An Alabama medical cannabis producer applicant is suing the state after being left out of the most recent licensing round, claiming the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) had unfairly revoked the license it had been approved for in the previous two rounds, according to Alabama Political Reporter. Enchanted Green LLC had placed second in the previous rounds of scoring but had tied for fourth in the most recent licensing round.
In a motion for injunctive relief filed on Monday, the company said to break the tie, the AMCC decided to draw an applicant’s name from a bowl to determine which company would be considered first.
“A staff member of the AMCC reached under the dais and pulled out a bowl. The staff member then held out the bowl to one of the AMCC commissioners, and the commissioner peered (looked) into the bowl and pulled out a piece of paper. The commissioner did not appear to unfold the piece of paper. The commissioner then read from the paper the name of the other processor group that tied for fourth place. There was no evidence that both names … were actually in the bowl prior to the ‘drawing,’ that the pieces of paper were folded so the commissioner could not see which one he was picking (or the name on it), that the papers (if there were in fact two pieces of paper) were of the same size and weight, or that other paraments of a fair drawing were followed.” — Enchanted Green, in the lawsuit, via Alabama Political Reporter
The most recent round of licensing was necessary after accusations the AMCC had violated the state’s Open Meetings Act, “potential inconsistencies” in the scoring data provided by the University of South Alabama, and several lawsuits over the process.
In the lawsuit, Enchanted Green said it had paid a $40,000 licensing fee after it had been awarded a license in the second round and is unable to recoup the funds.
In all, the AMCC awarded the legal maximum of four processing licenses during the third round of licensing last week.
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