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The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission last week approved three new medical cannabis dispensary licenses, the Alabama Reflector reports.

The licenses were awarded to the following companies, which are now expected to pay the $40,000 licensing fee:

• GP6 Wellness
• RJK Holdings
• CCS of Alabama

Thursday’s license approvals set up the state’s medical cannabis program to finally begin serving registered patients sometime next year, the report said, five years after lawmakers passed the state’s Compassionate Use Act in 2021. Officials have previously awarded medical cannabis cultivation and processing licenses, making retailers effectively the last hurdle to launching the industry.

Five vertically integrated licenses — licenses that allow businesses to grow, process, and retail their own products — are also included under the program, but the integrated licenses have sprouted numerous lawsuits over the years.

Commission Chair Rex Vaughn noted that licensed cultivators have already been harvesting products, which suggests the supply chain should be ready by the time the dispensaries open their doors.

“We waited a long time to get to this point in time where we can make a decision like this, and it is monumental. It’s a milestone meeting for us, so I’m tickled we can get this far.” — Vaughn, via the Reflector

Alabama awarded its first medical cannabis licenses in 2023, but the process was almost immediately halted by legal challenges contesting the licensing process. Under state law, only non-smokable and non-vaporizable forms of cannabis are allowed, such as tablets, capsules, gels, and transdermal patches, among other options.

Based in Portland, Oregon, Graham is Ganjapreneur’s Chief Editor. He has been writing about the legalization landscape since 2012 and has been contributing to Ganjapreneur since our official launch in… More by Graham Abbott