Lawyers involved in the conflict that has delayed medical marijuana in Alabama are trying to reach an agreement through court-ordered mediation.
Mark Wilkerson, an attorney for the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission, said there have been at least three mediation sessions involving all the parties in the lawsuits. Wilkerson gave members of the AMCC an update on the litigation during a Zoom meeting Thursday.
The disputes are mostly over the AMCC’s efforts to issue business licenses to integrated companies that will cultivate, process, and dispense medical cannabis products.
Some companies denied licenses claim the AMCC has not followed the law in awarding licenses. The AMCC disputes that, but the court found enough merit to the claims to put the process on hold.
Retired Montgomery County Circuit Judge Eugene Reese is overseeing the mediation. Wilkerson said the talks are confidential.
“I will say that I think progress has been made generally,” Wilkerson said. “And Judge Reese has done a good job at pushing that process, communicating with everybody.
“And we’ve certainly made it clear that our goal under the participation is to achieve the objectives that the Legislature has given you to have an outcome that results in products being available to Alabama patients, people that need it.”
The Legislature approved medical marijuana in 2021 and created the AMCC to oversee the industry. The AMCC awarded business licenses three times in 2023 but rescinded the first two rounds of awards because of mistakes and lawsuits filed by companies that were denied licenses.
The AMCC successfully issued licenses for cultivators and in some other categories in December 2023. But licenses for the integrated companies and for dispensaries are on hold. That has prevented the industry from fully launching.
The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals will hold oral arguments Monday in a key part of the case.
The AMCC is appealing a temporary restraining order issued last July by Montgomery Circuit Judge James Anderson, who is presiding over the lawsuits. The order prohibits the AMCC from issuing the licenses to integrated companies.
The Compassion Act, passed by Alabama lawmakers in May 2021, made Alabama one of more than 30 states to authorize medical marijuana.
Patients who receive a recommendation from a certified doctor and receive a medical cannabis card from the AMCC will be able to buy medical marijuana products at licensed dispensaries.
The products can be used to treat a wide range of conditions, including chronic pain, weight loss and nausea from cancer, depression, panic disorder, epilepsy, muscle spasms caused by disease or spinal cord injuries, PTSD, and others.
Products can include gummies, tablets, capsules, tinctures, patches, oils, and other forms allowed by the legislation.
The disputes are mostly over efforts to issue business licenses to integrated companies that will cultivate, process, and dispense medical cannabis products. Read More
