Judge installs mediator in Alabama’s medical cannabis licensing dispute
- An Alabama judge has appointed a mediator, retired Judge Eugene Reese, to help resolve a dispute between regulators and medical cannabis license applicants that has stalled the launch of the state's MMJ program.
- Several companies that were denied MMJ licenses sued the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) over alleged irregularities in the application scoring process.
- The AMCC awarded licenses to 21 MMJ companies in June 2023, but the permits were voided due to the ongoing legal challenges.
- The state has been unable to launch its medical marijuana program since Gov. Kate Ivey signed an MMJ bill into law in May 2021.
An Alabama judge has appointed a mediator to try to resolve an ongoing dispute between regulators and several medical cannabis license applicants that has prevented the launch of the state’s MMJ program.
In his new role as mediator, retired Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Eugene Reese will be at the center of a long-running feud over Alabama medical cannabis licenses, the Associated Press reported.
Reese, who retired from the bench in 2018, was appointed Tuesday by Montgomery County Circuit Judge James Anderson.
Anderson has been presiding over a messy situation in which several companies that were denied MMJ licenses sued the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) over a permitting process they claim violated state law.
The AMCC awarded licenses in June 2023 to 21 MMJ companies in the state, but those permits were voided because of lawsuits over alleged irregularities in the application scoring process.
The state has been trying to launch a medical marijuana program since Gov. Kate Ivey signed an MMJ bill into law in May 2021.