MOBILE, Ala. (WPMI) — Alabama medical cannabis company gets favorable court ruling that could shed more light on selection process
A company that was denied permission to sell medical marijuana in Alabama has won a court ruling that could force the Alabama Cannabis Commission to reveal how its selection process works.
It’s been three years since medical marijuana was approved for Alabama patients, but cannabis still isn’t available to them.
That’s because the commission has been tied up in court and twice has had to start the selection process over again to decide which companies will either produce, test or sell the cannabis.
The company that took the commission to court is called “Always Alabama”, a Montgomery-based company that says it’s ready to go with its medical marijuana products, yet was not chosen by the cannabis commission.
And they say they want to know why, and have been asking, but claim the commission has been fighting them in court.
Friday afternoon, the state civil court of appeals ruled in the company’s favor, saying it can now proceed with what called “discovery”, where the commission will have to reveal what it’s doing and how they’re doing it.
NBC 15 talked with Will Somerville, attorney for Alabama Always, who says Friday’s ruling could get the ball rolling again.
“Governments are supposed to make decisions in public and subject to public scrutiny and let people know what’s going on,” says Somerville. “They have not done that. Nobody knows, I don’t even think the commissioners know why certain people were granted licenses and other people weren’t. There’s no written explanation of it There’s no indication that any of the required statutes were complied with.”
Among those requirements are that applicants have secured a two million dollar bond backing their business, and that the companies be able to start cultivating the cannabis within 60 days of getting that license from the commission.
Sommerville says the commission has not been following those requirements when deciding who gets a license.
And he cites a scoring system that he calls “somewhat secretive”.
He believes the court ruling will shine more light on the selection process.
“We think that once we start asking questions, put people under oath, they put their hand on the Bible, swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, we think we will get to the bottom of it very quickly, and we think the process will move along quickly after that.”
In other words, yes, this will still be in the courthouse for a while longer as “Always Alabama ” tries to make its case.
But Somerville believes if the selection process is stripped bare for all to see, it will be plain to see who can and who can’t qualify, and end this standoff sooner, rather than later.
