State regulators dismissed one violation and sustained two others against Arkansas' most successful medical-marijuana dispensary on Wednesday, and reduced its fine by 85%.
Green Springs Medical dispensary of Hot Springs had been charged with a series of rule violations -- including inadequate product labeling and improper signs -- after a July inspection.
However, the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control Board voted Wednesday to sustain only two of the five violations and reduce the facility's fine from $7,025 to $1,000.
The board's decision came after its members noted that dispensary owner Dragan Vicentic had been cooperative with investigators and had put forth a good-faith effort to comply with state regulations.
"When I look at this, the gentleman is obviously trying to follow all the rules, all the regulations," said board member Steven Smith of Springdale. "In some cases he's attempting to go above and beyond what was required. The fact that he complied very well with agents and he did follow up and is in compliance and immediately did things to make himself in compliance -- it wasn't something where he was dragging his feet."
Wednesday's hearing was the first appeal to the board from a medical-marijuana company since the first cultivation licenses were issued nearly two years ago.
State inspectors found five violations in July:
• Failure to properly label stored medical marijuana.
• Failure to maintain video surveillance.
• Failure to maintain biometric locks on doors.
• Failure to restrict access to marijuana storage areas.
• Display of improper signage.
Doralee Chandler, director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division, dismissed the violations related to video surveillance and access restrictions last month, but she sustained the other three violations.
The board then dismissed the violation related to biometric locks after Vicentic appealed, but it sustained the final two violations.
Green Springs Medical has overwhelmingly been the most successful dispensary since opening in May. As of Feb. 14, the last time sales numbers were reported, Green Springs had sold more than 1,400 pounds of medical cannabis. The next closest dispensary, the Releaf Center in Bentonville, had sold just more than 670 pounds.
Metro on 02/27/2020