Alabama is steadily moving ahead to launch its medical cannabis industry after becoming one of the first states in the Deep South to legalize medical cannabis through the Alabama Legislature back in 2021.
The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) awarded integrated licenses to five companies on Tuesday out of 33 total applicants, as reported by AL.com. The companies that received licensure will be allowed to cultivate, process, transport and dispense medical cannabis, though they will not be formally issued until Jan. 9. Until then, licensees are required to pay license fees as the AMCC moves forward to conduct inspections.
Per the medical cannabis law, the AMCC could not award more than five licenses, and a minimum of one in five licenses is required to be at least 51% minority-owned. That license went to Trulieve Alabama, Inc., also the only “minority-owned business” that received a license during this first round of awards.
Trulieve was originally founded in Florida—and is also one of the main backers of Florida’s pending adult-use cannabis legislation—though it has since expanded into other states. As noted by Ganjapreneur, the development highlights a concern of many cannabis professionals and advocates, namely in that large corporate entities are partnering with minority operators to gain licensure under social equity provisions in newly emerging markets.
AMCC also awarded licenses to Sustainable Alabama, LLC; Wagon Trail Med-Serv LLC; Flowerwood Medical Cannabis, LLC; and Specialty Medical Products of Alabama, LLC.
So long as there are no further delays, Commission Chair Rex Vaughn said that medical cannabis products could be available in Alabama as soon as spring of 2024.
“The next two weeks we’ll have investigative staff that will go and look at the facilities,” Vaughn said. “They’ll do on site inspections to make sure that the facility is up to par with what they’ve been portrayed to be so that they can move forward when we indeed issue the license at the end of December and into January.”
This was the third attempt by the AMCC to award licenses, due to prior procedural issues and litigation. The Commission has since adjusted its selection process, conducting open meetings and updating previous evaluation methods.
Ray French, CEO and co-founder of Specialty Medical Products of Alabama, shared his gratitude in being part of the state’s emerging medical cannabis industry. The company has already produced CBD gummies, and French told AL.com that the team is eager to branch out into new products. The company was bypassed during the two previous licensing award rounds, which the AMCC ultimately withdrew.
French voiced that the company is “so proud” of the AMCC for taking the time to get to know applicants and better consider the path forward.
“I’m so proud for all of our staff and employees and everybody that’s worked so hard. And also for the other people that were awarded. We’re looking forward to helping build an industry here in Alabama,” French said.
Another company, Alabama Always LLC, was not so lucky. It has filed a bulk of the litigation against the AMCC’s procedures and ultimately did not receive a license. According to William Somerville, an attorney for the company, the team is looking to assess what happened, regroup and figure out the path forward from there. As the company has continually stressed their readiness to begin cultivating cannabis almost immediately, the team has questioned whether other applicants are as prepared as they were.
With the licenses awarded, physicians can now begin certifying patients for medical cannabis use, so long as they meet the state’s qualifying conditions. The Alabama medical cannabis program allows for the sale of a variety of products including tablets, capsules, tincture, topicals, patches and oils. The program prohibits “raw plant material,” products that can be smoked or vaped and food products like cookies or candies.
