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The Montgomery County Circuit Court has invalidated the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission’s December 2023 license awards for integrated facilities, prompting renewed criticism from industry stakeholders and a call for legislative intervention.
Ben McNeil, a Montgomery businessman and board member of Alabama Always—one of four companies that filed suit against the Commission—welcomed the ruling in a statement issued Tuesday.
“In November 2023, our counsel objected to the Emergency ‘license award’ Rule drafted by lawyers for the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission, AMCC,” McNeil said. “We pointed out that the Rule they planned to use to award licenses violated the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act, APA. The Commission’s staff and Members ignored us and proceeded on December 12, 2023 to award cannabis licenses using this Rule. However, we note they also failed to follow the ranking system they adopted in this Rule. So how could it have been an ‘emergency’ if they could have just ignored it when they felt like it?”
McNeil emphasized the prolonged legal battle and criticized the Commission’s conduct throughout the process.
“Our company was joined by three other companies that filed suit in Montgomery County Circuit Court, challenging both the ‘license award’ Rule and the award of the cannabis licenses pursuant to the Rule at the December 2023 meeting. Due to various legal delay tactics filed by the lawyers for the Commission, it took us 15 months to get a hearing and a decision from the Montgomery County Circuit Court. The Court’s Ruling proves once again that the Commission is unwilling or unable to follow the laws of our State,” McNeil said.
The lawsuit, filed by Alabama Always and three other companies, challenged not only the legality of the Emergency Rule but also the Commission’s failure to adhere to the very standards it had put in place. Specifically, the plaintiffs highlighted the Commission’s use of an unapproved voting method and the lack of legally required administrative hearings for denied applicants, both of which were cited in the court’s decision.
All four plaintiffs seek a licensing process that complies with the medical cannabis law passed in 2021. That law requires applicants to show they can begin cultivation within 60 days in production-ready facilities and possess the financial resources to sustain operations for at least two years.
“This is a very positive development,” said Will Somerville, an attorney for Alabama Always. “Like the recent ruling by the Court of Civil Appeals, this decision makes clear the AMCC must follow the Administrative Procedure Act when awarding licenses. But these court rulings aren’t enough to completely fix the process. We still need to address the admitted bias of Commission members as well as the delays that will be caused by numerous applicants competing for a limited number of licenses. Legislators need to take action this session to fix this broken process so that Alabama patients with seizure disorders and other conditions can access the medical cannabis products they need as quickly as possible.”
The December 12 meeting marked the third failed attempt by the AMCC to issue cannabis licenses, and with each setback, concerns have mounted over the Commission’s compliance with state law and its ability to implement a fair and functional licensing framework.
Stakeholders and patient advocates now look to the Alabama Legislature to step in and establish a clear, lawful and transparent process—one that meets the statutory requirements and lives up to the expectations of patients and providers alike.
