Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission Faces Licensing Delays Amid Legal Complications

LOS ANGELES– The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) hit another roadblock in its licensing process as it announced an administrative stay on Thursday, according to AL.com. This suspension follows two unsuccessful attempts by the AMCC to issue licenses. The first setback occurred due to “potential inconsistencies” in the scoring data, while a subsequent attempt was hindered when a judge granted a temporary restraining order against the commission, citing a breach of the state’s open meetings law.

The AMCC currently faces two lawsuits concerning its licensing process. The first lawsuit pertains to alleged violations of the open meetings law, while the second challenges the commission’s decision to annul and reissue the permits. Recently, the AMCC indicated to the court that it intended to reset the entire licensing procedure, effectively starting from scratch.

When approached for comments, AMCC Chair Rex Vaughn told AL.com that it remained uncertain if licenses would be granted during the next scheduled commission meeting on September 19. The future course of action for the agency is contingent upon the outcomes of a court hearing set for September 6.

Vaughn elaborated that the AMCC has chosen not to re-evaluate the scores provided by evaluators from the University of South Alabama, despite acknowledging inconsistencies. Instead, the commission will use these scores as a guiding framework to aid in licensing decisions.

Addressing concerns over the commission’s previous closed-door meetings, which had led to a lawsuit, Vaughn assured that such closed sessions would not occur again in the licensing process. He also expressed that foreseeing a concrete timeline for license issuance has become increasingly challenging, attributing the complexity to the ongoing legal disputes and scoring anomalies.