Arkansas Supreme Court Clears Way for Medical Cannabis Program

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]T[/dropcap]he Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that a judge who made an earlier decision declaring that the state’s medical cannabis licensing was not qualified to speak on the matter. Pulaski County Judge Wendell Griffen declared that the state’s medical cannabis program’s decision-making process was unconstitutional, halting the licensing process.

In March, Griffen ruled that the state’s process for awarding medical cannabis cultivation licenses was unconstitutional after hearing a lawsuit from an unsuccessful applicant. Naturalis Health pointed out that two potential conflicts with members of the commission and felt that officials did not verify the correct distance from schools and churches.

Griffen’s ruling and preliminary injunction halted the cannabis licensing process in the state hours before issuing them to the first five, and state officials stopped reviewing dispensary applications in response to the ruling.

The Arkansas Supreme Court agreed with state attorneys and other attorneys that Griffen’s court didn’t have the proper jurisdiction to hear the case. The ruling said that the lawsuit came prematurely, and that the judicial branch should have not involved itself until all administrative avenues were exhausted.

“Our constitution divides our state government into three branches and states that no branch ‘shall exercise any power belonging to either of the others,'” Justice Rhonda Wood wrote for the state’s Supreme Court. “This is foundational to our government. The judicial branch must not abdicate this by reviewing the day-to-day actions of the executive branch.”

Woods also noted that the agency’s decisions may be subject to judicial review in some cases. However, the commission doesn’t give any process to accomplish that.

“The action of the Supreme Court sets the stage for the cultivation licenses to be issued,” said Gov. Asa Hutchinson in a written statement. “As to any future rule changes, that is a matter still under review and will ultimately need to be considered by the Commission.”

“We look forward to resuming our efforts to cultivate medical marijuana and serve the citizens of Arkansas who qualify for, are entitled to, and are in need of its use,” said Don Parker, a spokesman for Delta Medical Cannabis Co., one of the companies who will be awarded a license.

The controversy surrounding the licensing is far from over. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported parts of a winning application appear to have lifted sections from a lower scoring application, funneled through  attorney Michael Langley. Langley, who was former director of the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control Division, is now the attorney for the Arkansas Contractors Licensing Board.