Alabama’s beleaguered Medical Cannabis Commission failed to follow state procedure and open-meetings laws, overpaid an outside law firm by $204,000 and didn’t maintain records properly, a recent state audit found.
The audit comes at an awkward time – just weeks before the long-awaited launch of Alabama’s medical cannabis market. Lawsuits filed by applicants who were denied licenses delayed the launch. Some of the allegations in the lawsuits are supported by the audit, according to Alabama Political Reporter.
Alabama has suffered possibly the most tortuous launch to medical cannabis seen in the country after Republican Gov. Kay Ivey signed MMJ into law in 2021.
In the years since, multiple licensing rounds were revoked or canceled amid accusations of bias and impropriety, forcing regulators to renege on a promise to launch sales in 2024.
Lawsuits alleging impropriety and bias at the state Medical Cannabis Commission have been central to the chaos.
According to an Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts audit released Friday, the MCC:
- Failed to comply with state open meetings laws
- Overpaid a $400,000 contract with an outside law firm by $204,000
- Did not adopt a fee structure in compliance with state administrative law
- Did not meet legal standards for maintaining records
The findings come as the state continues to drag its feet on awarding five coveted vertically integrated permits.
The Alabama Daily News reported that the vertically integrated permits could be issued as soon as this summer.
The MCC’s failure to follow proper procedure is what canceled out prior licensing rounds.
State law allows for a maximum of:
- Five vertically integrated businesses, with each permit-holder allowed to operate up to five retail locations
- 12 licensed medical marijuana cultivators
- Four processors
- Four dispensary-only permits, each of which can operate up to three locations
