Medical cannabis, approved by the Alabama Legislature three years ago, remains ensnared in legal disputes over the state's licensing process. The litigation is likely to continue after several bills aimed at addressing the impasse died in the legislative session. And the relationship of the various lawsuits against the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission was the focus of a hearing in Montgomery County Circuit Court on Monday.
Numerous companies hoping for a license joined the initial lawsuit, brought by Alabama Always, against the commission. Because the state, or its agencies, can't be named a defendant, Will Somerville, attorney for Alabama Always, asked the court to dismiss the initial lawsuit and filed a new, similar one naming the commissioners instead.
Now the question is whether the other lawsuits against the Alabama Medicaid Cannabis Commission consolidated into the initial lawsuit can move forward.
Patrick Dungan, attorney representing three firms that either received or was denied a license in the three rounds of licensing, said that his filing was not a lawsuit. "The law is clear. A petition for judicial review is not a 'suit against the state,'" Dungan said in a motion filed last week.
Read more at alabamareflector.com