Alabama judge continues to delay stalled medical marijuana licensing process in state

“I think if the person who got the license isn’t qualified to do it, I should be able to point that out, go to a hearing with them and challenge their decision.”

By Alander Rocha, Alabama Reflector

An Alabama judge said Tuesday he will issue another temporary injunction halting the medical marijuana licensing process.

Montgomery County District Judge James Anderson ordered the denied license companies, as well as the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC), to jointly propose an injunction that would allow hearings on the licenses to continue but would prevent them from being issued.

“I’m not particularly comfortable with having to tell someone exactly what to do, but my intention is to have these arrangements in place to make sure that everyone’s rights (are protected), even those who are licensed,” Anderson said.

The Commission initially filed an objection, citing its own stay of licensing order, but agreed to a modified order permitting the AMCC to conduct investigative hearings and setting out a procedure for unsuccessful applicants.

The new injunction comes at the request of Alabama Always, one of the companies that was denied a license in all three rounds. They also challenged the licenses granted in addition to their own rejected licenses, arguing that they can’t properly argue why they should have a license without arguing why the other company received one.

Will Somerville, an attorney for Alabama Always, said that because the commission did not give unsuccessful applicants a chance to challenge their licenses, the process should be governed by the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act.

“I believe that if a person who has been granted a license is ineligible to receive it, I should be able to point that out, go to a hearing with them, challenge their decision and force them to speak out or remain silent about whether they meet the requirements of the act,” Somerville said.

The AMCC first granted medical marijuana licenses in June 2023, but the commission revoked them after finding inconsistencies in the scoring of applications. The commission made a second attempt to grant licenses in August, but a lawsuit alleging violations of the Open Meetings Act derailed the process. The commission made a third attempt to grant licenses in December, where further litigation stalled the process.

Attempts to address the legal challenges in the Legislature this year have largely failed. The only medical marijuana bill that has been sent to Gov. Kay Ivey’s (R) desk was HB 390, sponsored by Danny Crawford (R-Athens), which would transfer grower licensing authority from the Department of Agriculture and Industry to the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission.

SB 276, sponsored by Sen. David Sessions (R-Grand Bay), would increase the maximum number of licenses in certain categories and direct the commission to confirm any licenses granted by the commission between June and December of last year by June 15. SB 306, sponsored by Sen. Tim Melson (R-Florence), who also sponsored the 2021 medical marijuana legislation, would restart the licensing process and strip some of AMCC’s authority.

Both bills to launch the program stalled in the Senate and were not voted on before the end of the session.

There was brief discussion about lifting a separate injunction against dispensaries that would allow doctors to recommend medical marijuana to patients, but the judge said they would address that at a later date. Patrick Dungan, an attorney for Yellowhammer Medical Dispensaries, said the stay should not be lifted because he had separately asked the court to reconsider the licensing process, which is currently before the Alabama Court of Appeals.

“We currently have an appeal in this case,” he said.

This story was first published by Alabama Reflector.

Biden boasts of working to address ‘failed marijuana approach’ in Civil Rights Act proclamation

Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.