members have until noon Friday to give their input on the draft bill, which was distributed at the commission’s last meeting in November. Melson said the bill has changed some based on the panelists’ recommendations but those revisions are minor. Melson said the commission would produce a final report on its recommendations.

The commission includes doctors from several specialties, prosecutors, lawyers specializing in criminal defense and employment law, and professionals from fields including pharmacy, addiction treatment, and agriculture.

Melson is a medical researcher and anesthesiologist who sponsored a medical marijuana bill this year. It passed the Senate but stalled in the House of Representatives. Lawmakers decided the issue needed more study and changed Melson’s bill to create the study commission.

The commission held several public meetings that drew overflow crowds to State House committee rooms. It heard from people for and against medical marijuana, including some who said they see it as a source of hope for themselves or loved ones from pain and other chronic conditions. The panel heard conflicting views from medical professionals.

For example, Bertha Madras, a Harvard Medical School professor, told the commission at its meeting in November that medical benefits of marijuana are unproven and that use of cannabis for medical purposes is a risky experiment that has caused negative consequences in other states. At the same meeting, Dr. Alan Shackelford, a physician from Colorado, described to the panel and showed videos of how medical cannabis has helped his patients.

The panel also heard from people who said they or their family members got relief from medical marijuana and from those who wanted a chance to try it without going to other states.

The bill would set up an 11-member Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission that would oversee a statewide “seed-to-sale” tracking system, including an electronic registry that would track patients, doctors, dosages, and sales. The governor, president pro tempore of the Senate, and speaker of the House would appoint three members each, while the lieutenant governor would appoint two.

Cannabis Commission members could not be public officials, public employees, or registered lobbyists and could not have ties to the medical marijuana business.

Patients could not be in possession of more than 70 daily dosages.

Patients younger than 19 with qualifying conditions could receive medical cannabis through a caregiver, who would have to be registered.

Melson said he believes the bill is tightly written to restrict the products to those who qualify and need it. It also includes key protections for employers, Melson said.

Employers would not be required to allow the use of medical marijuana in the workplace and would not be prohibited from firing or refusing to hire employees because they use medical marijuana. Insurance plans and health care plans would not be required to cover the use of the products.

Physicians who are certified to recommend medical marijuana would have to have a “bona fide” relationship with a patient, including a physical examination and assessment of medical history.

In addition to overseeing the rules concerning doctors and patients, the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission would regulate and license processors, secure transporters, a state testing lab, and dispensaries. The Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries would license and regulate cultivators.

The commission would establish packaging and labeling standards for medical cannabis products, as well as marketing and advertising restrictions, including a prohibition on material that appeals to minors. The commission would develop a universal state symbol that would be placed on all packages of medical cannabis.

Dispensaries would enter information about all product sales into the patient registry.

The draft bill calls for a 9% state tax on the gross proceeds of the medical cannabis products sold at retail, as well as an annual privilege privilege tax on every person doing business under the new law.

Barry Matson, executive director of the Alabama District Attorneys Association, has attended and spoken at study commission meetings. Matson said the question is not as simple as being for or against the concept of medical marijuana. He said the details of the final legislation are important. Matson said there will be pressure from those who want to profit from medical marijuana to make the list of qualifying conditions for using it as broad as possible. He said medical marijuana has led to increases in recreational marijuana in other states, although he said he did not think that was the intent of proponents in Alabama.

“In the legislative process that is something we will guard against,” Matson said.

The legislative session starts Feb. 4.