Judge orders halt to Alabama medical marijuana licenses – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

Posted: Jun 23, 2023 9:43 PM CDT

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WAKA 8

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press

A judge on Friday ordered Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission to temporarily halt the issuance of licenses to growers and distributers as two companies argue the state used a flawed and secretive process to selectin winners for the potentially lucrative licenses.

The order re-enforces a decision made last week by the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission to stay the licenses awarded on June 12 after the chairman said they discovered “potential inconsistency in the tabulation of scoring data.”

Montgomery Circuit Judge James Anderson on Friday issued a temporary restraining order, staying the licenses until the issue regarding the scoring data is resolved. The state and companies agreed to the stay, which also preserves the denied companies’ right to request an administrative appeal and review.

Anderson scheduled a July 13 hearing on the companies’ request for a preliminary injunction as the companies argue the entire selection process was flawed.

Alabama Always and Hornet Medicinals, two companies that applied for the five integrated “seed to sale” licenses, have sued the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission arguing there were problems with the process for awarding licenses. A lawyer for Alabama Always argued in court filing that the commission used anonymous graders hired by the University of…