Alabama Judge Could Allow State’s Medical Cannabis Commission To Vet Business Licensing Awards

“Part of this lawsuit is making sure that we understand what happened in December. Why did all the licenses change?”

By Jemma Stephenson, Alabama Reflector

A Montgomery judge Tuesday said he would be open to lifting some restrictions on the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) to allow some vetting of license awards.

Montgomery County Circuit James Anderson said that he might be inclined to “amending it [a temporary restraining order] to allow some investigative things to go forward.”

The discussion came near the end of a nearly two-hour hearing that covered motions to intervene and the potentially ongoing role of the Agriculture Commissioner.

Anderson had previously directed the AMCC and companies denied a license to provide a joint proposed order that would allow investigative hearings but no licenses to be issued.

The Alabama Legislature approved a medical cannabis program in 2021 that would allow the use of cannabis for about 15 different medical conditions, including chronic pain, cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

But the program has been put in limbo amid controversies and litigation over the issuance of cannabis production and distribution licenses. AMCC first awarded licenses in June 2023 but voided them due to scoring inconsistencies. The commission tried to award licenses again later that summer but suspended them amid lawsuits alleging the AMCC violated the state Open Meetings Act. The commission tried to award licenses again in December where further litigation occurred.

Will Somerville, an attorney for Alabama Always, a company rejected for licenses that has been heavily involved in the lawsuits, told reporters in the courthouse after the hearing on Tuesday that he did not think that he heard that the judge was inclined to modify the order to allow the investigative hearings to go forward.

“What I would like for the judge to do is to keep the injunction in place, make a ruling on invalidating the December license awards in the integrated category, and then rule that the investigative hearing process that the commission has planned is invalid, and then have the judge actually institute a process to figure out who can actually comply with the requirements of the cannabis act and who can actually grow and make medical cannabis,” he said.

Somerville said that it is “incumbent” on them to file for a summary judgment on the legal issues and legality of the investigative hearing process.

Bryan Taylor, attorney for TheraTrue Alabama LLC, which received licenses in the first two rounds but not the third, said they were seeking answers.

“I think that’s a question that needs to be answered, and that’s part of this lawsuit is making sure that we understand what happened in December,” he said. “Why did all the licenses change?”

The Legislature attempted to remedy some of the issues last session, but they were mostly unsuccessful, only shifting licensing powers for cultivators from the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries to the AMCC.

This story was first published by Alabama Reflector.

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Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.