Rules and regulations to govern the upcoming legal use of medical marijuana by Arkansans have cleared their second legislative hurdle but face a final test Friday.
In a meeting Tuesday, the Administrative Rules and Regulations Subcommittee reviewed and approved final versions of rules from the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission, Alcoholic Beverage Control and the state Board of Health.
Emergency versions of those rules had already been reviewed and approved during legislative meetings last month. Tuesday's action was needed to make those rules permanent. The subcommittee's decision is now subject to final review Friday by Arkansas Legislative Council.
Before the committee's action, lawmakers quizzed bureaucrats to see whether particular scenarios had been addressed in the 128 pages of rules.
Answers to many of the questions focused on a database to track sales; the state still needs to buy the database.
For example, Sen. Larry Teague, D-Nashville, said one man told him that as soon as the man was able to get a doctor's recommendation and a state-approved marijuana bottle, he would grow the plant himself and stuff the marijuana container.
If anyone asked, Teague said, the man would say he was using a doctor's recommendation to legally purchase the plant.
"Is that going to be possible?" the senator asked.
Mary Robin Casteel, director of Alcoholic Beverage Control, said that law enforcement officials also are concerned about that scenario.
To help address it, she said the state is procuring a "seed to sale" database to track purchases by patients and sales from those growing marijuana to those dispensaries selling it.
Law enforcement officers will be able to look up a patient's information by scanning his card. Officers will be able to see, for example, how much marijuana someone has bought and where he bought it from.
When Sen. Eddie Joe Williams, R-Cabot, asked what would prevent someone with a marijuana card from picking up the maximum-allowed amount from multiple dispensaries, Casteel said the dispensaries would be required to check the database before selling marijuana.
Casteel said to expect the state to issue a request for proposals so it can buy the software within the next couple of months.
Jerry Cox, founder and president of Family Council, raised some potential problems with the rules, but said the state entities charged with creating them "have had a huge job to do and I think they've done a pretty good job."
But he said it was unclear whether rules limiting cultivation licenses to separate owners would prevent license holders from opening multiple facilities. He also wondered whether residents of Arkansas who are not U.S. citizens could open facilities and if the state Plant Board might approve pesticides for use on marijuana crops.
Cox opposed the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment, which voters approved in the November 2016 general election, and lobbied during this year's regular legislative session for provisions to clamp down on medical marijuana's use.
Asked about the possibility of separate marijuana facilities opening under a single license, Casteel said regulators expect one license per location.
During Tuesday's hearing, lawmakers also expressed concern that medical marijuana patients could be unaware of federal guidance that prevents them from buying or owning a gun.
Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View, referred to a 2011 letter from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that prohibits medical marijuana users from "shipping, transporting, receiving or possessing firearms or ammunition."
Robert Brech, an attorney with the Arkansas Department of Health, confirmed the prohibition in response to questions from lawmakers.
"I think that's extremely important for the public to know," Irvin said.
Metro on 06/14/2017