Rejected Applicant Sues Alabama Regulators Over Medical Cannabis Licensing Process

A rejected applicant has sued the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) over the process it used to award business licenses and has asked a judge to issue a temporary restraining order on licensing—just days after the AMCC itself issued a stay to pause the medical cannabis business licensing process due to concerns over how the applications were scored.

Alabama Always LLC filed the lawsuit June 22 in Montgomery Circuit Court, according to the Alabama Political Reporter.

Alabama Always was one of many applicants denied a license after the AMCC voted at its June 12 meeting to issue the first batch of licenses to 21 medical cannabis cultivators, processors, dispensaries, transporters and integrated facilities.

RELATED: Alabama Regulators Advance 90 Medical Cannabis Business License Applications to Review Process

The company unsuccessfully applied for an integrated facility license, AL.com reported, which would allow it to cultivate, process and sell medical cannabis.

Alabama Always has nearly completed the buildout of a $4.5-million cultivation and processing facility west of Montgomery, the news outlet reported, and plans to sell medical cannabis products to patients through dispensaries in Montgomery, Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Gasden and Mobile.

In the lawsuit, Alabama Always argues that the AMCC “abdicated its duties to various third parties and then relied blindly on the information returned by the third parties,” according to the Alabama Political Reporter.

Alabama Always claims in the lawsuit that the information the AMCC received was flawed, a claim that has been seemingly upheld by the commission.

On June 16, just four days after announcing that state officials would issue the first batch of medical cannabis business licenses, the AMCC voted to halt all licensing proceedings while it reviews the scoring process.

RELATED: Alabama Regulators Pause Medical Cannabis Business Licensing Due to 'Potential Inconsistencies' in Scoring

Regulators said in a press release that they discovered “potential inconsistencies” in the scoring of the applications. The commission now plans to pursue an independent review of all scoring data, and the stay on licensing proceedings was to remain in effect indefinitely, until lifted by the AMCC.

Meanwhile, Alabama Always argues in its lawsuit that the inconsistencies in scoring stem from the AMCC passing off the responsibility of scoring the applications to “graders” that were overseen by the University of South Alabama, according to the Alabama Political Reporter. The lawsuit claims that AMCC members never reviewed the applications themselves, and that the scores were forwarded to the commission, which did not review them until the morning of the June 12 meeting, the news outlet reported.

Alabama Always also argues that members of the AMCC did not visit applicants’ proposed facility sites or even meet with the applicants in person, according to the Alabama Political Reporter.

The company also claims in its lawsuit that several applicants realized during the application process that they could not upload detailed plans for facility build-outs due to a file size limit, the news outlet reported. Alabama Always alleges that some applicants were given a way to work around this issue, while others were not given the same opportunity. The company claims that this ultimately caused it to reduce the quality of its files and thus receive a lower score on its application, according to the Alabama Political Reporter.

Alabama Always also claims that the decision to award the licenses was secretive in nature and that it was made during an executive session that lacked any public debate or discussion, the news outlet reported.

The lawsuit asks the court to issue a stay on the state’s medical cannabis business licensing process because Alabama Always is concerned about the validity of the AMCC’s stay, according to the Alabama Political Reporter. The lawsuit also seeks to require the commission to review the applications itself and hold all decision-making discussions during public meetings.

Join us this year at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino for Cannabis Conference, the leading education and expo event for plant-touching businesses.