The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals ordered Montgomery County Circuit Judge James Anderson to vacate a temporary restraining order on the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) on Friday.
In a unanimous decision, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals said the temporary restraining order that’s stalled the implementation of the state’s medical cannabis law for 14 months should be vacated “because the circuit court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction.”
Alabama legalized cannabis for medical purposes in 2021, but the program has not gotten fully off the ground yet.
“On behalf of the many long-suffering patients in Alabama who have waited far too long for access to the benefits of medical cannabis products, we are pleased with today’s decision from the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals,” said AMCC director John McMillan on Friday. “We are hopeful that this decision will remove the obstacles that have prevented the Commission from completing the licensing process and doing the work the law charged it to do.”
The program could still see changes if legislation filed by State Sen. Tim Melson (R-Florence) is passed. Melson’s bill would increase the number of integrated facility licenses available from five to seven and re-do the awards process for that category of licenses for a fourth time.
“We’re still reading the bill that (Melson’s) got up. We just know it’s not working the way it is. If we have to start over to do it, that’s what we’re going to do,” State Sen. Jack Williams (R-Wilmer) told 1819 News on Tuesday.
Williams said his son was involved in a company that unsuccessfully applied for a license.
“He has a nursery. He applied right off the bat, but he’s not fighting it,” Williams said.
State Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Range) told 1819 News on Monday, “Every stinking dollar we put into it is a waste at this point.” Over $7 million in state funds has been spent on the AMCC since 2022, according to Open Alabama Checkbook.
“It’s certainly a difficulty that we’ve got to address but I don’t know of a way of doing it other than the principle of tossing the baby out with the bathwater and starting over,” Albritton said.
Warren Cobb, general counsel with Sustainable Alabama, a company awarded an integrated facility license last year, told 1819 News that Friday’s ruling by the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals would clear the way for the program to move forward.
“Does this mean the court can restrain in the future? Possibly, but after the administrative appeal through the AMCC I think they’ll comply with the Administrative Procedures Act and the licenses should be issued. This is a big step forward for the patients,” Cobb said.
Will Somerville, attorney for Alabama Always, an unsuccessful integrated facilities applicant suing the AMCC, said in a statement on Friday, “Today’s Court ruling is a victory for us after a year and a half of litigation.”
“This Appellate Court Order gave Alabama Always everything we have been asking for since December of 2023: the Court ordered the Alabama Cannabis Commission to abide by the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in regard to medical cannabis licenses which they had previously refused to do. This means that companies who were ‘awarded’ licenses by the Commission will be required to appear at a hearing conducted by an Administrative Law Judge and prove that they satisfy the requirements that the Alabama Legislature set for getting a medical cannabis license. We can appear at that hearing and offer facts and offer proof that they are not qualified under the state cannabis law,” Somerville said. “The Court’s ruling also guarantees that after we have been denied a medical cannabis license, we are entitled to the same hearing in order to prove that we are entitled to a license. We have been asking the Commission for this APA hearing and procedure for more than a year. This Order gives us that hearing and the rights guaranteed by the Administrative Procedure Act. We anticipate that the APA hearings required by the Court today will take several months with all the parties who requested licenses able to participate. We will be able to conduct discovery to get the facts relevant to whether the applicants who got a license are able to comply with the statutory requirements. To avoid that delay, the Legislature should use this Court Ruling as a template to fix this broken process. They can devise a faster process to get these hearings conducted and get the cannabis program underway. By making clear that the APA applies to this process, the Court also made clear that the process will no longer be conducted in secrecy.”
The AMCC said in a press release that Friday’s decision is consistent with the Commission’s position that its license award decisions are not final until the statutorily prescribed investigative hearing process is completed. Upon the conclusion of investigative hearings, the Commission will consider the findings and conclusions of an impartial hearing officer and enter a final order that will then be subject to judicial review. The Commission has long argued that lawsuits and judicial intervention are premature before the administrative review process is completed.
“As I’ve said time and again, the singular objective of the Commission is helping Alabama patients through access to the benefits of medical cannabis products,” AMCC chairman Rex Vaughn said. “Today we have hope for those patients – hope that we can proceed with our hearing process and get those products into their hands.”
The Commission has already completed the investigative hearing process and issued licenses in the cultivator, processor, secure transporter and state testing laboratory license categories.
Despite the Commission’s own administrative stay that ensures it will not issue licenses until a final order has been entered, the Circuit Court has enjoined the Commission from taking any action, including conducting investigative hearings, in the dispensary and integrated facility license categories.
Tro Lawsuit by Caleb Taylor on Scribd
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