Alabama Court Halts Medical Cannabis Licensing Process—Again

A Montgomery County circuit judge issued an order Jan. 3 that temporarily blocks Alabama’s third attempt at licensing medical cannabis facilities.

Judge James Anderson said that the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission’s (AMCC) third round of license awards last month began on “uneven grounds” due to unresolved, ongoing lawsuits against regulators’ first two attempts at awarding medical cannabis business licenses, the Alabama Reflector reported.

Gov. Kay Ivey signed a medical cannabis legalization bill into law in May 2021, and two years later, in June 2023, the AMCC initially approved license winners through a blind, third-party scoring process. Regulators then voided those awarded licenses over “potential inconsistencies” in the scoring and attempted a licensing redo in August.

There has been a flurry of lawsuits from unsuccessful applicants and those who were left out of the licensing do-over, and the third and most recent licensing attempt followed applicants providing public presentations before the AMCC in November.

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Now, under the new court order, Anderson issued a hold on dispensary and all-inclusive “integrated” licenses, the Alabama Reflector reported, but denied a hold on cultivation licenses. There were more cultivation licenses available than eligible applicants, according to the news outlet, so the court ruled that cultivation applicants still had an opportunity to win a license.

The court has not taken action on the other license categories, the Alabama Reflector reported.

A hearing on the preliminary injunction is scheduled for Jan. 24, according to the news outlet.