HOT SPRINGS -- The two medical marijuana dispensaries currently open in the state have sold more than 100 pounds of the drug since opening last month, sales figures show.
Green Springs Medical, at 309 Seneca St. in Hot Springs, sold 27.27 pounds from noon May 24 through noon Friday, according to the sales figures provided by the state Department of Finance and Administration. From its May 12 opening until noon Friday, the dispensary had sold 70.09 pounds of medical cannabis.
Green Springs Medical and Doctor's Orders RX, at 4897 Malvern Ave. in Garland County, are the only dispensaries currently in operation out of the 32 licensed statewide. Through noon Friday, Doctor's Orders RX had sold 37.74 pounds since it made the state's first legal sale of the drug on May 10.
The Department of Finance and Administration said Arkansas Natural Products, a dispensary in Clinton, is scheduled to be inspected Thursday. Greenlight Dispensary in Helena-West Helena informed the state agency of its intention to open by the middle of this month, but it hasn't been assigned an inspection date.
The state grants final approval to open after the dispensary receives an inspection conducted by the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control Division.
[RELATED: Complete Democrat-Gazette coverage of medical marijuana in Arkansas]
Green Springs Medical reported 6,533 transactions through noon Friday.
The Department of Finance and Administration said that tracking software logs the sale of a marijuana strain as a single transaction, meaning that if a patient purchases two different strains, that would register as two transactions. Doctor's Orders RX had 3,408 transactions through noon Friday.
Patients are prohibited from buying more than 2.5 ounces of medical marijuana over a period of 14 days.
All strains are sourced from Bold Team's Cotton Plant cultivation facility, but a spokesman for Doctor's Orders RX said Natural State Medicinals in White Hall is expected to have marijuana available soon. The two cultivation sites are among the five licensed to operate in the state.
The Department of Finance and Administration said the constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana in Arkansas gives the state no oversight on pricing, leaving it to the market to set prices.
The two dispensaries operating in Garland County have said they charge $15 per gram, a cost that Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield said is not covered under its prescription drug plan because marijuana is illegal under federal law.
The state law's disagreement with federal drug law means transactions are limited to cash only. Financial services, such as banking and credit card processing, are unavailable to the medical marijuana industry.
The Department of Finance and Administration said the first monthly sales reports that dispensaries are required to submit are due this month.
Metro on 06/03/2019