LITTLE ROCK - The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way for the state to launch its medical marijuana program, reversing and dismissing a judge's ruling that prevented officials from issuing the first license for businesses to grow the drug.
Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen ruled in March that the state's process for awarding medical marijuana cultivation licenses was unconstitutional. He said the process violated the 2016 voter-approved constitutional amendment that legalized marijuana for patients with certain conditions in Arkansas.
Griffen's order prevented the state's Medical Marijuana Commission from awarding cultivation licenses to five businesses. The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Griffen did not have jurisdiction to halt the licenses.
Writing for the majority, Justice Rhonda Wood said that the Arkansas Constitution prohibits one branch of government from exerting powers belonging to another branch.
"The judicial branch must not abdicate this by reviewing the day-to-day actions of the executive branch," Wood wrote.
Chief Justice Dan Kemp wrote a separate concurring opinion.
The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed by an unsuccessful applicant that argued the process for awarding the licenses was flawed. The company, Naturalis Health, cited two potential conflicts of interest by members of the commission.
The company also claimed officials did not verify applicants' assertions that their facilities would be the required distance from churches, schools and day cares. Naturalis ranked 38th out of the 95 applications submitted, officials have said.
However, attorneys for the state and the companies set to receive the licenses argued that Griffen's court didn't have jurisdiction to hear Naturalis' complaint.
Griffen's ruling effectively halted the launch of Arkansas' medical marijuana program. State officials in April announced the commission would stop reviewing applications for dispensaries to sell medical marijuana in response to Griffen's ruling. Arkansas has approved more than 5,300 applications for patients to use medical marijuana and will issue registry cards about a month before the drug is expected to be legally available.