“They said they would comply with this act and then they did not.”
By Alander Rocha, Alabama Reflector
A medical cannabis company filed a suit against the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission on Tuesday, alleging that the commission had violated the Open Meetings Act of the state at its meeting held on August 10.
Alabama Always, , which sued the commission last month for the appointment of Steven Stokes as former chair, alleged in a lawsuit that members of the commission had privately nominated firms to be considered by the public during an executive meeting.
The lawsuit claims that during the executive session commission members were told to seal up their nominations and vote on the top companies at the public meeting of August 10.
In a telephone interview on Tuesday, Will Somerville said, “They promised the judge that they would comply with this act and then they did not.” “I think that the evidence we presented in our motion was very clear that they violated the Act.”
At its meeting on August 10, the AMCC awarded licenses to produce and distribute medical cannabis, after suspending earlier awards due to concerns about the evaluation process.
The commission has granted licenses for medical cannabis to companies that were awarded licenses in the previous two-month period. Alabama Always did not receive a license during either round.
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Brittany Peters said that the AMCC is aware of the lawsuit but cannot comment.
The lawsuit alleges that the AMCC Chair Rex Vaughn, along with attorney Will Webster, made comments during the meeting that implied that they would discuss “impermissible topics” in the Executive Session. It also claims that the University of South Alabama staff joining the executive sessions was a violation of OMA.
At the meeting on August 10, Lynne Chronister and Kristen Roberts of the University of South Alabama, vice presidents for research and economic growth and the financial officer of the university, both spoke before the commission to discuss flaws in an evaluation process that was overseen by the University. These flaws caused the first pause to be taken in issuing licenses.
The lawsuit claims that Webster’s remarks before entering executive session did NOT suggest that the session would be for discussing a “state sanctioned profession,” rather it was “to discuss in private, away from public scrutiny, and against the clear policy of Alabama, whether applicants for medical marijuana licenses can comply with the requirements of Darren Wesley ‘Ato’ Hall Compassion Act.”
Somerville stated, “That’s exactly the type of thing that should be public.”
This article was originally published by Alabama Reflector.
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The post Alabama Medical Marijuana Company Sues State Regulators over Alleged Open Meetings Law In Licensing Decisions appeared initially on Marijuana Moment.
