Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has released a set of guidelines explaining how state law covers the sale and possession of cannabidiol, a marijuana extract.

In a public notice issued today, the attorney general’s office said the laws that make it illegal to possess and sell marijuana also apply to cannabidiol, also known as CBD. The AG’s office said laws passed by the Legislature in 2014 and 2016 provide defenses against prosecution for CBD possession for certain people under specific circumstances but do not make the substance legal.

The public notice comes in response to inquiries about expanding sales of CBD across the state, Marshall’s office said.

Read the public notice.

Carly’s Law, passed in 2014, provides an affirmative defense to prosecution for people with a debilitating epileptic condition who have a prescription for CBD authorized by the UAB Department of Neurology. That defense also applies to the parents and caretakers of children and people with the epileptic condition and prescription authorized by UAB. Carly’s Law is scheduled to expire on July 1, 2019.

Leni’s Law, passed in 2016, applies the affirmative defense against prosecution for CBD possession to additional people – those who are being treated for a chronic or debilitating condition that causes seizures. The CBD must have been tested by an independent third-party laboratory. The affirmative defense provided by Leni’s Law also covers parents and guardians of children with debilitating epileptic conditions.

For the defenses under Carly’s Law and Leni’s Law to apply, CBD can only contain 3 percent or less of THC, the intoxicating substance in marijuana.

On Oct. 28, the Alabama Department of Public Health adopted a rule allowing for the medical use of FDA-approved drugs that contain CBD. It is now legal for a doctor to provide the drug Epidiolex to treat two forms of epilepsy – Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome. Epidiolex will be regulated in the same was as other prescription drugs.

Selling, delivering or distributing CBD, other than Epidiolex, is illegal. The affirmative defenses offered by Carly’s Law and Leni’s Law are only for possession of CBD.

“It is illegal for CBD to be sold by any convenience store, gas station or private individual,” the AG’s office said.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the Office of Prosecution Services, and the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences also collaborated on issuing the notice.