Appeals court ruling continues legal battles over marijuana in Alabama

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – An Alabama appeals court on Friday denied a state agency’s request to dismiss challenges to medical marijuana licenses in December.

The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals’ decision on jurisdictional issues was highly technical, but the upshot is that businesses that sued the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission can continue to argue their cases before a Montgomery County Circuit Court judge.

The decision was welcome news for companies like TheraTrue Alabama, which won one of the licenses for a facility in western Alabama, near Demopolis, in the first two rounds, only to lose when the commission tried again in December.

The company’s lawyer, Bryan Taylor, said the commission failed to follow its own rules and then hid for months behind procedural arguments in court.

“We have to come to a final question, which is whether the commission was right or wrong in revoking the licenses that had been granted previously and granting licenses to a new list of candidates, after removing the blindfolds,” he said.

The commission said in a prepared statement that the decision “clarifies” the court’s previous rulings.

“While today’s decision is limited in scope, the Court has provided guidance on other issues in the ongoing litigation,” the statement reads. “The AMCC will continue to review the Court’s decision and the impact it may have on other outstanding issues.”

Gov. Kay Ivey signed the law legalizing medical marijuana in 2021. But three years later, the process is mired in legal disputes over how the limited number of licenses are awarded. Companies that have filed lawsuits include Southeast Cannabis Co., which wants to operate in Mobile County, and Pure by Sirmon Farms in Daphne.

Companies that were set to get licenses in December are eager to resolve the dispute. That includes Specialty Medical Products of Alabama and Oscity Labs. The sister companies own a marijuana growing facility outside Brewton and a processing plant in Foley. They also plan to operate five retail locations.

“We were one day away from becoming operational when this temporary restriction order was put in place in January,” said Ray French, the companies’ CEO.

French said the initial process was flawed, noting that it did not even include site visits. He added that he believes the commission has now done everything the judge asked it to do, including setting up a process for fact-finding hearings and appeals for unsuccessful applicants.

The continued delays, French added, are hurting patients who need the medicine.

“It’s particularly frustrating for us because we’re already up and running,” he told FOX10 News. “We’re already set up to make the exact same type of products. Our greenhouses are ready to go.”

But Taylor said it was the commission that caused the delays.

“We could have reached a resolution months ago if the commission had simply agreed to answer the question, or let the court answer the question on the merits, whether it had handled the question correctly or not,” he said. “If the court had said ‘no,’ we could have gone back and issued the licenses at that time based on the prior decisions.”

Taylor said TheraTrue was the second-highest-scoring applicant both times the commission tried to issue licenses. The former state representative said lawmakers could step in if the legal wrangling drags on.

“Parliament has designed a process that must be impartial, fair and above any appearance of collusion,” he said. “And we must ensure that the committee ensures that it follows the process that Parliament has established.”

According to French, some patients are in “desperate need” of medical marijuana.

“You know, when we hear threats of endless lawsuits and things like that, it’s very discouraging and frustrating to know that this drug is ready to go to market,” he said.