Cannabis News Roundup: Week 2025-18: From Alabama's Lawsuits to Montana's Tribal Breakthrough

3 May, 2025

Chaos in cannabis: Alabama gets sued, Michigan’s market crashes, and Montana hands tribes cannabis control. Meanwhile, hemp crackdowns sweep the U.S., D.C. delays reform, and Canada’s legal industry sounds the alarm. It’s a state-by-state rundown you don’t want to miss.

Covered states: Alabama, Kentucky, Michiogan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Washington D.C. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ALABAMA

 

Alabama’s medical cannabis program is still in gridlock—and now, five families have taken legal action. They've filed a lawsuit against the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission, or AMCC, in Montgomery County Circuit Court, accusing the agency of failing to implement a patient and caregiver registry as required under the Darren Wesley “Ato” Hall Compassion Act, which was signed into law back in 2021.

The law mandated that the registry be up and running by September 1, 2022. It's now more than two years past that deadline, and patients still can’t legally access medical cannabis in the state.

But the AMCC says the problem isn’t the registry itself. In a recent statement, the Commission explained that the patient registry is already fully functional and has been maintained through ongoing support payments. The real issue, they say, lies in the regulatory sequence laid out by state law.

Here’s how that works: Patients can only be registered once they’ve received a recommendation from a physician certified by the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners. But doctors can’t get certified until the Commission awards at least one license to a cultivator, processor, secure transporter, and dispensary—or to a fully integrated facility. As of now, none of those licenses have been finalized. So while the infrastructure exists, it can’t actually be used.

The AMCC insists it’s “ready on day one” to enroll patients as soon as licensing is complete. In the meantime, individuals who meet Alabama’s qualifying conditions for medical cannabis can join a pre-registration list to receive email notifications when appointments with certified physicians become available.

This lawsuit is just the latest in a string of legal troubles for the Commission. It’s already facing multiple suits over alleged irregularities in its licensing process, including claims of improper scoring, inconsistent procedures, and violations of the Alabama Open Meetings and Administrative Procedure Acts.

 

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KENTUCKY

In Kentucky this week, a political clash is erupting over the state’s newly launched medical cannabis program—raising questions not just about regulation, but about transparency and political pressure.

State Auditor Allison Ball, a Republican, says her office is pressing forward with an investigation into how medical cannabis business licenses were awarded—despite what she calls “political gamesmanship.” Ball claims that five public records requests sent by the Kentucky Democratic Party the day after the probe was announced were meant to intimidate her office. This, she says, follows a pattern of interference from Democratic officials, including a prior incident involving Governor Andy Beshear’s administration.

Democrats deny any attempt at obstruction, calling the records requests routine and pointing out that Kentucky’s Open Records Act does not weigh the motives of requesters. Legal observers say the law is designed to promote government transparency—regardless of political affiliations.

#KentuckyCannabis #MedicalMarijuana #CannabisAudit #AllisonBall #KDP #CannabisLicensing #KYPolitics #OpenRecordsAct #CannabisTransparency #KYMMJ #CannabisNews #Cannab