Alabama Sen. Tim Melson (R-Florence) plans to reintroduce a medical cannabis legalization bill this year, according to an Alabama Public Radio report.

Medical cannabis legislation passed the Alabama Senate during the 2020 session, but failed to clear the House.

Melson’s bill would create a new board, the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission, to license and regulate the industry, Alabama Public Radio reported.

Currently, only industrial hemp is legal in the state.

Missouri Rep. Shamed Dogan has filed legislation that would place an adult-use cannabis legalization measure on the state’s 2022 ballot, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The measure, House Joint Resolution 30, is a constitutional amendment. It would leave Missouri’s medical cannabis program intact, but would repeal the text of the 2018 constitutional amendment that legalized medical cannabis, which would ultimately scrap the state’s controversial licensing process and limited license structure, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Instead, Dogan’s proposal would set up a cannabis licensing process that is similar to licensing any other business in the state, according to the news outlet.

The measure also directs the state to release anyone incarcerated for “non-violent, marijuana only offenses that are no longer illegal in the state of Missouri,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported, as well as to stop monitoring those on probation or parole for those offenses.

In addition, the proposal would require Missouri courts to expunge civil and criminal records related to “all non-violent, marijuana-only offenses that are no longer illegal” within 60 days of the ballot measure’s passage, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The measure would levy a 12% tax on adult-use cannabis and a 4% tax on medical cannabis, the news outlet reported, and the revenue generated would be directed to the Smarter and Safer Missouri Fund, which would support the Missouri Veterans Commission, infrastructure projects and drug treatment programs.

Meanwhile, Missourians for a New Approach has announced plans for a 2022 ballot initiative to legalize adult-use cannabis after an unsuccessful signature campaign to get the issue before voters in 2020.

Florida Sen. Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg) has introduced legislation to reduce doctor visits for the state’s registered medical cannabis patients, according to a BayNews9.com report.

The bill, S.B. 214, would reduce required doctor visits from twice a year to once a year, the news outlet reported, and disabled veterans would only need to see a state-certified medical cannabis physician once every other year.

The legislation would also increase the maximum supply of cannabis that doctors can recommend from seven months to 350 days, BayNews9.com reported.

Rhode Island has received 45 applications for six new medical cannabis dispensary licenses, according to an AP News report.

If all applicants meet state requirements for a license, six will randomly be selected in a lottery to operate retail locations in different regions across the state, the news outlet reported.

Officials with the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation have not yet set a date for the lottery, according to AP News.

RELATED: Rhode Island Opens Application for New Medical Cannabis Dispensary Licenses

To qualify for a license, applicants had to submit detailed financial information, proof of a physical retail site and a $10,000 application fee, the news outlet reported.

Those ultimately awarded a license will join the state’s three operational medical cannabis dispensaries, but will not be permitted to be vertically integrated and grow their own product, according to AP News.