Alabama Medical Marijuana Regulators Discuss Challenges, Updates To New Licensing Rules

“Every day we draw closer to seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with litigation.”

By Alander Rocha, Alabama Reflector

The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) convened Wednesday to discuss ongoing legal challenges and administrative updates in the state’s medical cannabis program.

The procedural meeting, which included updates on ongoing litigation that has largely halted the process, was held to update regulatory rules to conform with HB 390, sponsored by Rep. Danny Crawford (R-Athens), which shifted licensing powers for cultivators from the Department of Agriculture and Industries to the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission.

“We’re pretty much handling some housekeeping measures addressing things for the Alabama Department of Ag and Industries, [which] had asked to withdraw from some of their responsibilities and put that back on the commission,” said Rex Vaughn, chair of the AMCC.

The Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries commissioner, Rick Pate, was named as a defendant in an amended lawsuit filed in March. The plaintiffs—medical cannabis companies denied a license—allege that Pate “unlawfully abdicated his statutory duty to exercise decision-making authority over the cultivation aspects of integrated facility applicants.”

The state’s medical cannabis law, passed in 2021, originally stated that “The Department of Agriculture and Industries shall license and regulate the cultivation of cannabis” and that for “integrated facility licenses, the commission and the [Department of Agriculture and Industries] shall enter into a memorandum of understanding relating to the sharing of regulatory and licensing and enforcement authority over licensees with regard to the cultivation function.”

The lawsuit from the medical cannabis companies claimed that a memorandum of understanding had not been entered.

The law has since been amended to say the “commission may seek and shall receive the cooperation of the Department of Agriculture and Industries.”

The proposed regulations will go to the Legislative Council Agency, and once they’re published, the public will have 35 days to provide comments. According to Brittany Peters, a spokesperson for the AMCC, cultivator license responsibilities remain with the Department of Agriculture and Industries until the regulations are approved.

Pate has since asked the court to dismiss the claims against him in his official capacity as commissioner, but the court has not taken it up yet.

The Legislature approved in 2021 a medical marijuana program, allowing certified patients to use medical cannabis for 15 conditions, including cancer and chronic pain. Patients need a card to obtain cannabis from licensed dispensers. The law prohibits smoking or consuming cannabis in food, offering it instead in forms like tablets, oils, creams and peach-flavored gummies.

The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) began accepting applications in late 2022, but the licensing process faced delays due to scoring inconsistencies in the June licensing attempt and administrative issues in August. Despite new rules issued in October and another round of licenses in December, litigation halted the process again in January. The program remains stalled as there is a temporary stay on dispensary and integrated facility licenses.

“Every day we draw closer to seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with litigation. We cannot make courts move any quicker than they are, but we are committed to addressing these challenges as transparently and proactively as possible,” Vaughn said after the meeting.

This story was first published by Alabama Reflector.