Alabama Always sues state commission to overturn entire cannabis licensing process

One of the perennial contenders and most litigious license losers in Alabama has for years now been medical marijuana hopeful Alabama Always, and the company filed a new lawsuit this week, asking a state judge to overturn the entire permitting process to date.

Alabama Always also filed a petition directly with the state Medical Marijuana Commission in an attempt to get currently serving commissioners disqualified from overseeing the resumption of licensing, according to Alabama Political Reporter. It filed its latest lawsuit in Montgomery County Circuit Court, alleging both federal and state violations by the commission.

The petition to the commission argues that the commissioners “show they are incapable of making a fair and unbiased decision on our application,” Alabama Always attorney Will Somerville told the Reporter, adding that commissioners have referred to his client as “the bad guys” and some have said their goal is to ensure the company doesn’t receive a permit.

“It’s clear our application is not being judged on merit. Their words and actions paint a disturbing picture of a regulatory body that has already made up its mind – regardless of the facts,” Somerville said.

Alabama Always has never been named as a license recipient, despite the commission having held multiple permitting rounds in the past few years. Each of those rounds was either paused or rescinded after various stakeholders filed suit.

The lawsuit, meanwhile, argues that the commission violated the company’s rights under both the U.S. Constitution and Alabama state laws, and demands that a judge halt the entire permitting process “until a legal and impartial review can take place,” according to the Reporter.

An earlier lawsuit from Alabama Always just last month resulted in an appeals court siding with the commission and ruling that a lower state court exceeded its authority when it granted a temporary restraining order in January 2024 that halted the medical marijuana permitting. The appeals court ruled that Alabama Always hadn’t fully exhausted the administrative appeals process regarding its not winning a license, but it also ordered the commission to fully review the company’s application.

The commission has been attempting to award medical marijuana permits since 2023, after the state legislature legalized medical cannabis in 2021.