Alabama Medical Marijuana Regulators award five licenses to vertically integrated businesses

We’re ready. We have already built the facilities. We already have the facilities.

By Alander Rocha, Alabama Reflector

The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission awarded five licenses to integrated facilities on Tuesday, completing its third attempt in this year at awarding licenses for medical marijuana production.

The AMCC awarded the awards to the facilities, which can grow, process and even sell medical marijuana on-site. This follows four days of presentations by applicants last week and months of litigation regarding the AMCC’s previous methods of evaluating the applications.

“[Today] marked a significant milestone in our history.” AMCC Chair Rex Vaughn said that the third time could be a charm.

Five integrated facilities were awarded licenses: Trulieve AL in Lowndes County, Sustainable Alabama in Lee County, Wagon Trail Medical Cannabis in Loxley in Baldwin County, and Specialty Medical Products of Alabama in Wetumpka in Elmore County.

On December 1, the commission issued 20 licenses to cultivate, process, dispense, transport, and test cannabis.

Thirty-eight applicants initially applied, but two companies withdrew their application. In the beginning, 38 companies applied. However, two of them subsequently withdrawn their applications. Three companies were disqualified because they failed to include pass/fail questions on their application.

Ray French, Chief Operating Officer for Specialty Medical Products of Alabama, said that the process was nerve-racking. However he was thrilled to receive a licence. Oscity Labs is his other business. It produces CBD edibles and CBD tinctures at an integrated facility.

We’re ready. We have already built the necessary facilities. He said, “We have everything in order and will absolutely be able supply the market.”

The commission will then conduct site inspections. A license denial also has a 14-day window for requesting an investigation hearing before the Commission.

The AMCC awarded the first licenses in June. However, scoring irregularities caused the commission to annul the awards and re-evaluate the application.

In August , a lawsuit claiming that the commission had violated the Open Meetings Act stopped the process once again. The commission rescinded the awards again, and negotiated with claimants to determine a way to proceed with the awards.

After months of legal disputes, and after stalled negotiations and legal disputes that halted settlement talks, the AMCC adopted a new set of licensing and application rules on October. This was in response to the latest round applications.

Alabama’s state legislature approved a medical marijuana program in 2021. However, the legislation authorizing the program didn’t allow for licenses to be granted until September 1, 2022. AMCC started accepting applications in late 2018.

Patients certified by participating doctors will be able use medical cannabis to treat 15 conditions including cancer, chronic back pain, depression, and Parkinson’s. Patients must apply for a medical cannabis card in order to purchase it from licensed distributors.

The law prohibits the consumption of medical cannabis in food or as a smoked product. The products will come in the form of tablets, capsules and gelatins. They can also be found as oils, creams or gels. Cannabis gummies can only be peach-flavored.

Alabama Always, who sued the commission multiple times over the licensing procedure, has been denied a license for a third time. Will Somerville was the attorney for Alabama Always and he previously stated that the ultimate goal of the lawsuits were for Alabama Always be awarded a licence. He did not say whether or not the company would continue to pursue legal remedy.

He said, “It is still open but we have no idea what we will do.” I need to speak to my clients. We’ll work it out as we go.”

This article was originally published by Alabama Reflector.