The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) on Thursday approved two new cannabis cultivation licenses, Alabama Daily News reports.
The new licenses were won by Pure by Sirmon Farms, LLC and Blackberry Farms, LLC but the licenses will not be issued for about two weeks, according to an Alabama Daily News report. Once they have received the licenses, the companies will be able to join the seven other licensed cultivators, the report said.
Alabama awarded its first medical cannabis licenses last year but the process was stymied by a series of lawsuits filed by companies whose applications had been denied. Plaintiffs claimed the licensing process was flawed and officials voted to pause the licensing process while addressing the issues. Ultimately, officials awarded the medical cannabis licenses for the third time last December but the process was contested by yet another lawsuit.
Some commissioners last week said they wanted to pursue resolving the lawsuits that are still affecting the program.
“I’m getting concerned about the extent of litigation that just seems to never end while there are people out there who are in desperate need of this medication. So I’m curious as to are we making any efforts whatsoever towards trying to figure out how to settle this?” — Commission member Loree Skelton, a health care lawyer, via Alabama Daily News
Officials discussed appointing a special master to resolve the licensing issues but commission member Sam Blakemore, a pharmacist, said the prospects of getting a court-appointed special master would be slim because such an agreement “would likely need 100% agreement of all the parties in those downstream categories of dispensaries and integrated licenses.”
Alabama lawmakers considered a proposal earlier this year that sought to end the program’s ongoing legal disputes by increasing the number of cannabis licenses in the state.
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