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Oscity Labs in Baldwin County has been producing CBD products for some time, now

Now, their parent company, Specialty Medical, is chomping at the bit to begin another line of production… medical marijuana, and was ready to go when they were chosen in 2023 as one of five companies to grow and process such products for consumers in Alabama..

“We’re ready to go,” says Ray French, an attorney for the company. “We’re ready to manufacture these products. We’ve already gone through he process to prove we can manufacture these products. And you know, I think each step here is a step closer”.

But several companies not chosen cried foul in court… and that’s where it’s been since then. And that’s where attorneys found themselves again Wednesday, this time before a judge in Montgomery. The issue? The selection process is still under investigation, with the losing companies complaining that the winning companies weren’t being compelled to take part in that probe.

Among them, a company called Alabama Always, which has filed suit against the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission to throw the new licenses out and start over… again.

“The procedural aspect is probably the most important part that really doesn’t necessarily become all that obvious to people who aren’t lawyers,” says “Alabama Always” attorney Will Somerville. “But I think the judge at least identified some questions that he wants to have answered. “

And those answers may soon be easier to come by. At Wednesday’s hearing, Alabama Specialty and the four other integrated license winners went on the record that they will participate in that licensing investigation in an effort to speed up the process

“The judge today said he wanted to have another week to look at some of this and we’re optimistic and hopeful,” comments French.

“A little more briefing,” says Somerville. “It looks like it’s not going to take a long time so maybe we’ll have some answers on this in a few weeks.”

This latest bump in the road underscores what a long, mired mess this process has been in what is supposed to be an organized effort to bring medical marijuana to patients who need it. Many of them already feel their needs have fallen to the bottom of the list, below the millions in profits likely to await the companies who finally get the green light to produce it.

“We’ve seen the need,” offers Ray French with Specialty medical. “We’ve seen the doctors reaching out to also express their concern about not being able to provide this medicine. So right now we’re hopeful that any progress that can be made and we’re ready to go, and we’re ready to provide this. And we’re hoping the process will allow that.”

The attorneys tell NBC 15 News the judge wants to take about a week to mull over what he heard at Wednesday’s hearing. It would be another week in a process that, so far, has stretched out more than three years… and counting.

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