After years of lawsuits, revoked licenses and bureaucratic delays, Alabama’s long-stalled medical marijuana program is finally poised to launch this spring, according to state regulators. Cultivators and testing labs have been licensed and operating since last year, but court challenges left them with no legal outlets to sell their products.

The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission has now licensed nine cultivators, four processors and four dispensary companies, which are expected to open up to nine locations statewide. Initial access will be tightly controlled, with only a handful of physicians authorized to recommend cannabis and products limited to capsules, tinctures, inhalers and patches – no smokable flower or edibles allowed.

State officials plan to monitor demand and consider expanding the program, with first-year sales projected to reach hundreds of millions of dollars, according to MJBizDaily.