Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission cracking down on 16 unopened licensed dispensaries

LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission is cracking down on licensed dispensaries that have yet to open their doors a year after getting their license.

There are still 16 state dispensaries and two cultivators that have not opened for business, but the commission is tired of excuses as to why and is questioning what should have been enforced for the dispensaries from the start.

"I think one of our biggest decisions and biggest responsibilities as a commission is really holding these licenses and licensees accountable," commissioner Travis Story said.

It's a question of how the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission is working with the Alcohol Beverage Control board (ABC) to find out what is going on with the state's unopened dispensaries on the cusp of when they're supposed to be renewing their licenses.

"He's not acquiring this license to sit on it, he's acquiring it with the full understanding that the commission expects this thing to be up and going," Capitol Law Group partner Alex Gray said, representing Pine Bluff Agriceuticals and Arkansas Patient Services.

The above dispensaries are asking for a change of ownership, one before they even break ground.

But the commission says no and that those originally awarded a license should be responsible for opening doors.

"Obviously, the commission is very concerned with patient care and making sure that the people who have been awarded licenses start operating and using those licenses to provide the care throughout the state," Story said.

What's next, according to the commission, is figuring out how to ask the unopened dispensaries their reasons for stalling and letting their answers decide if they will even be able to continue their opening process later this year.

Will they be able to open with a hard open date? Or will they be in the weeds before they even get off the ground?

"That's something that those dispensaries and those cultivation facilities, if that's the case, are really going to have to answer to," Story said.

The renewal applications, along with applications for upcoming medical processors and transporters in the state, will be finalized at the commission's next meeting, January 29.