Alabama
Alabama Judge Halts Medical Marijuana Licensing Again, This Time Over Alleged Open Meetings Violations
“The delay has been caused by their refusal to follow the law every time. They keep on doing things they shouldn’t do. And they keep on being stuck.”
By Alander Rocha, Alabama Reflector
A Montgomery County Circuit Judge Thursday put a hold on Alabama’s medical cannabis program amid a lawsuit alleging the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) violated the state’s Open Meetings Act at its most recent meeting.
The stay, issued by Judge James Anderson, followed a heated hearing where an attorney for the AMCC suggested the commission would air applicants’ “dirty laundry.”
Applicants denied a license won’t be able to request an investigative hearing until after the stay is lifted, and the commission will have to put site visits and evaluations on hold. AMCC Director John McMillan said that it will be “impossible” to issue licenses at an August 31 meeting.
“We’ll most likely have to schedule another meeting,” McMillan said after the hearing, and added that they would have to complete site visits.
Alabama Always, which sued the commission last month over the appointment of former chair Steven Stokes, filed a lawsuit against the AMCC, alleging the commission violated the state’s open meetings law at its August 10 meeting. The company, which applied for but did not receive a license, alleged that commission members privately nominated companies for public votes on license awards during an executive session.
The lawsuit alleges that commission members were instructed to seal their nominations in an envelope during the executive session, and the companies with the most nominations received a public vote in the August 10 meeting.
The AMCC re-awarded licenses for the production and distribution of medical cannabis at the August 10 meeting, two months after stopping earlier awards amid questions about the evaluation of applications.
The judge allowed other parties to join the suit by the end of the week. Alabama Always and other companies suing AMCC will have to prove that the commission violated state law.
Will Somerville, attorney for Alabama Always, said after the hearing that the process wouldn’t have been delayed if the commission “were doing things the right way.”
“The delay has been caused by their refusal to follow the law every time. They keep on doing things they shouldn’t do. And they keep on being stuck,” Somerville said.
During the hearing, Will Webster, an attorney for the AMCC, seemingly frustrated by the process, asked the judge how the commission should move forward with business.
“Because every time we go out and come back, somebody else has something else to say about what we’ve done, and I want to know what it is that we can do,” he said to the judge.
Anderson said that he can’t tell the commission how to conduct business. He said that he just gets “stuck with what the allegations are.”
“I’ll tell you what we plan to do, judge,” Webster said in response. “If this has to go back one more time. We are done protecting anyone’s reputation or character. We don’t have to go in executive session, and we won’t. We will put forth everyone’s dirty laundry, and everyone will hear about it.”
Anderson said they don’t have to go into executive session.
“That’s something y’all choose to do, or not to do,” Anderson said.
“It’s just what’s going to happen,” Webster said.
McMillan after the hearing said that “dirty laundry” meant issues that came up in background checks that “are part of this decision.”
Anderson set a hearing on the commission’s alleged Open Meetings Act violations for August 28, 2023 at 1:30 p.m.
This story was first published by Alabama Reflector.
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Alabama
No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 Florida men’s hoops downed by SEC foes, putting conference depth on display
And the award for deepest men’s basketball conference goes to: the SEC.
How else to explain two top five teams — No. 4 Alabama and No. 5 Florida — both losing Tuesday night at home to conference foes?
At least in the case of Alabama, the Tide lost to a ranked team, falling 74-64 to No. 21 Ole Miss. Meanwhile, the Gators shot an abysmal 21 of 31 from the free throw line in an 83-82 loss to unranked Missouri, which was not nearly as close as the final score indicates.
The best argument for the SEC’s depth isn’t just that Missouri won but that the Tigers led for almost 38 minutes on the road — at one point by as many as 19 points.
Turnovers played a crucial role in both Alabama and Florida faltering Tuesday night. The Tide threw it away a whopping 21 times, which Ole Miss turned into 19 points (the Rebels tallied only seven turnovers). Florida coughed it up 13 times to Missouri’s eight, allowing the Tigers to score 18 points.
Giving the ball to the other team usually doesn’t end well. What’s more surprising, though, is that this happened to both Alabama and Florida at home. Playing well on the road is tough. Playing well in front of a friendly, packed crowd shouldn’t be.
Certainly no one could have predicted that midway through January, the two undefeated teams in SEC play would be No. 1 Auburn (16-1, 4-0) and Ole Miss (15-2, 4-0). Given how tough this conference is, it’s unlikely anyone finishes with less than three losses — especially if Auburn star and national player of the year candidate Johni Broome is out for more than a week.
The SEC’s motto is “it just means more.” With the way this conference is beating itself up on as we inch closer to March, that line might need to change to “it just is more” — as in, more representation in the NCAA Tournament than anyone else. Because with the SEC’s depth, they’re likely to send a lot of teams dancing.
Required reading
(Photo: James Gilbert / Getty Images)
MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – The first match of the 2025 Alabama Hi-Q season kicked off today.
The academic quiz competition for high school students with categories such as mathematics, history, physics and fine art and more.
Mobile County public and private schools compete in teams of eight to 10 students. At the end of the 15 contests, the top three teams win cash awards for their schools. Individual awards are given out, as well.
FOX10’s Lenise Ligon was invited to be the quizmaster, maintaining the tradition of fox10’s involvement. Bob Grip was quizmaster for 38 years.
Students from Mary G. Montgomery High School, Blount High School, Theodore High School, St. Paul’s Episcopal School, Satsuma High School and Barton Academy For Advanced World Studies competed in today’s event.
Blount got the win for the first match. There’s a challenge though and the win could go to MGM
St. Paul’s won the second match.
The competition ends in March when the overall winner is declared.
Copyright 2025 WALA. All rights reserved.
Alabama extended its winning streak to eight games on Saturday by beating Texas A&M on the road but will face another tough out on Tuesday when Ole Miss comes to Tuscaloosa.
The Rebels have been much improved in 2024 as Chris Beard continues to turn this program around and will look to score a signature win to propel the team to the NCAA Tournament by winning on the road as a big underdog. Ole Miss has been capable on both sides of the floor, will it be able to keep close to the Crimson Tide?
Here’s our betting preview.
Spread
Moneyline
Total: 153.5 (Over -110/Under -110)
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook
Ole Miss
Sean Pedulla: The Virginia Tech transfer has provided some necessary floor spacing for the Rebels, shooting 40% from deep as the team has been able to take a big jump offensively. While his defense leaves some to be desired, he has proven he can hang on the floor with his sound playmaking, ball handling, and shooting.
Alabama
Mark Sears: Sears hasn’t been able to replicate his scorching 2023, but he remains a high-value player on an elite offense for the Crimson Tide. Sears is averaging 19 points with more than four assists per game but is off of one of his best games of the season in which he closed out Texas A&M on the road with 27 points.
Ole Miss will face its first top-20 team in terms of KenPom’s adjusted efficiency rating, so there could be a bit of a setback for what has been an impressive season to date for the Rebels. However, I believe the offense can put points on the board against Alabama’s defense that plays drop coverage, and turns opponents over at a bottom 60 rate in the country.
The Rebels are a capable offense that has a bevy of players that can create off the dribble and attack Alabama in the paint, so I believe the visitors will be able to score at a healthy rate in this game.
On the other end, Alabama may be able to tee off from the perimeter against Ole Miss’ no-middle defense that lends itself to players open from beyond the arc. Further, if Sears can win in isolation sets, the rim should be easy pickings for the Crimson Tide to score at will.
In an up-tempo affair, I think both offenses rule the day and this game goes over the total.
PICK: OVER 153.5
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
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