Arkansas voters approved the legalization of medical marijuana on Nov. 8, and now state agencies are working diligently to get rules and regulations in place.
"We're at the beginning of the process," said Jake Bleed, spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. ADFA is working with the Arkansas Department of Health on the rule-making.
"We've been working at it really since the amendment was adopted, looking at the challenge before us and what we need to do," Bleed said. "The constitutional amendment gives us 120 days from the day of enactment, Nov. 9, so we're on a pretty tight deadline. For us we've got to get the Medical Marijuana Commission formed."
The MMC will have five members and is required by the amendment.
"We need to get the rules and regulations in place and promulgated through the Arkansas Administrative Procedures Act, determine how we accept applications, permits, who can apply, who can run a dispensary and how the whole system is going to work. From there we'll then begin the process of accepting applications and making determinations about how we're going to run medical marijuana in Arkansas," Bleed said.
There are 17 qualifying conditions including cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, Tourette's, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, post-traumatic stress disorder, severe arthritis Alzheimer's Disease. More conditions could be added.
"We'll be putting a process in place to consider public petitions to add additional medical conditions to the list of qualifying conditions," said Marisha DiCarlo, director of the office of health communications for the Arkansas Department of Health.
The Arkansas Department of Health will play a key role in getting the state ready for medical marijuana.
"For us we're in charge of some of the rule-making. We're issuing registry identification cards once there's a system in place for that. We'll be tracking dispensed marijuana. We've also been charged to regulate labeling and testing standards to establish reasonable fees," DiCarlo said.
There is still a lot of work to be done.
"I think it's important for people to understand what we're doing right now is setting up the timeline and building infrastructure to do the things we've been charged with," DiCarlo said. "Obviously and importantly the public wants to know now that it's passed when they can be considered and get identification cards but there is a very important and big interim step before that can happen, creating the rules and building the infrastructure and that's what we're doing right now."
Keeping the public informed of where state agencies are at in the process is important. ADH will update the public at its webpage, healthy.arkansas.gov, as the details are firmed up.
Passing Issue 6 means there are big changes taking place in Arkansas but none of those changes applies to people in Texas-important to note for a city like Texarkana that straddles a state line.
"In Texas, nothing has changed," said Shawn Vaughn, police spokesman for the Texarkana, Texas, Police Department. "So even if someone is coming from Arkansas where it's legal for them to have marijuana, if they are in possession of marijuana in Texas they would still be subject to arrest just like they would have before."
Vaughn doesn't foresee this causing problems in Texas.
"I don't know that's it's really a concern on this side here. The law hasn't changed (in Texas) so we'll continue to enforce the laws that are on the books as we have in the past. It just means anybody that decides to partake in Arkansas needs to realize it has to stay in Arkansas," Vaughn said. "Once they cross state lines the are subject to the laws of Texas which at current time, at least, doesn't allow for possession or usage of marijuana in any form. People just need to be smart. If it's legal in Arkansas, then it has to stay in Arkansas."
Doctors prescribing marijuana have to be licensed in Arkansas and only residents of Arkansas will be allowed to register for the program. Arkansas will honor medical marijuana cards from other states that have passed similar measures.