The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission will issue medical marijuana licenses today, the panel announced Thursday.

With the licenses, businesses can obtain financing, build facilities, plant Alabama’s first legal medical marijuana crop, hire staff, and invest in equipment. The licenses were awarded Dec. 1.

The commission said at a virtual meeting Thursday it will issue the licenses to 20 businesses today barring a stay or hold on the process. 

Before the meeting, more than two dozen attorneys representing failed cannabis applicants were in Montgomery Circuit Judge James Anderson’s courtroom seeking a temporary restraining order on the licenses. However, Anderson declined to intervene and the commission did not vote to stay the process. 

The commission has set investigative hearings for January and February that were requested by applicants who were denied licenses. 

Attorneys for the rejected applicants argued in court Thursday that the issuance of the licenses should be stayed while the hearings are taking place.

In addition to the cases in Anderson’s court, there is one case before the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals and another in federal court.

The commission said prescription cannabis products should be available in the spring.

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