HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — A court battle continues in Montgomery over medical cannabis business license awards. That left some Alabama business owners and patients in limbo, even though the state legalized medical cannabis in 2021.
The court fight centers on how the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission awarded licenses to some companies and not to others.
The commission voted on license awards and then re-voted two more times last year. Some of the companies who lost out have sued arguing the commission didn’t follow the law in awarding licenses or in conducting business in public. A Montgomery Circuit judge’s temporary restraining order has meant no medical cannabis has been dispensed.
Joey Robertson is the president and CEO of Cullman-based Wagon Trail Med-Serve. The company has been awarded an integrated facility license which includes growing, processing, packaging, dispensing and sale of medical cannabis.
He’s ready to get started in the medical cannabis business, but the court fight continues.
“There is a tremendous need in the state of Alabama for this medicine to hit the market,” he said. “Now because we’re held up in legal actions by the unsuccessful applicants who’d rather see this program fall apart as to not get a license no one can move forward to get medicine to the patients.”
Robertson’s company started in the hemp business, and if the court fight is resolved, he says they can move forward quickly.
“The beauty of what we’ve already done over the past several years in preparation is we’re close to being ready to go,” he said. “We can finish out our cultivation facilities and while they’re being finished out and our cultivation begins, where we grow the plants, we’ll be finishing out our dispensaries. So, we already know how to process the materials, to make the oil, to make the product.
“It’s just a matter of a few months after being awarded that license to being able to get products to the shelves to patients in Alabama.”
The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission has admitted mistakes in its company scoring system, and in the need to hold multiple votes, but Commission Chairman John McMillan recently called the lawsuits seeking to reopen the license award process – “frivolous.”
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Robertson says the commission made the right choices and the Alabama Legislature’s decision not to make changes to the current medical cannabis law is a good sign.
“I would say I’m more optimistic right now than I’ve been in the last few months,” he said. “Through the entire legislative session it was clear there was not a fix needed. There was not enough legislative support to change the rules, change the laws, and I think that showed good support for the commission and showed they are ready for this process to move forward, just like we are.
Robertson’s company plans to have medical marijuana dispensaries in Cullman, Montgomery, Decatur, Athens and Florence.
While the integrated license and dispensary license holders are facing a court-ordered stay, Robertson said work is being done in some areas of the medical cannabis business.
“One thing people should understand is some of the independent licenses have already began, because they’ve been awarded licenses,” he said. “So, we already have cultivators growing cannabis in the state. We already have processors building out.
“But because of the legal actions none of us can really get a finished result. We’re not able to start the dispensary operation and sell the products to the patients and the integrators, we can’t really get started, at all. So, we’d love to see this legal process end and the temporary restraining order by Judge Anderson be released.”
