MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Following a first try of awarding medical marijuana operational licenses to 21 businesses earlier this year, which was then reneged after "scoring discrepancies" and a lawsuit, the Alabama Medical Marijuana Commission issued a new list of awardees on Thursday.
In all, five new companies were granted licenses compared with the original list. Two companies that had been awarded licenses the first time around were not granted them in the do-over.
Who were granted licenses?
The following is the list of licensees awarded on Thursday. A name in bold indicates a business that was not included in the first award round. Where applicable, a business that was originally given a license but had it revoked in the second round is noted in an indent.
- Integrated facilities
- Flowerwood Medical Cannabis, LLC
- Southeast Cannabis Company, LLC
- Sustainable Alabama, LLC
- TheraTrue Alabama, LLC
- Insa Alabama, LLC
- Verano Alabama, LLC, a previous awardee, was not granted a license in the second round.
- Cultivators
- Blackberry Farms, LLC
- Gulf Shore Remedies, LLC
- Pure by Sirmon Farms, LLC
- Twisted Herb Cultivation, LLC
- I AM FARMS
- Greenway Botanicals, LLC
- CRC of Alabama, LLC
- Processors
- 1819 Labs, LLC
- Enchanted Green, LLC
- Jasper Development Group, Inc.
- Organic Harvest Lab, LLC
- Dispensary
- CCS of Alabama, LLC
- RJK Holdings AL, LLC
- Statewide Property Holdings AL, LLC
- Yellowhammer Medical Dispensaries, LLC
- Secure transport
- XLCR, Inc.
- International Communication, LLC
- Tyler Van Lines, LLC
- Alabama Secure Transport, LLC, a previous awardee, was not granted a license in the second round.
- State testing
- Certus Laboratories
Why the do-over?
Shortly after the June 12 awarding of the initial licenses, a stay on those decisions was ordered following "the discovery of potential inconsistencies in the tabulation of scoring data," according to AMCC statements.
The University of South Alabama, which had been commissioned by the AMCC to conduct the scoring of applicants, sent the results to two third-party accountants, who confirmed variances in the original scores. After these reviews, the AMCC then hired accounting firm KPMG to go over the calculations and also verified the variances.
“Since the Commission’s inception, we have worked to develop a fair, honest, and equitable process to select licensees,” explained Commission Chairman Rex Vaughn. “It is regrettable that the tabulation errors occurred, however we have acknowledged the miscalculations and have taken the necessary steps to ensure that the data provided to the Commission was accurate. We are sincerely appreciative of the Court for allowing us to take corrective actions.”
What happens next?
The procedural timelines associated with the post-award licensing process will restart, according to AMCC statements. "Those applicants who were awarded a license will have 14 days to submit the appropriate license fee and any applicant who has been denied a license may seek an investigative hearing before the Commission to seek reconsideration of said denial," the procedure states.
Under the rules created by the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners, physicians may begin the certification process to recommend medical cannabis to patients after business licenses have been issued. For a patient to qualify for medical cannabis, the patient must have at least one of the qualifying conditions and be recommended for medical cannabis by a certified physician.
