We’re back with another installment of “Ask the Lede,” and our lede question is one that is not just of great interest in the Rocket City, but all across the state:

When will medical cannabis dispensaries open in Huntsville?

The short answer is this: We – nor anyone else – knows exactly, but we can give you a ballpark. Keep your eye on this ball, it takes some wild hops.

Everything was rolling along with ribbons cuttings planned about the same time college football gets really, really good – late 2023 to early 2024. Then the first bad hop. In mid-June the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) held an emergency meeting and put a hold on the licenses it had issued (21 of 90 who had applied), saying it had found “potential inconsistencies” in how applicants for licenses were scored. Those licenses were to cultivate, process, transport, test, and sell the products.

Some who did not get licenses sued. And on June 23, Montgomery County Circuit Judge James Anderson issued a temporary restraining order putting a hold on the licensing, essentially affirming the AMCC’s suspension of the process.