The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission awarded integrated licenses to five companies to help start the state’s new medical marijuana industry Tuesday, voting to pick them out of 33 applicants.

The AMCC could award no more than five integrated licenses under the medical marijuana law the Legislature passed in 2021.

The integrated companies will cultivate, process, transport, and dispense medical cannabis.

Some steps remain over the next few weeks before that work begins. Although the licenses have been awarded, they are not scheduled to be issued until Jan. 9. Before that, the AMCC will receive license fees and conduct site inspections.

Commission Chair Rex Vaughn said he hoped that if there are no delays that medical cannabis products could be available by the spring of 2024.

Companies that were awarded licenses today were Trulieve Alabama, Inc.; Sustainable Alabama, LLC; Wagon Trail Med-Serv LLC; Flowerwood Medical Cannabis, LLC; and Specialty Medical Products of Alabama, LLC.

The law required the AMCC to award at least one of the five licenses to a company that is at least 51% minority-owned. Trulieve Alabama is the minority-owned company.

Nine of the 12 voting members of the AMCC took part in Tuesday’s vote at the Alabama Statehouse. The AMCC had heard public presentations from the applicants last week.

The integrated licenses awarded Tuesday are one of six categories of licensees for the state’s new industry, authorized by legislation that passed in 2021.

On Dec. 1, the AMCC awarded licenses to a total of 20 companies in the five other categories: cultivators, processors, transporters, dispensaries, and testing labs.

This is the third for the AMCC to award licenses. The AMCC rescinded awards it made in June and again in August because of problems with its procedures and lawsuits filed by the applicants.

This story will be updated.