New medical marijuana licenses granted

COMING UP. JASON, THANK YOU. IT’S BEEN A VERY LONG PROCESS, BUT AFTER TWO YEARS, SOME ALABAMA COMPANIES RECEIVED LICENSES. TODAY TO GROW, PROCESS AND SELL MEDICAL MARIJUANA. WVTM 13, LISA CRANE WAS AT THE COMMISSION MEETING TODAY AND HAS MORE FROM MONTGOMERY. AFTER A LONG DAY FOR THE ALABAMA MEDICAL CANNABIS COMMISSION, TWO DOZEN COMPANIES LEARNED THEY WOULD BE GRANTED A LICENSE TO BECOME PART OF THIS BRAND NEW INDUSTRY IN OUR STATE. MR. VAUGHN? YES, DOCTOR ZELENSKYY? NO. DOCTOR BLAKE MOORE. YES. MOST OF THE COMPANIES GETTING THAT GOOD NEWS TODAY WERE ALSO APPROVED IN JUNE, BUT THOSE LICENSE WERE RESCINDED SOON AFTER BECAUSE OF ERRORS IN THE WAY THE COMPANY’S EVALUATIONS WERE TABULATED. SINCE THAT TIME, ANOTHER BIG BLOW TO THIS PROCESS WHEN CHAIRMAN DR. STEPHEN STOKES RESIGNED JUST OVER A WEEK AGO AFTER A LAWSUIT CLAIMED HE WASN’T ELIGIBLE TO BE ON THE COMMISSION. BUT TODAY, 24 LICENSE APPROVALS. GOOD NEWS FOR THOSE COMPANIES, BUT DISAPPOINTMENT FOR THE 66 OTHERS THAT WERE DENIED. MANY HAD ALREADY INVESTED MILLIONS INTO GETTING THEIR FACILITIES READY TO GO. I WISH THEY HAD NOT GOTTEN SO FAR IN FRONT OF OUR PROCESS, NOT KNOWING WHO’S GOING TO GET A LICENSE, BECAUSE WHEN YOU HAVE 90 APPLICANTS TO CONSIDER, WE ALL KNOW THAT ALL 90 ARE NOT GOING TO GET ONE. BUT FOR SOME REASON, A LOT OF OUR APPLICANTS ASSUMED THEY WERE GOING TO QUALIFY FOR A LICENSE. AND THAT’S UNFORTUNATE. BUT THAT’S WHERE WE ARE NOW. THE COMPANIES THAT WERE APPROVED MUST PAY THEIR ANNUAL LICENSING FEES, AND THAT CAN BE UP TO $50,000 EACH. THEY MUST ALSO GO THROUGH ON SITE INSPECTIONS. AS THE CHAIRMAN SAYS, THERE’S THE CHANCE THAT SOME OF THESE COMPANIES MIGHT NOT MAKE IT THROUGH THE PROCESS TO THE FINAL FINI