By Alander Rocha, Alabama Reflector
The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission Tuesday requested that a Montgomery Circuit Court dismiss a suit filed by Chicago-based Verano Holdings.
Verano has a chapter in Alabama. In August, Verano sued the AMCC, claiming that the AMCC could not revoke licenses, and its power was “both beyond and at odds with the authority granted to it by Alabama’s Legislature.”
In the first round, in June, the firm was awarded an integrated facility. The firm did not receive a license during a second award round in this month after the commission halted the awards over concerns about how the applications had been scored initially.
Verano claimed that although the Administrative Procedure Act and the Commission’s Rules establish a way to challenge the AMCC’s decisions to award or deny licenses, they do not allow the AMCC the power to “void” licenses previously granted on its own.
The Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge James Anderson, during an hearing on Tuesday, asked Verano’s lawyers if they were arguing the commission has no authority to withdraw licenses in any circumstances after they have granted a license.
Anderson asked Saxon Main of Verano Holdings, “Is there a circumstance you can think of which would allow the Commission to claw back the awards–let’s ask questions of fraud?”
Main stated that a statute states that they can revoke licenses after proper notice and an hearing.
Verano received the highest scores for both awards rounds. The AMCC halted the process after noticing several “inconsistencies in the scoring of the applications”.
Verano received a higher score after the inconsistencies were corrected, but the company did not receive a new license from the commission on August 10.
Anderson stated that he would first resolve Verano’s motion for dismissal before proceeding with Alabama Always’s lawsuit regarding an alleged violation of the Open Meetings Act. He is expected to make a decision on the motion by Wednesday afternoon.
Next week, the hearing on AMCC’s alleged Open Meetings Act continues.
This article was originally published by The Alabama Reflector.
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The post Alabama Medical Cannabis Regulators Want To Dismiss Verano’s Licensing Lawsuit first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
