Ee3A6141 9538 4208 8Cc9 3632Fe929823 — “Cannabis sativa plant” by Chmee2 is licensed under CC BY 3.0

After years of delays and disputes, the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission voted to award licenses to four dispensary applicants, which are each allowed to operate three locations.

An administrative law judge presided over a hearing that was requested by competing companies, which resulted in a list of applicants that were deemed most suitable for licenses, according to AL.com:

GP6 Wellness LLC
RJK Holdings LLC
CCS of Alabama LLC
Yellowhammer Medical Dispensaries LLC

Chairman of the commission Rex Vaughn said that dispensaries could be open as early as spring 2026, and the dispensary companies are all required to pay a $40,000 license fee.

Yellowhammer’s license was placed on a stay until Jan. 26, when the commission plans to meet again to reconsider the stay and address a possible challenge by another company, Capitol Medical LLC.

Where will the dispensaries be?

The locations for the 12 dispensaries are as follows:

Athens
Attalla
Birmingham (two locations)
Cullman
Daphne
Demopolis
Mobile
Montgomery
Owens Cross Roads
Oxford
Talladega

The map below sorts the dispensary locations into the companies they are under by color. Please note that the locations serve as a visual representation of which cities the dispensaries will be in, not an exact location.

Based on current plans, the dispensaries will be relatively spread out throughout the state, but there will not be a location between Mobile and Montgomery.

Some larger cities won’t have a location, including Auburn, Tuscaloosa, Enterprise and Florence. Huntsville proper will not have a location, but there are two in its metro area.

The locations will also only be in cities that have passed local laws for cannabis dispensaries.

What conditions can be treated with medical cannabis in Alabama?

There are many conditions that qualify for medical cannabis treatment, according to the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission’s website:

Autism
Cancer-related weight loss or chronic pain
Crohn’s
Depression, epilepsy or condition causing seizures
HIV/AIDS-related nausea or weight loss
Panic disorder
Parkinson’s
Persistent nausea not related to pregnancy
PTSD
Sickle Cell
Spasticity associated with diseases including ALS, multiple sclerosis, and spinal cord injuries
Terminal illnesses
Tourette’s
Chronic pain for which conventional therapies and opiates should not be used or are ineffective

Doctors can start submitting certification applications starting Jan. 8 — but only if dispensary licenses have been officially issued at that point, AL.com reported. Doctors must complete a course before they are allowed to recommend medical cannabis products to patients.