03/11/2025
STATE NEWS: UPDATED!
ALABAMA APPEALS COURT LIFTS INJUNCTION, ALLOWS STATE COMMISSION TO PROCEED WITH MEDICAL CANNABIS LICENSING PROCESS
The years-long legal saga appears to be over, at least for now, after the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals issued a decision voiding the Montgomery County Circuit Court's Temporary Restraining Order (“TRO”) that has paused the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission's (AMCC) licensing processes from moving forward. This means Alabama patients who could benefit from cannabis treatments are one step closer to receiving the medication that could ease suffering, improve quality of life, and even possibly save lives.
In a unanimous decision, the Court decided the Montgomery County Circuit Court (MCCC) lacked authority and jurisdiction to rule over the claims presented in lawsuits filed by Alabama Always that were the basis of the TRO. The Court dismissed the appeals with instructions to the Montgomery County Circuit Court to vacate its decision issuing the restraining order.
“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.”
As a statement released by the AMCC announced, "Today’s decision is consistent with the Commission’s position that its license award decisions are not final until the statutorily prescribed investigative hearing process is completed. Upon the conclusion of investigative hearings, the Commission will consider the findings and conclusions of an impartial hearing officer and enter a final order that will then be subject to judicial review. The Commission has long argued that lawsuits and judicial intervention are premature before the administrative review process is completed."
Commission Chairman Rex Vaughn emphasized the importance of the Commission's victory in court and how the patients who need such treatment shouldn't have to have waited this long. “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,” explained Commission Chairman Rex Vaughn. “Today we have hope for those patients – hope that we can proceed with our hearing process and get those products into their hands.”
The AMCC has already completed the investigative hearing process and issued licenses in the following categories: cultivator, processor, secure transporter, and state testing laboratory. Despite the Commission’s own administrative stay that ensures it will not issue licenses until a final order has been entered, the Circuit Court has enjoined the Commission from taking any action, including conducting investigative hearings, in the dispensary and integrated facility license categories.
UPDATE:
The Chronicle asked Director John McMillan if he could predict when cannabis products would finally be available for patients, and he replied, "Assuming we don't have any further litigation, the commission is prepared to move forward with the hearing process and get this done.'
The hearing process includes an administrative law judge who would hear from those who have requested a hearing, and most of these include businesses that were not granted licenses and held the process of moving forward tied up in courts through lawsuits. The judge would go through a fact-finding process, hear from all interested parties, and then make his or her recommendations to the AMCC.
McMillan continued, saying, "After this process, if there are no further delays, we are looking at a best-case scenario in which medical cannabis would begin to be rolled out and available by prescription by the end of this year."
Under Alabama’s fledgling medical cannabis program, qualified physicians who are registered and certified will be allowed to prescribe medicinal ma*****na products. However, the patients must be diagnosed with one or more medical conditions approved by Alabama law. These conditions include autism spectrum disorder; cancer-related pain or nausea; Crohn’s Disease; depression; epilepsy or conditions causing seizures; HIV/AIDS-related nausea or weight loss; panic disorder; Parkinson’s Disease; persistent nausea; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); sickle cell anemia; spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis or spinal cord injury; Tourette’s Syndrome; a terminal illness; or conditions causing chronic or intractable pain.
Also, state law forbids cannabis products that can be smoked or vaped. Medical cannabis products that may be recommended to patients include tablets, capsules, tinctures, gelatinous cubes, gels, oils or creams for topical use, suppositories, transdermal patches, nebulizers, or liquids or oils for use in an inhaler. Raw plant materials, products administered by smoking or va**ng, or food products such as cookies or candies will not be allowed. To learn more about the Alabama medical cannabis program visit amcc.alabama.gov/.
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