On Friday, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals handed down the most consequential ruling in a years-long legal battle that has effectively stalled the state’s medical cannabis industry, first authorized in 2021.

In the decision, the appellate court ruled that the Montgomery Circuit Court lacked jurisdiction to impose a temporary restraining order (TRO) and that the appeals are now dismissed as void.

Today’s mandate to vacate the injunction is expected dissolve similar legal barriers, allowing Alabama’s medical cannabis program to finally commence in earnest.​

RELATED: Appeals court clears path for lawsuit against Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission

The legal blockade began in 2023 when Alabama Always, LLC, an applicant for an integrated-facility license challenged the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission’s (AMCC) licensing procedures on a wide range of argued grounds.

According to the ruling, the AMCC denied Alabama Always’ application three times, most recently on December 12, 2023, when the five available integrated-facility licenses were awarded to other applicants.

After the first two denials, Alabama Always sued the AMCC, claiming that the commission failed to follow its own regulations in scoring and ranking applications. The company also requested a public investigative hearing, as required under state law, but simultaneously sought emergency legal relief in circuit court.

RELATED: Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission fights back against deposition demands, joins applicant’s appeal

In January, the Montgomery Circuit Court issued a TRO blocking the AMCC from finalizing the license awards. The appeals court has now struck down that order, clearing the way for the AMCC to resume its process.

The court also ruled that Alabama Always challenged the AMCC before a final agency decision had been made.

“A claim that an administrative agency failed to follow its own regulations in making a licensing decision may be heard only in an appeal of the licensing decision,” the appeals court ruled.

RELATED: Medical cannabis applicant Alabama Always predicts judge will ‘move the process forward’

“We conclude that Alabama Always did not have a right to appeal the denial because the denial was not a final decision, and review of a final agency decision of the AMCC regarding Alabama Always’s integrated-facility-license application would provide an adequate remedy.”

Alabama Always argued that if the AMCC proceeded with licensing, there would be no way to undo the process if errors were later found, causing irreparable harm to its business.

The appeals court also rejected that claim, ruling that the AMCC itself had already placed an administrative stay on issuing the licenses — meaning that no licenses would be finalized while challenges were pending.

“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 after the ruling 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.” 

According to the AMCC, today’s decision is consistent with their position that its license award decisions are not final until the statutorily prescribed investigative hearing 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,” Commission Chairman Rex Vaughn explained.

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

Updated 11:20 a.m. to include statements from the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission. 

Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.