Alabama Judge Will Hear Lawsuit From Parents Over State’s Medical Marijuana Delays

*“Plaintiffs also bring this petition in their individual capacities
because they have suffered specific injuries as a result of the
Commissioner’s failure to establish the patient and caregiver registry and
seek to vindicate their own private rights.”*

*By Alander Rocha, Alabama Reflector*

A judge will hold a hearing later this month in a lawsuit filed by parents
of children potentially eligible to receive medical cannabis under
Alabama’s long-delayed program.

The five parents—Dustin Chandler, Cristina Cain, Catherine Hall, Megan
Jackson and Kari Forsyth—want the court to require the Alabama Medical
Cannabis Commission (AMCC) to establish a patient registry for medical
cannabis, citing delays in access to the program.

“Plaintiffs also bring this petition in their individual capacities because
they have suffered specific injuries as a result of the Commissioner’s
failure to establish the patient and caregiver registry and seek to
vindicate their own private rights,” the parents claimed in the lawsuit.
The are also suing “in the name of the State of Alabama to uphold the
Compassion Act’s requirement.”

The commission argued in a motion to dismiss filed in May that the lawsuit
lacks standing and asks the AMCC to take steps already taken or beyond its
control.

“The Commission applauds the early advocacy of those among the Petitioners
who supported passage of the [Compassion Act]. Regretfully, it appears the
Petitioners have been misinformed about the status of the Patient Registry
and why it has not yet been populated with the names of eligible patients,”
counsel for AMCC wrote in the motion.

The plaintiffs said in their filing that each child “has a condition that
is treatable with medical cannabis” but does not provide any further
details.

The AMCC states in the motion that a patient registry has, in fact, been
established and is being maintained at a significant expense. But according
to the motion to dismiss, no patients are currently registered because
physicians cannot be certified until certain licensing requirements for
cultivators, processors, transporters and dispensaries are met.

According to the AMCC’s filing, rules established by the Alabama Board of
Medical Examiners (BME) dictate that physician certification is dependent
on issuing at least one license in each of the licensing categories, or to
one integrated facility.

“The Petitioners have not made the BME a party to this litigation, and the
Commission has no control over its rules and restrictions,” according to
AMCC’s filing.

The hearing is scheduled for June 26.

*This story was first published by Alabama Reflector.*

Alabama Medical Marijuana Regulators Advance Testing Lab Application And
Discuss Ongoing Litigation

*Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.*

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