Alabama medical marijuana lawsuit dismissed due to lack of standing

A judge in Alabama dismissed a lawsuit filed by five families, seeking to force the state to develop a workable framework for the distribution of medical marijuana—which became legal in September 2022. As a step toward implementation, the newly formed Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission was tasked with creating a database to facilitate prescriptions.

The families were suing to force the commission to comply with the law, as the database is still listed as “under development,” leaving providers without a way to apply for the necessary license to prescribe cannabis.

All of the plaintiffs have children with conditions that would allegedly benefit from THC, the psychoactive compound present in marijuana.

However, a district court judge ruled the cohort lacked standing, as it's the state attorney general who has the authority to compel agencies to follow the law. Without the office’s participation, the lawsuit is unable to move forward.

“Petitioners cannot demonstrate standing to invoke the Court’s jurisdiction because they are not the proper party to institute a proceeding for mandamus in the name of the State in this matter and because they do not have standing to bring a claim individually related to the patient registry,” Montgomery County Circuit Judge James Anderson wrote in his order. 

HealthExec previously reached out to the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission for comment but did not receive a reply. However, in a comment to the Alabama Reflector, John McMillan, director of the commission, said the patient registry at the center of the lawsuit has already been created and is being maintained. He added that it is not yet populated because the commission was delayed in issuing licenses.

McMillan said the delay, in part, was from injunctions as a result of lawsuits filed by “disappointed license applicants.”