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“The overhead view is of me in a maze.”
I don’t know what it says about me that the great Trey Anastasio and Tom Marshall of Phish fame were able to encapsulate my feelings so neatly – and the feelings of so many participants in the Alabama Medical Cannabis licensing program – about where we stand.
“And I take a wrong turn and I’m on the wrong path
Embarrassed with failure, I try to reverse
The course that my tread had already traversed
Inside me a voice was repeating this phrase:
‘You’ve lost it, you’ll never get out of this maze’”
I’ve always been fascinated by mazes. Fascinated and a bit nervous. Perhaps it’s because my parents let me watch The Shining when I was too young. Although, to be fair to my parents, I’m not sure there is any age immune to the anxiety induced by a young Jack Nicklaus breaking the bathroom wall and saying “heeeeeeere’s Johnny!”
And make no mistake about it. The Alabama Medical Cannabis program is in a maze right now. Injunctions have been in place for more than a year prohibiting the AMCC from issuing licenses in the dispensary and integrated facility categories. The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals has issued several orders on narrow grounds that have created a sort of Penrose stairs connecting the trial court and the appellate court. Why is this delay so consequential? Aside from the frustration and substantial commitment of time and resources by applicants and regulators, Alabama law does not permit physicians to certify that any patient has a qualifying condition – or even allow physicians to undergo training to become certified to qualify patients – until at least one dispensary license is issued. As a consequence, this delay means that Alabama’s patient count will almost certainly be artificially low during the initial phases of the program.
What’s Next?
Looking around and finding themselves in this maze, many have turned to the Alabama Legislature for help. This is nothing new to those who have been working on medical cannabis since it was enacted into law in 2021. Like clockwork, every year when a new legislative session approaches, certain dissatisfied applicants use the specter of a “legislative fix” in an effort to bring other stakeholders to the table to find a compromise. The problem with finding a compromise under the existing law is that limited licensing is a zero-sum proposition and there is very little chance all applicants will agree to the same rules.
One thing that seems hard for many stakeholders to believe is that there may he light at the end of the tunnel (or an exit to this maze if we’re going to keep up this little parable). And that path just may be the court system – specifically the Court of Civil Appeals and perhaps the Alabama Supreme Court. I’m not going to get into why the Montgomery County Circuit Court has not been able to resolve the dispute and allow the licensing process to move forward. There are plenty of people and entities who may deserve blame, and there are plenty of theories about nefarious activities and motives on the part of certain participants in the process. I’m not going to delve into that because I don’t have hard evidence of such things and I’d rather not get sued when all I wanted to do was write a blog based around Phish lyrics and a Stanley Kubrick film (nailed it).
Instead, I want to focus on how upcoming arguments in the Court of Civil Appeals could be a breakthrough. The court has been petitioned to address several issues that, depending on how the court rules, could either fast track the process towards a speedy resolution or make clear that the process was inherently flawed and begin a new process that can withstand judicial scrutiny.
Conclusion
I would forgive anyone who has participated in, or even followed from a distance, the Alabama Medical Cannabis program for being dubious that the court system is the prescription for their problems. No doubt it has been the court system, combined with actions of the AMCC, that many ascribe blame for the problems in the first place.
But I choose to believe there is a path forward. That those charged with administering justice will ultimately fulfill that mandate. And I say that not as a starry-eyed optimist, but one who has spent the better part of a decade watching other states struggle to do the same and eventually come out the other side.
“}]] “The overhead view is of me in a maze.” I don’t know what it says about me that the great Trey Anastasio and Tom Marshall of Phish fame were able to encapsulate my feelings so neatly – and the feelings of so many participants in the Alabama Medical Cannabis licensing program – about where we stand. “And I take a wrong turn and I’m on the wrong path Read More
