Alabama Always LLC is one of thirty-six applicants for an integrator license from the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC). Twice, the Commission has voted to give the coveted integrator licenses to five other business entities, and both times, Alabama Always has sued to block the issuing of the licenses.
The AMCC is set to meet on Tuesday to make new license awards after the Commission rescinded all awards in June and August to settle earlier lawsuits. This time, Alabama Always is not waiting to lose a third round of cannabis awards. They have filed a lawsuit in anticipation of not being given one of the licenses limited to a maximum of five by the authorizing statute.
The lawsuit filed in the Circuit Court of Montgomery County alleges that the AMCC staff and some members of the Commission are biased against Alabama Always.
The twelve Commissioners are being asked to rank the thirty-six applicants from 1 to 36, with 1 being the best and 36 being the least qualified. The scores will then be totaled and averaged, with the number closest to 1 being the best. Those top five applicants will then get the licenses.
Alabama Always claims that this rule violates state administrative code and allows a minority of commissioners to so devalue their application that Alabama Always cannot win. At least one application must go to a minority-owned group, even if they are not in the top five.
“The Rule threatens Alabama Always with irreparable harm,” Alabama Always claimed in their latest lawsuit. “The entry of a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, and permanent injunction would preserve the status quo and would not inconvenience the Commission, particularly since no party before the Commission has the right to have its application ranked and voted on in a manner that violates Alabama law. The balance of the equities therefore favors the issuance of a temporary restraining order and an injunction.”
Previously, the AMCC contracted with the University of South Alabama (USA), which hired independent marijuana application evaluators to evaluate and score all the applications. Alabama Always did not have a top score in those independent USA scores, so the Commission did not award them a license in either the June or the August awards meeting. They sued, and during court-ordered mediation, the Commission agreed to rescind the earlier awards and not consider the independent evaluators’ scoring. Now, Alabama Always is filing a new suit objecting to the ranking system.
The Commission is scheduled to meet tomorrow to make the awards. That timeline could now be in jeopardy if the court agrees to put an injunction or temporary restraining order on the awards in order to have a hearing on Alabama Always’ latest complaint.
The Commission has already awarded the cannabis cultivator, processor, secure transporter, dispensary, and state test laboratory licenses. An integrator license allows a business entity to cultivate, process, transport, and dispense its medical cannabis products. One of the failed processor applicants has already filed a separate lawsuit.
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