The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals issued a ruling today that the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission hailed as a victory in its long-delayed effort to issue business licenses.

A company that sued the AMCC after it was denied a license also called the ruling a victory, saying it would ensure a process that identifies the qualified applicants.

Justin Aday, an attorney for the AMCC, said some issues remain pending in the courts before licenses are issued but that today’s ruling helps.

“The Commission will continue to pursue a speedy resolution of those matters,” Aday said.

“The Court of Civil Appeals decision released today provides a roadmap on how those matters may be disposed of to allow the investigative hearings to begin sooner rather than later.”

In today’s ruling, the appeals court ordered the Montgomery County Circuit Court to vacate a temporary restraining order that prohibited the AMCC from proceeding with the disputed license awards.

Cultivators are growing the plants for the medical cannabis products, but the licensing delays have stopped companies from fully launching the new industry authorized by a law passed by the Alabama Legislature four years ago.

“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,” AMCC Director John McMillan said in a press release.

“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.”

Alabama’s law sets a limit of five licenses for integrated companies that will grow, process, and sell medical cannabis. More than 30 companies applied.

Alabama Always, which built an integrated facility in Montgomery but was denied a license, has claimed in lawsuits that the AMCC failed to follow the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act, among other claims. Other companies filed similar claims.

Montgomery County Circuit Judge James Anderson, who has held multiple hearings involving numerous license applicants, ruled last year that Alabama Always had a reasonable chance of prevailing on its claims and issued a temporary restraining order to stop the AMCC from issuing licenses to the companies it picked in December 2023.

Lawyers for the AMCC opposed the temporary restraining order and maintained that the challenges to the licensing decisions were premature because the decisions were not final.

Companies denied licenses can ask the AMCC for an investigative hearing on the decisions.

“Today’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,” the AMCC said today.

“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.”

Will Somerville, attorney for Alabama Always, said today’s ruling was a victory for the company after a year and a half of litigation because he said it ensures that the investigative hearings must be done under the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act, which he said will require companies awarded licenses to prove they are qualified and allow Alabama Always to demonstrate its qualifications.

“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,” Somerville said.

“We can appear at that hearing and offer facts and offer proof that they are not qualified under the state cannabis law.

“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.”

Somerville said he expects the hearings to take several months with all the license applicants able to participate. Somerville said he would like to see the Legislature revise the law to speed up the process.

“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,” Somerville said.

“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.”

Once the program starts, certified doctors will be able to recommend medical cannabis to patients with autism spectrum disorder; cancer-related pain or nausea; Crohn’s Disease; depression; epilepsy or conditions causing seizures; HIV/AIDS-related nausea or weight loss; panic disorder; Parkinson’s Disease; persistent nausea; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); sickle cell anemia; spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis or spinal cord injury; Tourette’s Syndrome; a terminal illness; or conditions causing chronic or intractable pain.

The medical cannabis products can include tablets, capsules, tinctures, gelatinous cubes (gummies), gels, oils or creams for topical use, suppositories, transdermal patches, nebulizers, or liquids or oils for use in an inhaler. Raw plant materials, products administered by smoking or vaping, or food products such as cookies or candies will not be allowed.

“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 in a press release.

“Today we have hope for those patients – hope that we can proceed with our hearing process and get those products into their hands.”

The AMCC has completed the investigative hearing process and issued licenses in the cultivator, processor, secure transporter, and state testing laboratory license categories.