Alabama Appeals Court Delays Hearing In Medical Marijuana Licensing Case

The state’s medical cannabis program has been stalled due to controversies surrounding the licensing process.

By Ralph Chapoco, Alabama Reflector

​A​ court hearing over medical cannabis licensing originally scheduled for Monday has been pushed back about a month.

The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals will hear arguments on February 11 at 10 a.m. over Montgomery Circuit Court Judge James Anderson’s temporary restraining order against the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC), according to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals Clerk’s office. The hearing was initially scheduled for January 13.

The Clerk of Courts office did not provide a reason for the delay.

The Alabama Legislature approved a state medical cannabis program in 2021, allowing individuals with 15 qualifying medical conditions—such as cancer, depression, Parkinson’s disease, PTSD, sickle-cell anemia, chronic pain, and terminal illnesses—to apply for medical cannabis.

The law restricts medical cannabis to forms like tablets, capsules, gelatins, oils, gels, creams, suppositories, transdermal patches, and inhalable oils or liquids. Smoking marijuana and consuming it in edibles are prohibited, while gummies are allowed but limited to peach flavor.

But the program has been stalled due to controversies surrounding the licensing process.

In 2023, the initial round of licenses was rescinded after concerns over inconsistent scoring on applications.

Later that year, a second round of applications was voided following a lawsuit accusing the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) of violating the Open Meetings Act.

In January, Anderson blocked a third licensing round, citing ongoing legal disputes stemming from the previous two rounds.

Last July, Anderson issued an order requiring the AMCC and companies denied licenses to propose a joint plan for investigative hearings on the awarded licenses, without allowing those licenses to be issued.

This story was first published by Alabama Reflector.

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