Arkansas House Delays Medical Cannabis Program Launch

Perfection shouldn’t be rushed, and when it comes down to hashing out regulations for cannabis legalization, patience is key. The cannabis industry is no stranger to this timeless advice, with so many cities, counties, states, as well as the nation, often delaying the decisions to make things final. For Arkansas, a new medical cannabis state voted in last November, waiting a little longer is the way to go.

The Arkansas House voted yesterday to delay the launch of the medical cannabis program, according to The Cannabist. Reasons for the delay are tied to relaxing the current restrictions on doctors who are allowed to certify cannabis patients. The delay proposal earned a 91-0 vote, and now pushes the final date to establish rules to May, rather than the original completion date in March. It also slightly moved the deadlines for the state to accept applications for cannabis dispensaries and cultivation businesses to July 1, compared to the June 1 deadline.

“They can pass a rule overnight, but you won’t get public input, you won’t get public participation, mistakes will be made,” said Representative Douglas. Also in support of the short delay, David Couch noted that the it doesn’t seem to be an attempt to stall. Rather, it is a necessary step towards fleshing out the program, “They obviously do need an extra 60 days to get it done, so I don’t have a problem with that,” Couch said.

Additionally, the extra time will also allow another measure to be discussed further regarding doctor certification. A number of doctors were concerned about making the decision require that doctors who certify patients must share that medical cannabis would likely outweigh any health risks for patients. Representative Bob Ballinger is also worried that this change would be going against the voter initiative. “We do need to carry out the will of the people, but one thing that I don’t think that we can do is come in and make the judgment now to say, ‘Hey, that’s going to be really hard to do so we need to remove this one safeguard that was put in there,'” Ballinger stated.