A Montgomery County Circuit Judge placed another temporary restraining order on the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) on Thursday.
Montgomery County Circuit Judge James Anderson granted a motion brought by Yellowhammer Medical Dispensaries requesting a temporary restraining order on AMCC issuing licenses in the dispensary category. The commission awarded cannabis business licenses for all license categories in December.
Anderson said in his order on Thursday, “Yellowhammer, however, has demonstrated a threat of immediate and irreparable injury. Yellowhammer is a Dispensary license applicant– a category in which the Commission awarded its statutory maximum number of licenses, thus rendering the remedy of an investigative hearing likely insufficient to provide it a meaningful avenue for review of the Commission’s adverse licensing decision.”
“Again, the Court is sympathetic to the public interest in getting medicine in the hands of patients. That said, the Commission’s third round of licensing awards is at issue, and the prior two award rounds remain the subject of ongoing litigation– meaning that the Commission’s effort to issue licenses now, based on the third round, is already on uneven ground. Additionally, any balancing of the equities here weighs heavily in favor of Yellowhammer, whose injury will very likely be irreparable if immediate injunctive relief is denied and the Commission issues licenses, thus virtually eliminating any reasonable chance for Yellowhammer to obtain any meaningful review of the adverse licensing decision,” he added.
Anderson’s order prohibits AMCC from “taking any action in furtherance of the December 1, 2023 awards of licenses in the Dispensary Category, including without limitation the issuance of any licenses.”
A spokesman for AMCC told 1819 News cultivator, processor, secure transporter and state testing laboratory licenses were issued on Friday. Integrated facility licenses are scheduled to be issued on January 9.
Yellowhammer Medical Dispensaries was awarded a license in the first two rounds of rescinded license awards but wasn’t awarded a license in the third round. Alabama Always is requesting Anderson issue a similar order prohibiting the issuance of integrated facility licenses in January.
The first round of license awards occurred in June, but the rollout of Alabama’s new medical cannabis law has been delayed by litigation from companies who haven’t received licenses or received licenses in previous rounds but not in later rounds.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email caleb.taylor@1819News.com.
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