Arkansas Officials Delay Medical Cannabis Dispensaries

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]T[/dropcap]he Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission’s regulators need more time to approve the first medical cannabis dispensaries in the state. The Medical Marijuana Commission (MMC) declared that it has decided to postpone a meeting to sort and approve applications for dispensaries.

MMC’s meeting that was supposed to be held on Wednesday, Dec. 19, when the officials were expected to decide the status of medical cannabis dispensary applications and announce their scores, has been scheduled for Jan. 9, 2019. They reason for the delay is to provide the newly appointed Commissioners sufficient time to get up-to-date on important and relevant matters. Moreover, Public Consulting Group’s medical director was unable to attend the meeting but confirmed his attendance on Jan. 9.

Benton Police Capt. Kevin Phillips is a new member of the commission and was appointed recently by Senate President Jonathan Dismang to replace Dr. Carlos Roman. A selection will also be made to replace James Miller, who resigned from his seat with two years remaining on the five-member body. The new member hasn’t been announced yet.

The MMC outsourced the dispensary license scoring to a third-party group after a controversial cultivation licensing procedure earlier this year. Last August, the commission hired a Boston-based consultant to look at over 200 applications to open up a dispensary. Arkansas’ medical cannabis market has been constantly weighed down by frequent delays, including legal setbacks since medical cannabis was legalized in the state in 2016. Per the state’s medical cannabis law, Arkansas officials can license up to 32 dispensaries.

The medical cannabis businesses cannot begin operation until a state-grown steady cannabis supply is established and readily available. The MMC officials predict that such a supply will be ready and medical cannabis available for accredited patients with valid permits from health professionals by spring next year.