Stay on marijuana licenses extended again
On Wednesday, lawyers representing all the litigants in the ongoing medical marijuana license legal saga attended a hearing in Montgomery Circuit Judge James Anderson’s courtroom. Anderson, with the agreement of all parties involved, extended his temporary restraining order (TRO) on issuing medical cannabis licenses until at least the next scheduled meeting of the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC). After much discussion and a couple of conferences between the various attorneys involved in a back room outside of open court, all the counsels for the parties involved agreed to a continuation of the TRO. “The parties are in agreement to continue the TRO until the Commission’s next regularly scheduled meeting,” an attorney for the AMCC said. “There will be a meeting and probably a series of meetings to discuss what is going to happen in that meeting.” Judge Anderson said, “There needs to be four days to comply with the agreement.” The Commission’s attorneys agreed that the agenda for that future meeting should be released four days before the meeting. The AMCC has issued its own stay on the issuance of the medical marijuana grower, processor, transporter, dispensary, laboratory, and integrated facility licenses in acknowledgment of the pending litigation. Attorneys for Redbud made a motion to allow the failed marijuana applicant to join the ongoing plaintiff’s lawsuit. Redbud had intended to apply for a medical marijuana license but could not figure out how to make the AMCC’s website upload their application. The Redbud group was represented by Albert “Bert” Jordan of the Birmingham law firm of Wallace, Jordan, Ratliff, & Brandt in Wednesday’s hearing. Jordan explained that his clients tried to upload their application but was prevented by the AMCC’s limit on uploading files to no more than ten megabytes of data. “The ten-megabyte limit, it is really strange,” Jordan said. Jordan said that other applicants went to the AMCC and were given a workaround method of getting their applications submitted. “If we had known there was a workaround,” Redbud would have done it and gotten their application in Jordan claimed. “We are asking you to open the door,” for consideration of Redbud’s application, Jordan continued. “I felt like the facts showed that Redbud did not attempt to file,” Anderson said. “The relief that you are asking for is too late. The horse is already out of the barn.” Mark Wilkerson is representing the AMCC. An attorney for the AMCC said that Redbud’s people “were in the portal for less than 15 minutes total and none at all on the day that the application was due.” “Your honor should absolutely deny this motion,” the AMCC’s counsel added. “We did not wait too long. We exercised due diligence,” Jordan said. Jordan claimed that the AMCC allowed other applicants to add to their applications and make changes after December 31. Anderson said he would rule on Redbud’s motion sometime next week. Another applicant told Alabama Today that they made their application fit the 10-megabyte limit by submitting less information than they would have liked to have submitted. If they had known that the AMCC had allowed a workaround method to submit more information in their application, they would have done so. Their competitor, who was allowed to use the workaround, was able to submit more information with their application and then scored just ahead of them when the AMCC scored the applications. Other applicants whose applications were not accepted by the AMCC by the deadline also brought legal action but were allowed to have their applications considered by the AMCC because the court felt that they made a reasonable effort to comply with the AMCC’s demands. Redbud appealed their decision to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals. The attorney for Verona asked that they not be consolidated with the other lawsuits. “We object to being consolidated,” their attorney said. “My inclination would be to do that with all of them except Verona,” Judge Anderson said. Verona sought and was awarded an integrated license application by the AMMCC in a meeting in June. The AMCC then vacated those awards and made new awards in August. Verona was the only one of the five business entities who were awarded integrator licenses in June who were not also awarded a license in the August awards. Anderson asked, “Is there any objection from all the other cases to be consolidated?” “No sir,” the other plaintiffs’ attorneys responded. A Mobile attorney asked that his client, who had applied for a dispensary license, be added to the growing number of plaintiffs in the lawsuit. “The cutoff for interventions was August 23,” Judge Anderson said. “My order had a cutoff date.” There is a calendar meeting of the AMCC on September 19r 19. The TRO is extended through at least that date. At some point in the future, the AMCC will do the license awards for a third time, under our current understanding of this ongoing Alabama legal drama. In this next meeting, the AMCC will be instructed by the court to comply with the Alabama open meetings statute, which the plaintiffs claim the Commission did not do in its previous awards meetings. The AMCC is limited in the number of licenses it can award by the 2021 statute legalizing medical marijuana in Alabama. That statute created the AMCC and tasked it with writing the rules for issuing medical marijuana licenses in the state of Alabama and then regulating the new industry. The AMCC has been restrained by the court from issuing any licenses for now. No one may grow or even possess seeds to lawfully grow marijuana in the state of Alabama until those licenses are issued. All efforts to get the medical cannabis industry up and running in Alabama are effectively on hold while the TRO remains in place. Any Alabamian with a documented medical need that cannabis might alleviate will have to wait until 2024 to purchase Alabama medical cannabis products legally. Homegrown or individual possession of any cannabis plants or plant material outside of the AMCC’s licensees will remain illegal in the state of Alabama even after medical cannabis is legalized in the form of Alabama.
Alabama Medical Cannabis Conference rescheduled to October
The Alabama Cannabis Industry Association announced on Saturday that it has rescheduled its inaugural Alabama Medical Cannabis Conference from July 14-15 to October 13-14. This was largely due to the unexpected news that the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) has stayed the awarding of Alabama Medical Cannabis licenses pending an outside review of the applications. A court has also stayed the final license awards. Chey Garrigan is the founder and President of the Alabama Medical Cannabis Industry Association. “We would like to inform you that the Inaugural Alabama Medical Cannabis Conference, originally scheduled for July 14-15, will be rescheduled to October 13-14,” Garrigan said. “We are excited to bring you an even more impactful event that aligns with the progress of the state’s medical cannabis program. In light of recent developments and the postponement of license issuance by the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission, we believe it is essential to ensure that the status of the state program is at a point where we can make significant contributions to the industry during the conference.” “We have taken into consideration the feedback and concerns raised by our members and participants, and we want to provide you with the most valuable and meaningful experience possible,” said Garrigan. “By rescheduling the conference, we aim to create an environment where we can delve deeper into the latest insights, strategies, and opportunities in the ever-evolving cannabis industry.” Garrigan said that the conference will include first-night festivities on October 12, coinciding with National Farmers Day, to celebrate the role of farmers and highlight their contributions to the cannabis industry. “We are committed to ensuring that the Alabama Medical Cannabis Conference serves as a platform for knowledge exchange, innovation, and growth within the industry,” Garrigan said. “With the rescheduled dates, we can make certain that our conference aligns with the progress of the state’s medical cannabis program, allowing us to have a more substantial and meaningful impact. Please mark your calendars for October 13-14, with first-night festivities on October 12, and stay tuned for further updates.” Garrigan told Alabama Today that the uncertainty swirling around the state’s medical cannabis industry following the stay in the awarding of licenses by the Commission has created new advertising and sponsorship opportunities for persons and entities seeking to be involved in the inaugural conference. In May of 2021, the Alabama Legislature passed and Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation creating the AMCC and tasking them with setting up the rules for starting up a tightly regulated medical cannabis industry in Alabama. In August of 2022, the new Commission adopted rules, including a timeline of events that would lead to the final awards of medical cannabis licenses to a limited number of entities in July. That process has been indefinitely postponed due to the announcement that the license applications have been stayed by the Commission itself – and then stayed by the court. Alabamians with a demonstrable medical need will be able to obtain Alabama-grown cannabis products recommended by a doctor starting sometime in 2024 at the earliest. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Alabama Medical Cannabis Association launches, names Patrick Lindsey as executive director
The Alabama Medical Cannabis Association has formally launched and named Patrick Lindsey as executive director, effective immediately. Lindsey is a native of Butler, Alabama, and has lived in Montgomery for over 25 years. He worked in governmental affairs for 17 years, running and managing successful political campaigns for various candidates and lobbying the state legislature on diverse issues. The Alabama Medical Cannabis Association’s mission is “to protect and promote a rational and compassionate approach to Alabama’s emerging medical cannabis regulatory framework, to serve as a responsible resource for policymakers, and to support and cultivate homegrown business opportunities for the medical cannabis industry in Alabama.” “I am excited to announce the official launch of the Alabama Medical Cannabis Association,” Lindsey said in a press release. “It is a true honor to serve as the first executive director of this novel association, which is launching at the perfect time to advance the well-being and future of Alabamians. “With illicit and deadly fentanyl lacing street drugs and the opioid epidemic ravaging communities across our state, there has never been more of a need for safe, controlled, medically prescribed cannabis in Alabama,” Lindsey continued. “This association will work diligently every single day to ensure Alabama’s medical cannabis system is a commonsense operation that successfully saves lives, eases suffering, promotes law and order, and supports Alabama agriculture and small businesses. There is nothing more important than the health and safety of Alabama families, and this association will be their champion.” Alva Lambert is the association’s Deputy Director. The Alabama State Legislature passed medical cannabis legislation in the Spring of 2021 and tasked the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission with regulating the new industry. On September 1, the Commission began allowing applications for interested Alabamians to apply to be a licensed medical marijuana grower, transporter, processor, dispensary operator, or vertical integrator. It is estimated that it will be late 2023, at the earliest, before Alabamians can purchase Alabama-grown medical cannabis.
