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Arkansans voted to legalize medical marijuana back in 2016 when voters showed strong support for the medicinal use of the plant in the Natural State.
And now, residents who have registered to become medical marijuana patients in Arkansas are pushing once again for legalizing marijuana, this time for recreational use.
One group is pushing for a grassroots approach to add criminal expungement and legal recreational possession, while patients are hoping to get lower prices and the ability to grow their own medicine.
Arkansas Favors Recreational Marijuana
A public poll as recent as June 2021 says voters are in favor of not only expanding the medical marijuana program in Arkansas, but legalizing recreational marijuana as well:
Q: Do you support or oppose the use of medical marijuana in Arkansas?
67.5% Support
20.5% Oppose
12% Unsure
Q: Recently, there have been significant increases in both the amount of medical marijuana sold in Arkansas and the number of medical marijuana patients with qualifying conditions. Knowing this, would you support:
23.5% Increasing the number of licensed medical marijuana cultivation and dispensaries
19% Legalizing recreational marijuana in Arkansas
46.5% Both
11% Unsure
While several recreational marijuana bills have failed to make it through the Natural State in the past, there are some suggestions that 2022 could turn things around.
Arkansans voted in the medical marijuana program in 2016, and it wasn’t until 2019 until dispensaries opened their doors and the first bag of weed was legally sold in Arkansas.
Now, almost 6 years after legalizing medical marijuana, Arkansas residents are again pushing for recreational legalization for 2022.
Arkansas True Grass Gathering Signatures for 2022 Marijuana Legalization
Arkansas True Grass is a grassroots organization that is shooting for just under 90,000 signatures for legalizing recreational cannabis by June 2022.
For members of AR True Grass, recreational marijuana is an important step towards a better future in Arkansas, and not just for recreational users but for medical marijuana patients as well.
The initiative proposes legalizing recreational marijuana for adults over age 21 with the ability for residents to grow their own cannabis.
And alongside legalizing marijuana, those who are currently in jail for nonviolent marijuana crimes could be released and their records expunged.
While things are moving at a faster pace for the medical marijuana program than they were in 2016, patients in Arkansas have been subject to unnecessary costs and issues at the helm of the program’s limited number of dispensary and cultivation licenses.
Because there are only a handful of cultivators and dispensaries allowed in the state there just isn’t any competition to drive down prices, and there’s no incentive to drop the extremely high profit margins that cultivators and dispensaries are benefitting from.
And for Arkansas True Grass’s ballot initiative, not only would there be plenty of competition to drive down prices, but people over the age of 21 would be able to grow cannabis in their own home, avoiding the dangerously-close-to-a-monopoly problem the state is currently entertaining.
Arkansas True Grass Gathering Signatures for 2022 Marijuana Legalization
Combined with the excise tax, special emergency tax, sales tax, and price gouging, cannabis prices in Arkansas are some of the highest in the nation, comparable to California.
Unless of course you live in a city bordering Oklahoma, where somehow the same cannabis products from the same cultivators are magically 30% - 50% cheaper than anywhere else in the Natural State.
And while quality has remained consistent, it has by no means gotten exponentially better, even though it easily could. The medical marijuana that is available right now in dispensaries is of reasonable quality and can be afforded by a reasonable number of patients.
But reasonable is not always right.
Medical marijuana patients are hoping that recreational cannabis can bring more competition so that prices can drop. Without any additional cultivators or dispensaries (as the current MMJ program would keep it) there probably won’t be significant price drops, but maybe trickle-down savings at best.
At the core of the Arkansas True Grass ballot initiative, is a compassionate approach to provide cannabis to adults who could cultivate it themselves and won’t be prosecuted for doing so.
While this creates an obvious problem for the state’s cash-cow, it is a “for the people, by the people” initiative that isn’t designed to line more pockets or funnel new funds, but instead it offers a helping hand to those who are currently excluded from the Arkansas medical marijuana program.
Until we have full on recreational legalization, having an Arkansas medical marijuana card is the only way to ensure you are legally protected while possessing cannabis products.
And we can hope and expect that if Arkansas legalizes recreational marijuana use in 2022 that not only will dispensary prices drop and quality increase, but there will be special deals or products only available to medical marijuana patients, such as with other states that have both recreational and medical marijuana programs.
Become an Arkansas Marijuana Patient
Qualifying Arkansas patients can schedule an appointment to meet with one of our certified physicians and get approved for medical marijuana treatment.
We’re dedicated to helping patients every step of the way, feel free to give us a call at 844-249-8714, and we can answer your questions about getting medical marijuana in Arkansas.
Doctors Who Care. Relief You Can Trust.
Helping everyone achieve wellness safely and conveniently through increased access to medical marijuana. Our focus on education, inclusion, and acceptance will reduce stigma for our patients by providing equal access to timely information and compassionate care.
If you have any questions, call us at 844-249-8714, or simply book a medical marijuana evaluation to start getting relief you can trust today!
Check out Arkansas Marijuana Card’s Blog to keep up to date on the latest medical marijuana news, tips, and information. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to join the medical marijuana conversation in Arkansas.