Companies that have been awarded licenses by the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission plan to dispense products in 37 locations in 21 cities across the state, according to the license applications.

Joey Robertson, president and CEO of Wagon Trail Med-Serv LLC, one of the integrated companies that was awarded a license on Tuesday, said his expectation is that products could be available by late spring or early summer of 2024.

The law passed by the Legislature in 2021 authorizing medical marijuana placed caps on how many licenses could be issued and how many dispensary sites licensees could have.

The law allowed up to four dispensary licensees and three sites for each. The law allowed up to five licenses for integrated companies that can have up to five dispensaries each. That adds up to a maximum of 37 allowed.

Here is where dispensaries are planned, according to the license applications.

• Montgomery, 5
• Mobile, 4
• Athens, Birmingham and Dothan, 3 each
• Cullman, Foley, and Opelika, 2 each
• Attalla, Bayou La Batre, Daphne, Decatur, Demopolis, Florence, Gadsden, Loxley, Monroeville, Oxford, Talladega, Troy, and Tuscaloosa, 1 each.

Dispensaries can only operate in cities and counties that have approved ordinances or resolutions allowing them.

The 13-member AMCC awarded licenses to integrated companies Tuesday. Integrated companies are authorized to cultivate, process, transport, and dispense medical cannabis. The commission distinguishes between awarding a license and issuing a license. The commission will conduct site inspections and collect license fees before issuing the licenses, which is scheduled to happen on January 9.

On Dec. 1, the AMCC awarded licenses to 20 companies that will perform only one function in the new industry. The AMCC awarded licenses to seven cultivators, four processors, four dispensaries, four secure transporters, and one testing lab. Those licenses are scheduled to be issued on December 29.

License applicants were required to tell the AMCC when they could be ready to begin operations. Unless the process is stalled by lawsuits or for some other reason, products are expected to be available next year.

Products can include gummies, tablets, capsules, tinctures, patches, oils, and other forms allowed by the legislation.

Patients who receive a recommendation from a certified doctor and receive a medical cannabis card from the AMCC will be able to buy the products at licensed dispensaries.

The products can be used to treat a wide range of conditions, including chronic pain, weight loss and nausea from cancer, depression, panic disorder, epilepsy, muscle spasms caused by disease or spinal cord injuries, PTSD, and others.

Robertson, president and CEO of Wagon Trail Med-Serv, said the company expects to be ready to begin cultivation within 45 days of being issued a license. The company’s cultivation and processing facilities are in Hanceville.

Robertson said the company has raised hemp since 2019 under a program regulated by the state Department of Agriculture and Industries and has produced hemp-derived tinctures, topicals, salves, and gummies that are sold online and in retail stores.

Wagon Trail Med-Serv’s dispensaries will be in Athens, Cullman, Decatur, Florence, and Montgomery.