AR: Licenses To Grow Marijuana To Be Announced Feb. 27

Ron Strider

Well-Known Member
The five licenses to legally grow marijuana in Arkansas will be awarded Feb. 27, the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission decided Friday.

The five-member commission gave themselves until Feb. 20 to complete their scoring of the 95 applications the state received in September to operate a cultivation facility. The commission will announce the winning applicants at a public meeting in Little Rock a week later.

In November 2016, Arkansas voters approved an amendment to the state constitution authorizing the sale of medical marijuana to residents with a qualifying medical condition. The Medical Marijuana Commission will award licenses for five cultivation facilities – where the plant will be grown — and 32 licenses for dispensaries, where the plant will be sold.

There were no applications to operate a cultivation facility in either Baxter or Marion county. Both Izard and Searcy counties each had one cultivation license application.

The state received 227 applications for dispensaries, which will be spread evenly across eight geographical regions. Locally, there are two applications to operate marijuana dispensaries in Baxter County and one application for a dispensary in Marion County. Dispensary applications for nearby counties include three in Stone County, two in Izard County and one in Fulton County.

Joel DiPippa, a state attorney advising the commission, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that the commission is not expected to award the dispensary licenses until spring 2018.

The state has yet to set a firm date for when medical marijuana will be available for sale.

The applications of potential marijuana growers and sellers will be graded on a 100-point scale, with half of those points awarded in a section addressing issues with marijuana facility operations like the ability to grow marijuana and security planning. This section will consist of five subsections, each worth up to 10 points.

Other graded sections include applicant qualification, financial disclosure and an operations plan. Applicants can receive up to 10 bonus points for meeting certain optional state standards, including minority ownership, an association with a physician or pharmacist or providing programs to benefit the community.

All applications will have individuals' names and other personal identification redacted to help the commission score the applications impartially, without knowing the identity of the applicant.

Copies of completed dispensary and cultivation facility applications have not yet been released to the public, but under state open records laws should contain the names of applicants when they are released.

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News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Licenses to grow marijuana to be announced Feb. 27
Author: SCOTT LILES
Contact: Contact Us | Baxter Bulletin
Photo Credit: Reuters
Website: The Baxter Bulletin
 
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