After more than four years of delays, lawsuits and false starts, the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission voted Thursday to award the state’s first medical marijuana dispensary licenses, clearing the biggest and most pressing roadblock between patients and a functioning program.
This morning at the State House, the commission moved forward with issuing the state’s first four dispensary licenses needed before doctors can be certified and patients can legally purchase medical cannabis products.
Following a recommended order from an administrative law judge, commissioners approved dispensary licenses for GP6 Wellness LLC, RJK Holdings LLC and CCS of Alabama LLC.
A fourth license for Yellowhammer Medical Dispensaries LLC was also granted but stayed until a January 26 hearing, meaning it won’t become active until after that date.
According to AMCC Chairman Rex Vaughan, qualified patients could begin receiving medical cannabis as early as spring 2026.
During Thursday’s meeting, Vaughn described how close Alabama already is to having product ready — but stuck in storage while the licensing fight dragged on.
“Our staff has been stretched pretty thin here lately,” Vaughan told commissioners.
“We’ve got about four cultivators who in the process of growing, and they have a product staged and ready, so we’re on the cusp of getting that product to the fight to the finish line. We’ve got a skeleton crew, and they’re acting as inspectors and investigators and auditors and compliance issues and all that.”
Under state rules, each dispensary license holder can eventually operate up to three storefronts across Alabama.
Today’s vote removes the most foundational legal roadblock that has kept Alabama’s program on paper only.
Under rules adopted by the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners, the board “may not issue” medical cannabis certification permits to physicians until the AMCC has issued at least one license each to a cultivator, a processor, a secure transporter and a dispensary, or a single integrated “seed-to-sale” company.
Licenses in the other categories were issued, in some cases, years earlier. Dispensaries were the missing piece.
Once the new licenses take effect on January 8, the state can begin certifying doctors, enrolling patients in a registry and, for the first time, legally selling medical cannabis products in Alabama.
“[I]t is a milestone day for us, so just keep that in mind,” Vaughan said this morning.
“And what’s before us, we’ll probably have a lot going on the next next few meetings. So, thank you so much for your diligence and your commitment to what we’ve done thus far.”
“Maybe we can start plowing new ground,” he added.
Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
