Arkansas moves closer toward launching medical pot program
Source: Associated Press
Andrew Demillo, Associated Press
Updated 6:48 pm CST, Wednesday, January 9, 2019
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — An Arkansas panel on Wednesday named 32 companies it intends to license to sell medical marijuana, two years after voters approved its legalization and following a series of delays that have frustrated patients and advocates.
The state Medical Marijuana Commission approved the scores from an outside consultant it had hired to evaluate about 200 applications for dispensaries. The companies must pay a $15,000 licensing fee and post a $100,000 performance bond before the licenses to sell the drug are formally issued. The commission last year awarded five cultivation licenses to grow medical marijuana.
Arkansas voters in 2016 approved a constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana, but the program's rollout has faced legal and bureaucratic delays. Adding to the frustration is neighboring Oklahoma , where medical marijuana is already available to patients months after voters approved its legalization.
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Arkansas has approved more than 6,700 cards for patients to use medical marijuana, and the state Department of Health has said it likely won't distribute the cards until February. The patients include LaRee Treece, who has fibromyalgia and says she needs medical marijuana for the pain.
Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Arkansas-moves-closer-toward-launching-medical-13521979.php
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