The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission this week awarded six licenses to companies that qualified as majority owned by a member of a minority group — defined as individuals of African American, Native American, Hispanic, or Asian descent, according to the commission’s spokesperson.
According to the state law, passed in 2021, making it legal to grow and distribute medical marijuana in Alabama, at least a quarter of the awardees in all but one category (integrated facility) had to be at least 51% minority-owned.
RELATED: Will Alabama Cannabis Commission satisfy state law in awarding licenses to minority business owners?
Overall, 21 companies were awarded licenses to do business in the state as cultivators, processors, transporters, dispensaries, and a testing lab.
RELATED: These are the 21 companies awarded licenses by Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission
The six companies are (applications—most a heavily redacted—are linked):
TheraTrue Alabama, LLC (integrated facility) Southeast Cannabis Company, LLC (integrated facility), 1819 Labs (processor), Enchanted Green (processor), Statewide Property Holdings AL, LLC (dispensary), and International Communication, LLC (transporter).
To confirm their minority ownership status, according to commission spokesperson Brittany Peters: “Applicants were required to provide documents to demonstrate that the applicant is at least 51% owned and controlled by member(s) of a minority group. Applicants could provide documents such as birth certificates, military records or other government-issued documents that includes race.”
TheraTrue, according to its website, is “majority black-owned and our board and management team are majority people of color.” Dr. Paul Judge, an inventor and entrepreneur, is listed as founder/chairman; Victor Mancebo is CEO/Board director. Both are African American.
Antoine Mordecai Sr., CEO of Native Black Cultivation, which has been growing hemp at its Jefferson County facility since 2020, attended the commission’s announcement of awardees Monday in Montgomery. He told AL.com’s Mike Cason he was disappointed his company was not awarded a cultivator license.
“This is just a bittersweet moment,” Mordecai said. “We’re happy the program is moving forward but disheartening that I’m not a part of it.”
Mordecai told Cason he will review the process and try to address any shortcomings cited by the Commission.
The AMCC said it will offer more licenses for cultivators, secure transporters, and state testing laboratories. The law did not place a limit on the number of transporters or testing labs.
“The Commission looks forward to affording more opportunities for individuals to participate in the industry,” Commission Vice Chair Rex Vaughn said in a press release. “These businesses will not only serve Alabama patients but provide business and job opportunities for local communities.”
Minority participation in what is projected to be a $70 billion industry by 2028—and last year accounted for 428,059 full-time jobs, according to the 2022 Leafly Jobs Report—has been a source of frustration nationwide since California became the first state to legalize marijuana in 1996.
African American entrepreneurs account for less than two percent of business owners in the nation, according to the 2021 Leafly Jobs Report. That’s worse than in 2017 when 4.3% were Black. (That year 81% of cannabis business owners were white, 5.7% Hispanic, and 2.4% Asian.)
“The cannabis industry must show true commitment to equity as it expands, so the wealth generated by this new opportunity will uplift minority communities,” the 2021 reports stated. “If it cannot we will continue to see these communities struggle in the shadow of white supremacy without a fair shot.”
Cultivator licensees could start growing marijuana within weeks, an AMCC member told Cason in April. The various forms of medical cannabis (pills, oils, ointments, patches, and gelatinous tubes) could be available for consumers before the end of 2023, the board member said.
The timeline could, however, be slowed by appeals. Applicants that do not receive a license can ask the AMCC to reconsider its decision. Failing that, they may also take the matter to court.
