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Little Rock, Arkansas is still without a medical marijuana dispensary for its citizens in need. As part of Pulaski County, the most populous county in Arkansas with nearly 400,000 people, patients in need are beginning to lose hope.
Pulaski County is one of four counties that make up medical marijuana’s Zone 5, where four dispensaries were licensed back in February to open to the public. It is one of 8 zones spread across the state to ensure dispensary access to patients state-wide.
So, when will Central Arkansas residents have their first grand opening? As of today, zero of the four dispensaries have committed to an opening date. According to the Arkansas Democratic Gazette, the earliest estimated opening date that’s been reported by company representatives is September or October of this year for Natural Relief Dispensary in Sherwood.
No official word has been given by the other three dispensaries. These include Grassroots in Little Rock, Natural State Wellness Dispensary in Little Rock, and Harvest in Conway. In fact, no visible work is being done on Natural State Wellness Dispensary’s building.
Until a local Central Arkansas dispensary opens, residents must either drive long distances to acquire their medicine or wait. And with many patients depending upon public transportation, not everyone has the ability to get to any of the open dispensaries.
Why such a long delay? It’s typically due to zoning issues, weather difficulties, and court disputes.
According to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division (ABC), dispensary owners may face consequences if they aren’t open by the end of January 2020.
“We understand construction does take time with outside factors such as weather playing a role,” reported Scott Hardin of ABC. “However, there will be a point at which ACB will take action if a dispensary is not open for business.”
What About the Rest of Arkansas?
As it stands, there are seven medical cannabis dispensaries open in Arkansas. These include:
If you pull up all of these locations on a map, you will be struck by the vast stretches of Arkansas that are still without a local dispensary. It’s not only Central Arkansas residents that are waiting for their first dispensary, but much of Western, Southern, and Northeastern Arkansas as well.
Take residents of Fort Smith, Arkansas. They’re nearly 100 miles from the closest dispensary, a distance that is hard, if not impossible, for many patients to travel.
Fortunately, dispensary owners and employees around the state are hard at work doing what they can to open their doors to medical marijuana patients. It is just a matter of time before 32 dispensaries are open state-wide.
If you are an Arkansan suffering from one of these 18 medical conditions you may be eligible to treat your ailment with medical marijuana, which includes both THC and CBD products.
Click here to learn more about what Arkansas Marijuana Card's state-certified medical marijuana doctors can do for you, or give us a call at (844-249-8714) and our friendly support team can walk you through the entire process, and set you up with an appointment.