Alabama marijuana agency’s grievance process ‘inadequate

Alabama’s controversial medical marijuana regulatory agency acted “properly” when it revoked cannabis business permits issued in 2023, an appeals court has ruled.

However, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals’ Friday ruling – which stemmed from a lawsuit brought by some cannabis businesses denied a permit – will affect litigation involving the state’s long-delayed MMJ industry, according to the Alabama Political Reporter.

According to 1819 News, the appeals court found the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) “properly exercised its limited power” when it voted to rescind licenses awarded in August 2023 – the second of three highly controversial permitting rounds.

The three plaintiffs in the lawsuit – Southeast Cannabis Co., Yellowhammer Medical Dispensaries and TheraTrue Alabama – were among the applicants awarded licenses and then saw them revoked.

However, the court added, the AMCC’s grievance process for parties denied a permit is “inadequate.”

That’s because anyone found to have been improperly denied a license would not be able to obtain one already provided to another company.

The appeals court also ruled that the multiple disputes around how the AMCC awarded coveted cannabis permits must be resolved in Montgomery County Circuit Court, according to the Alabama Political Reporter.

The AMCC’s licensure process has become a yearslong odyssey marred by multiple rounds of errors, cancellations and lawsuits.

The appeals court ruling came after some of the rejected businesses sued, alleging the AMCC did not adhere to state law when creating its licensing process.

Oral arguments in one lawsuit are scheduled for Jan. 13.

In a statement to the Alabama Political Reporter, an attorney for one of the plaintiffs in the suit said the appeals court ruling left him “encouraged.”