Just four days after announcing that state officials would issue the first batch of medical cannabis business licenses, the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) voted June 16 to halt all licensing proceedings while it reviews the scoring process.
Regulators discovered “potential inconsistencies” in the scoring of the applications, according to an AMCC press release, and the commission will now pursue an independent review of all scoring data.
“The commission will work expeditiously to investigate and identify inconsistencies in the score data,” AMCC Director John McMillan said in a public statement. “Out of an abundance of caution, we are suspending all current procedural timelines until those matters are resolved.”
The stay issued by the commission affects the following procedural requirements of Alabama’s medical cannabis program, according to the press release:
- Applicants who were awarded a license on June 12, 2023, are not required to pay the license fee by June 26, 2023.
- Applicants who were denied award of license on June 12, 2023, are not required to submit a request for investigative hearing by June 26, 2023.
- Licenses that were awarded on June 12, 2023, will not issue on July 10, 2023.
The move comes the same week that the AMCC voted to award 21 licenses to medical cannabis cultivators, processors, dispensaries, transporters, laboratories and integrated facilities.
RELATED: Alabama Officials Issue First Batch of Medical Cannabis Business Licenses
Licensees had 14 days to submit licensing fees to the commission, which planned to formally issue the licenses at its July 10 meeting.
Now, the stay will remain in effect indefinitely, until it is lifted by the AMCC. At that time, the commission will reconsider the award of the licenses and provide a new timeline for the payment of license fees, requests for investigative hearings and the official issuance of the licenses.
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