The chairman of the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission has resigned.

Dr. Steven Stokes, a radiation oncologist from Dothan, notified the AMCC of his resignation Thursday, said Brittany Peters, communications director for the commission.

“Dr. Stokes has a genuine desire to see medical cannabis products available to patients in Alabama,” Peters said in an email. “This is evidenced by his invaluable service as Chairman of the Commission and his role as Vice-Chair of Alabama’s Medical Cannabis Study Commission.

“We greatly appreciate Dr. Stokes’ contribution to the Commission and anticipate that he will remain at the forefront of the development of Alabama’s medical cannabis program.”

Stokes’ resignation comes after a lawsuit was filed July 25 challenging his position on the AMCC. The lawsuit said Stokes was ineligible for the position because he is a trustee of the University of South Alabama. The legislation creating the AMCC prohibits public officials from serving on the commission, and Stokes is a public official because of his position as a USA trustee, the lawsuit said.

Peters’ statement did not specify a reason for the resignation.

Stokes has served as chair of the AMCC since it was formed two years ago. The Legislature passed a bill in 2021 authorizing medical marijuana and creating the commission to oversee the regulation of the new industry.

At the time he was unanimously elected chair by the commission, Stokes said he had been prescribing medical marijuana to cancer patients in Florida for about four years and had seen the benefits for his patients.

“It provides relief when what we’re doing is not working,” Stokes said in 2021. “People are continuing to lose weight from cancer, dropping weight, dropping weight, and nothing works. But you put them on medical marijuana, they start gaining weight again. That’s a big improvement.”

AMCC officials have said they hoped medical marijuana products could be available in Alabama by late this year or early next year. But the licensing process for businesses that want to be a part of the new industry has been delayed.

The commission awarded 21 licenses on June 12 for companies to cultivate, process, transport, test, and sell the products. A total of 90 companies applied for licenses.

On June 16, the AMCC announced it was putting a hold on the process after discovering potential inconsistencies in the way the applicants’ scores were tabulated.

Some of the companies that applied for licenses have filed lawsuits against the AMCC over the process. Montgomery County Circuit Judge James Anderson has scheduled a hearing in the case for Monday.

The AMCC plans to award licenses again at a meeting on August 10.