Arkansas
Status: In Arkansas, all individuals with a legal prescription may possess and use medical marijuana. State licensed businesses may grow, process, transport, and dispense medical marijuana.
| CBD Program | Medical Program | Recreational Program | Are Applications Open? |
| Legal | Legal | Not legal | closed |
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Number of Arkansas Licenses Available
| Dispensaries | Cultivation | Manufacturing/Processing | Transportation |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
You can read the full text of the Arkansas law at: https://uaex.edu/
Arkansas Medical Marijuana Cultivation Facility Guidelines
– Allowed to cultivate, prepare, manufacture, process, package, sell and deliver usable marijuana to Arkansas state-licensed dispensaries.
– No more than 5 cultivation licenses to be issued in each public health district
– Cultivation real estate must be not less than 3,000 feet from any school, church or daycare center.
– No more than 1 license shall be issued to any entity.
– Application fee has been set at $15,000 (half of the application fee will be returned if the application for a cultivation facility is not approved).
– Within 7 days of receiving written notice of selection from the commission, the selected applicant shall submit a license fee of $100,000.00 in cash or certified funds as well as a performance bond in the amount of $500,000.00.
REQUIRED ARKANSAS MARIJUANA BUSINESS PLANS FOR CULTIVATION APPLICATION:
- Cultivation Plan Template
- Manufacturing/Processing Plan Template
- Environmental Plan Template
- Financial Plan Template
- Fire Safety Plan Template
- Inventory Control Plan Template
- Product Safety Plan Template
- Security Plan Template
- Staffing Plan Template
- Suitability of Proposed Plan Template
- Transportation Plan Template
RECOMMENDED ARKANSAS MARIJUANA BUSINESS PLANS FOR CULTIVATION APPLICATION:
Arkansas Medical Marijuana Dispensary Guidelines
– Allowed to acquire, possess, manufacture, process, prepare, deliver, transfer, transport, supply and dispense medical marijuana to qualifying patients and caregivers.
– No more than 32 dispensary licenses shall be awarded within the “8 dispensary zones”
– Dispensary location may not be any less than 1,500 feet from a school, church or daycare center.
– No more than 1 license shall be issued to any entity.
– The application fee for dispensary licenses is set at $7,500 (half the application fee will be refunded if the license is not granted).
– There is a two-tier licensing scheme for dispensaries:
– One tier will be comprised of those dispensaries that intend to grow marijuana – a dispensary may opt to grow fifty (50) mature marijuana plants.
– A second tier will be comprised of those dispensaries that do not intend to grow marijuana.
– The applicant will be required to declare their intent to grow or not grow at the time the application is submitted.
– Within 7 days of receiving written notice of selection from the commission, the selected applicant shall submit a license fee of $15,000.00 in cash or certified funds as well as a performance bond in the amount of $100,000.00.
REQUIRED ARKANSAS MARIJUANA BUSINESS PLANS FOR DISPENSARY APPLICATION:
- Business & Operations Plan Template
- Financial Plan Template
- Inventory Control Plan Template
- Patient Education Plan Template
- Patient Recordkeeping Plan Template
- Security Plan Template
- Staffing Plan Template
RECOMMENDED ARKANSAS MARIJUANA BUSINESS PLANS FOR DISPENSARY APPLICATION:
The History of Arkansas Marijuana
On November 8th, 2016, the residents of Arkansas voted on and passed an Initiative (Issue 6) to legalize medical marijuana. On November 9th, 2016, Issue 6, otherwise known as the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment, went into effect making medical marijuana legal in Arkansas for patients suffering from qualified medical conditions (listed below). In May 2019, the state’s first dispensaries opened to registered patients.
In July 2019, campaign group Arkansas True Grass submitted a proposed constitutional amendment to the state secretary’s office that would allow the legalization of cultivation, production, distribution or possession of marijuana to anyone 21 and older. The group is now gathering signatures to try to legalize recreational marijuana across the state. The group has until July 3, 2020 to gather at least 89,151 signatures from registered voters to qualify for the November 2020 ballot.
There are three local government agencies regulating the state’s Medical Marijuana Program (Program), each of which have been tasked to regulate different aspects of the Program:
Arkansas Department of Health (DOH): Tasked to regulate Patient and Caregiver activities within the Program. The DOH developed the Rules and Regulations Governing Medical Marijuana Registration, Testing, and Labeling in Arkansas.
Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC): Tasked to regulate marijuana businesses and developing the Rules and Regulations Governing the Oversight of Medical Marijuana Cultivation Facilities and Dispensaries.
Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission (MMC): In collaboration with the ABC, tasked to regulate marijuana businesses. The MMC developed the Rules and Regulations Governing the Application for Issuance and Renewal of Licenses for Medical Marijuana Cultivation Facilities and Dispensaries in Arkansas.
Qualifying Conditions: Cancer, Glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, ALS, Tourette’s syndrome, Crohn’s disease, Ulcerative Colitis, PTSD, Severe Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, Alzheimer’s Disease, A chronic or debilitating disease, Intractable pain, which is pain that has not responded to ordinary medications, treatment, or surgical measures for more than six (6) months, Severe nausea, Cachexia or wasting syndrome, Peripheral neuropathy, Seizures, including without limitation those characteristic of Epilepsy; or severe and persistent muscle spasms and Multiple Sclerosis (MS).