Medical Cannabis Commission pauses license awards due to possible scoring problems

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission on Friday pulled back licenses that had been awarded to cultivators, dispensaries and others after discovering potential problems with how applicants were scored.

The commission voted during an emergency meeting to indefinitely stay the medical cannabis business licenses that had been awarded Monday for the state’s new medical marijuana program.

“The stay is recommended due to the (commission’s) discovery of potential inconsistency in the tabulation of scoring data,” Dr. Steven Stokes, an oncologist who chairs the commission, said during the meeting.

Stokes did not elaborate on the problem. Brittany Peters, a spokeswoman for the commission, told The Associated Press that she could not comment further.

Stokes said the commission will seek an independent review of all scoring data and will reconsider the issuance of licenses when the stay is lifted. He cast the pause as a temporary setback.

“We’re trying to be honest and fair with everyone. We’ve got to move forward and correct any problems we find. Every state that started a medical marijuana program has had problems. We are no different,” Stokes said.

It is unclear what impact the pause will have when medical marijuana becomes available in the state.

Alabama lawmakers in 2021 ended years of resistance and approved the creation of a program to allow marijuana to be used for certain medical conditions. However, it is not available yet to patients as the state develops rules and procedures for the program

Before the pause, commission officials had hoped medical marijuana would become available in late 2023 or early 2024.

“The Commission will work expeditiously to investigate and identify inconsistencies in the score data,” commission director John McMillan said in a statement. “Out of an abundance of caution, we are suspending all current procedural timelines until those matters are resolved.”