MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WBRC) – On Friday, March 7, The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals voided a restraining order put in place by a Montgomery Circuit Court judge that has prevented the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) from taking any action to issue licenses in the integrated facility category.

The decision issued means the AMCC can move forward with its third attempt at issuing licenses in the integrated category, but doesn’t guarantee the companies chosen by the commission will be the final license holders.

The restraining order was issued by a Montgomery Circuit Court judge in January 2024 in a case brought by Alabama Always, Inc., a company that applied for an integrated license, but was denied by the AMCC. Alabama Always contends the AMCC didn’t follow its own rules and procedures in making that decision, and asked a judge to intervene before the commission made a final decision.

The AMCC contends the restraining order was premature because the AMCC has rules in place that allow applicants who are denied a license a chance to appeal that decision through an administrative review and appeal process within the AMCC structure.

The Appeals Court Friday agreed, lifting the restraining order, but instructing the AMCC to now give Alabama Always a full administrative review and appeal of that denial, and held open the possibility that a lower court could issue a new restraining order to prevent the issuance of licenses in the integrated category if Alabama Always or another denied applicant can prove doing so would do them irreparable harm while they appealed.

“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,” said Will Somerville, attorney for Alabama Always. “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. 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.”

“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 Director John McMillan. “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 AMCC has faced multiple lawsuits surrounding the license rollout process that is still stalled, now four years after the legislation enabling medical cannabis prescriptions passed.

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