CULLMAN, Ala. – Late Wednesday evening, Jan. 3, Montgomery Circuit Court Judge James Anderson issued a temporary restraining order, banning the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) from issuing licenses to five would-be Integrated Facilities – facilities with the ability to grow, cultivate, dispense, transport and sell medical cannabis. This comes a mere five days after the same judge signed a TRO blocking dispensary licenses from being issued on Dec. 29, 2023.
Unlike the TRO that was issued for the dispensary licenses that left Cullman County’s Wagon Trail Med-Serv safe in the licensing process, this new TRO does affect CEO and President Joey Robertson and his facility Wagon Trail Med-Serv as it was in the running to receive their licensure from the AMCC and among the top five integrated facilities in the state of Alabama.
“We appreciate the judicial system and the rights that people have to air their grievances. We are still in a great position as the second-ranked awardee, unanimous approval by the AMCC; however, we would love for the judicial system to just let this move forward,” said Robertson.
Although Alabama was one of the first states in the South to legalize medical marijuana in May 2021, a multitude of legal stalls have halted the license issuance schedule and sabotaged the process numerous times. Twice the vetting and consideration process for licenses has been restarted, due to questions about validity and accuracy in scoring methods used by the third party responsible for rankings. Those questions and concerns led to a new TRO – bringing into question the validity of the third and most recent round of rankings.
Robertson said of the AMCC and the medical cannabis program, “The integrity of the program is solid, but they had some learning curves and they made the best decision. I hope they’re able to go forward with it. We have had such good support locally – it’s been tremendous and so positive – we just want to get this medicine to people that need it.”
A hearing on upholding or dismissing the newest TRO will be held on Jan. 25, 2024.
Read more at www.cullmantribune.com/tag/wagon-trail-med-serv.
Copyright 2024 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
