I think that the Commission and staff have more encouragement than they ever had in the past.
By Alander Rocha, Alabama Reflector
It looks like any other farm in Cullman County. There are a few buildings and one that is destined to become a greenhouse. The front office looks—and smells—like any other office space, with their current hemp-derived products on display and a couple of private offices behind a conference table.
When Joey Robertson opens the door in front of his office at Wagon Trail Med-Serv, he releases a strong herbal and skunky scent.
Robertson is based in that location and has produced hemp-derived products, such as gummies since 2019.
Robertson told a group of reporters during a visit to his office last month that “it’s essentially what we will be doing in medical except with some improvements to infrastructure and a larger fence.”
Robertson was awarded an integrated facility license by the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission in 2023. This means he could grow, process, and sell his products with one license. Alabama’s approved 2021 medical cannabis program remains in limbo, resulting in Robertson having multimillion-dollar equipment sitting idle.
He said that hemp had helped to offset or carry most of his losses. It’s gotten to the point where it was difficult for hemp to flourish, you could say. [medical cannabis] “.”.
After over two years of legal wrangling over the licensing process—and over four years after the Alabama Legislature first approved the medical cannabis program—state officials and cannabis producers like Robertson think they’re moving closer to making cannabis available for patients throughout the state, thanks in part to recent state appellate court rulings.
John McMillan of the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission said, “I believe the commission and staff are much more optimistic than at any other time to date.” He is now “kind of turning around” to be “very hopeful” about the possibility of medical marijuana being available for Alabamians before the end of 2025. However, he noted that this is the best-case scenario.
Although there is still much to be done, many obstacles remain. This includes ongoing legal cases and strong views about the fairness and structure of the program.
Marty Schelper is the founder and president, Alabama Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition and the Alabama Cannabis Coalition. She said that she was sceptical about the whole program.
Schelper called the legal medical cannabis cartel a medical cannabis framework. She believes the system was designed to limit competition and control the industry. This allows license holders “to set their prices on whatever product they are selling, as you don’t have any competition”.
Schelper stated that “they created the Alabama Medical Cannabis cartel and are not allowed to have free markets. That’s why they cannot implement medical marijuana in the State of Alabama.”
Some are optimistic. Ray French, the CEO of Specialty Medical Products of Alabama – a company which won licenses in all three rounds – said that operators that can produce, process, and sell the finished product, such as his business, would be able start operations within “a couple of weeks” once the Commission completes its process, since they already have the equipment and certifications necessary.
The program is stuck
Alabama’s medical cannabis law allows doctors to prescribe cannabis in certain conditions. Only gummies, patches, tinctures and oils (in peach flavor) are approved as product forms. Raw plant material, smoking and other forms of smoking cannabis remain prohibited.
The program will have up to 37 marijuana dispensaries in the entire state when it is fully functional. The commission can allow the licensees who have been operating dispensaries at least for a year to open more dispensaries.
Robertson stated that they intend to open dispensaries at Cullman and Decatur. He also said the locations of dispensaries are still subject to change. According to Robertson, some cities are more likely to have planned dispensaries than other rural areas.
Robertson stated, “If we work with the Commission, and they let us make changes, I think they’ll allow more people to get coverage for medicine.”
However, the licensing process which started in 2023 was controversial. In June that year, the commission withdrew its first round of licensing awards due to controversy surrounding scoring. The AMCC was accused of violating the Open Meetings Act, which led to the suspension of a second award round later in the year. The AMCC awarded licenses in 2023 but they have since been involved in legal proceedings.
Due to ongoing litigation, the AMCC is unable to issue licenses for integrated facilities and dispensaries, required to allow doctors to be certified before they can recommend drugs to their patients.
In May, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals overturned a permanent restraining order imposed on the Montgomery County Circuit Court in April. This had prevented the award of the licenses for the previous round because the rules were emergency.
Alabama Court of Civil Appeals reversed a temporary restraining orders that had prevented the Commission from issuing licenses for allegedly failing to comply with Administrative Procedure Act. They said Anderson lacked authority when they issued a stop in favor of Alabama Always a company that was seeking a Medical Cannabis License.
Five parents have filed a lawsuit asking the court to require the AMCC establish a registry of medical cannabis patients. The scheduled hearing was delayed late last month. As of Thursday morning it still hadn’t been rescheduled.
McMillan said that the only thing left for the Commission to do, before it finalizes awards, is conduct hearings to investigate, which may be requested by anyone in the category of license.
McMillan stated, “We are completely out of the picture, there is no communication whatsoever. He and the applicants are now in charge.
McMillan, however, was vague in his response to the question of a timetable for hearings. He said several factors may influence this.
McMillan stated that it depends on “how many applicants wish to be present at the hearing and how long the judge takes to conduct the preparations for hearings, then hold them.”
Robertson told an interviewer that this prediction is reasonable. Robertson said that his integrated facility which includes a greenhouse indoor and an outdoor, along with processing and production, was ready to start operations once he received final approval.
He plans to procure the raw material first from cannabis cultivators whose licenses are approved, and who have grown cannabis since 2024’s first half.
“We would like to offer people the opportunity to send their biomass our way. We can convert it to oil products—either purchase it from them to resell or to produce their products for them to sell in the independent dispensaries,” Robertson said.
Since cultivators have had their licenses for a year, Mr. Henson said the rest of the steps should be complete within a week.
He believes that he doesn’t need to learn much because he has been a managing director of Wagon Trail Hemp Farms since 2019 and they are making hemp products from the seed up. He said the facility can process up to 1,000 pounds per day of raw material, or about 80 kilograms of oil.
This is enough to cover the state of Alabama. Robertson stated that the amount of oil would be enough to make 3.5 millions doses.
After the oil is processed and tested the production process can be quite fast. One shift can yield 30,000 to 40 000 gummies.
Continued litigation
However, lawsuits continue. Will Somerville, a lawyer representing Alabama Always, a firm that filed AMCC for not being granted a license in May said the hearings were to be conducted “on a level playing field”, saying applicants originally chosen in December of 2023, should not have an unfair advantage.
Somerville believes that there is widespread belief among the public that certain licenses are awarded to people who do not make as much noise about the application process as other applicants. This practice, according to him, is illegal and unfair.
Somerville explained, “I’m sure that they did this to reward the people who had sucked them up.” “I do not think that there is any other basis on which to award these licenses.”
French of Specialty Medical Products of Alabama called these claims “unbelievable.” According to him, his company was well-qualified and had extensive experience working in the Alabama hemp sector. Oscity Labs produces CBD edibles (such as tinctures and CBD infused chocolates) in a single facility.
He said that the facilities have been certified for Current Good Manufacturing Practices, a set regulations enforced and monitored by FDA to make sure products are manufactured consistently under healthy and controlled conditions.
“We are confident that not only are we qualified in every aspect, we also are among the few operators who have already been CGMPed. French stated that this was a big step forward.
Alabama Always filed a federal suit alleging AMCC commissioners acted in retaliation against anyone who was challenging the process. Somerville stated that the lawsuit seeks out the extent of misconduct by the AMCC and how it impacts its clients. Although monetary damage is possible, he believes the suit will not stall the process.
Somerville claimed that “we don’t believe a great deal of these commissioners are able to be neutral”, and the suit is meant to guarantee the process follows the law. No hearing date has been scheduled for the lawsuit.
McMillan stated that the timeline to make medical cannabis accessible also depends on the number of applicants who participate in the investigation hearings and the length of time it takes the administrative law judges to conduct and prepare them.
French described the ruling of the court in overturning the restraining-order as “very good news.”
However, the waiting period can cause financial stress for those who are waiting to start production. French noted that keeping employees and operations operational has also been challenging, along with maintaining expensive facilities, without the ability to sell their products.
Robertson estimated that, after investing about $4 million in the facilities, he’d break even around two years later. He said it may take four years to reach break-even due to the delays.
It’s a multimillion-dollar project at this stage, between the legal fees and the operational fees. And holding the entire facility and all other costs. Robertson explained that the $4 million infrastructure was sitting there and they couldn’t use it. Then, we had to pay for all of the operations and legal costs.
Alabama Reflector was the first to publish this article.
Philip Steffan provided the photo.