At last cumulative count, Arkansas had 322 applicants for 37 licenses to grow and/or sell what's been dubbed "medical" marijuana in what used to be called the Natural State, only the rush to become legalized dope dealers is proving decidedly unnatural. Folks at the state's Finance and Administration Department now report that enterprises whose names allude to pot can be found all over Arkansas' map. Names such as Down South Dispensary, Arkansas Green Cross, Delta Cannabis Co. and Emerald's Medical Marijuana Dispensary. A fellow could get high and hazy just by reading the extensive list.
So come one, come all, because seating is limited at this show that might be the most popular number in this theater of the absurd. Just where are these budding entrepreneurs eager to do well by selling this now-semi-legal weed? The haze is growing so thick it's not easy to spot them all. To quote David Couch, a big supporter of Amendment 98, the Medical Marijuana Amendment, the rush for licenses to dispense locoweed can be found "all over the state. There's no area of the state that doesn't have interest."
Yes, Little Rock may now have the most businesses whose names are connected to the growing and selling of weed, but the competition for that dubious honor is fierce across the state. Such enterprises can be found in hamlets like Glenwood and Hardy as well as college towns like Fayetteville, Jonesboro and Arkadelphia. So don't let the smoke get in your eyes, and you can spot the folks out to make a buck just about anywhere.
The plot thickens as it always does wherever federal law and federal agents become involved. For a sure sign of confusing things to come, note that Cannaco Dispensary Inc. has been registered in Hot Springs National Park, a federal jurisdiction, even though dealing in marijuana is still technically against the law of the land, namely the United States of (ever high) America. All the lawheads should have a fine old time trying to figure out this conundrum of a statute.
The feds aren't alone in trying to stop trafficking in marijuana. Local authorities in Benton, Hot Springs and Siloam Springs are doing what they can to keep the marijuana trade out of their towns. There may be no geographic limit to what they can do technically to keep the marijuana trade out of their towns. Arkansas' Medical Marijuana Commission has chosen to spread these dispensaries for pot across eight zones of the state. Which means that Arkansas' capital city is limited to no more than four such dispensaries if we understand the setup correctly.
There was a time when the early-morning haze above the beautiful Arkansas River and Buffalo National Park was the clouds parting on another beautiful day. But in these confused times, it could be another sign of a whole state going to pot.
Editorial on 09/22/2017