Voters in Arkansas approved a measure to legalize medical marijuana in 2016 and the state finally began sales in mid-2019 with about 11,000 registered medical marijuana patients. Arkansas’s medical cannabis program has expanded significantly in the years since as more patients registered, reaching 101,006 active MMJ cards in June 2024 and 108,957 by the end of the year.
The Arkansas Department of Health is charged with issuing MMJ cards in the state, while the Alcohol and Beverage Control Agency issues licenses to medical cannabis dispensaries. Data shows that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was the most common medical condition at 34.9%, with intractable pain, severe arthritis, peripheral neuropathy, and fibromyalgia following at 29.0%, 11.5%, 5.3%, and 4.2%, respectively.
Arkansas medical marijuana laws allow patients with one of 18 qualifying conditions to access the drug and allow for additions to this list via petition.
A growing number of scientific studies have found that cannabis can alleviate a variety of medical conditions with little to no side effects. Mental disorders like PTSD and depression, as well as physical ailments such as epilepsy and chronic pain, have responded positively to cannabis treatments in various studies. Millions of Americans across the U.S. are now using marijuana to treat their illnesses, often as an alternative to pharmaceutical medications.
With Arkansas levying a 6.5% state tax as well as a 4% privilege on medical cannabis, the MMJ program has generated millions of dollars’ worth of revenue for the state. The state’s marijuana laws allow for the licensure of up to 40 dispensaries that serve as the only source of medical marijuana in Arkansas. Unlike many other states with MMJ programs, Arkansas doesn’t allow registered patients to grow cannabis at home or access the drug via any channel outside the registered dispensaries.
Furthermore, state medical cannabis policies cap medical marijuana purchases for registered patients to 2.5 ounces every two weeks. Arkansas had 38 active medical cannabis dispensaries by the end of 2024, averaging one dispensary for every 2,658 registered medical marijuana patients, with the two remaining licenses still undergoing legal action.
If Arkansas continues registering more medical marijuana patients, it may have to amend its policies to allow for more registered dispensaries and ensure there is enough supply to satiate medical marijuana demand. Allowing patients to grow cannabis at home would also reduce the pressure placed on the state’s licensed MMJ dispensaries.
The growing registrations for medical marijuana in Arkansas is a development that all marijuana industry players, such as Cresco Labs Inc. (CSE: CL) (OTCQX: CRLBF), will be happy about since it shows that the population is getting value from the products available to them.
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