In a double blow to the Alabama Medical Marijuana Board, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals on Friday handed down two rulings in favor of medical marijuana applicant Alabama Always, paving the way for the next step in the company's efforts to force the Alabama Medical Marijuana Board to comply with the law enacted by the state Legislature.

The Court denied the Commission's petition for a writ of mandamus, finding that AMCC “had not met its burden of showing that there was no adequate post-judgment appellate remedy and that AMCC raised issues that have not yet been decided in the Circuit Court.”

Will Somerville, an attorney for Alabama Always, said the ruling is a positive step in the process.

“We can now demand discovery and bring all this to light that will allow us to determine exactly how this committee has operated,” Somerville said.

Alabama Always and other medical marijuana applicants have been locked in court for more than a year, urging lawmakers to do everything they can to ensure that the AMCC follows the law passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey. The commission used a somewhat secretive scoring system to select applicants and failed to follow specifics of the law, such as requiring applicants to post a $2 million bond or have a cultivation facility ready within 60 days of receiving a license.

“All we've been trying to do for the past year or so is hold AMCC accountable for their practices and processes,” Somerville said. “It's simple. We just do what's laid out in the law passed by Congress. It's a step-by-step, not a complicated process. I just don't understand why AMCC has made this so complicated.”

Medical marijuana, which was legalized in Alabama in 2021, is not yet available to patients.

“The commission has had multiple opportunities to get this right – to simply follow the statute, implement the guidelines and grant licenses to businesses that meet the requirements,” Somerville said. “Yet the commission continues to ignore the law, which is completely unnecessary and continues to harm patients who need medical cannabis.”

This story began in 2022 when Alabama Always, along with 37 other entities, applied to AMCC for one of five available integrated facility licenses granted under Alabama Statute 1975, §20-2A-67. These licenses include the cultivation, processing, dispensing, transporting and selling medical cannabis. Despite multiple awards and subsequent revocations due to procedural errors, Alabama Always never received a license.

On January 3, Alabama Always filed a notice of appeal challenging AMCC's December 12, 2023 decision. The company had previously filed lawsuits against AMCC, but withdrew those lawsuits and refiled a consolidated petition for judicial review and an amended complaint. On March 28, 2024, Alabama Always moved to dismiss its pending lawsuit against AMCC on the grounds of AMCC's sovereign immunity, and filed a new lawsuit on April 3, 2024.

The Montgomery Circuit Court granted Alabama Always's motion for leave of judicial review on April 10, 2024, but AMCC opposed the ruling. AMCC argued that Alabama Always's motion was premature and procedurally deficient.

The Court of Civil Appeals noted that Alabama Statute 1975, Section 41-22-20(d) allows for an extension of the deadline for filing a petition for judicial review if “good cause” is shown. The circuit court's April 10 order found that Alabama Always showed good cause for its late filing. The Court of Appeals found no grounds to overturn the decision, emphasizing that mandamus is an extraordinary remedy that is not typically available in procedural disputes such as these unless the appeal is incomplete.

AMCC’s petition also raised issues of sovereign immunity and exhaustion of administrative remedies, but those arguments were found to be premature because the Circuit Court had not yet ruled on the motion to dismiss on those grounds.

The Court of Civil Appeals denied AMCC’s petition for a writ of mandamus, a decision that allows Alabama Always to move forward with a judicial review of AMCC’s license denial and continues the legal battle over Alabama’s medical marijuana licenses.

The ruling adds a new layer to the ongoing legal and regulatory challenges facing companies looking to get a foothold in Alabama's burgeoning medical marijuana industry.