Arkansas: Market and legal data analysis of the cannabis sector

22nd October 2024: US - Arkansas: The Arkansas Supreme Court has rejected the state’s “Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2024”, stating that any vote for the proposed amendment would not be counted because the measure’s name and title are misleading. In September, secretary of state John Thurston said the group had not submitted enough valid signatures to get the amendment on the November ballot. In reply, organisers of the ballot petition filed a lawsuit against Thurston seeking to overturn his decision. The court agreed that the measure’s title is misleading because it fails to adequately explain that – beyond expanding the state’s medical cannabis programme – it would also more broadly legalise possession of cannabis if a federal policy change is made.
1st October 2024: US - Arkansas: The Arkansas secretary of state has determined that a proposed ballot initiative to increase access to medical cannabis did not gain enough valid signatures to reach the ballot in November. Among other reforms, the proposal would have allowed for the home cultivation of medical cannabis by qualified patients, expanded definitions to allow more healthcare professions to certify patients, and significantly expanded the medical conditions for which medical cannabis can be given. Organisers of the ballot petition said they will pursue legal action against the decision, press reports.
21st February 2024: US - Arkansas: Attorney general (AG) Tim Griffin has approved, with changes, a proposed constitutional amendment that would increase patient access to medical cannabis. The proposed amendment was submitted for reconsideration after an earlier rejection from the AG. Among other reforms, the proposal would allow for the home cultivation of medical cannabis by qualified patients, expand definitions to allow more healthcare professions to certify patients, and significantly expand the medical conditions for which medical cannabis can be given. Advocates must now collect enough signatures before the proposed constitutional amendment can be placed on the ballot in November.
15th January 2024: US - Arkansas: Arkansans for Patent Access, a ballot committee, has submitted to the state attorney general a proposed constitutional amendment that would increase patient access to medical cannabis if passed by voters in the 2024 election, press reports. Among other reforms, the proposal would allow for the home cultivation of medical cannabis by qualified patients, expand definitions to allow more healthcare professionals to certify patients, and significantly expand the medical conditions for which medical cannabis can be given.
12th September 2023: US - Arkansas: A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction to prevent state officials from enforcing Act 629 (formerly Senate Bill 358), which came into effect on 1st August and prohibits the sale of intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids (IHDCs) such as delta-8 THC, press reports. The judge ruled that Act 629 might be unconstitutionally vague and interfere with interstate commerce. The injunction will prevent the state from implementing and enforcing the new law until the merits of the case can be decided. Trial for the lawsuit was set for August 2024.
3rd August 2023: US - Arkansas: A lawsuit has been filed by a group of four hemp companies challenging Act 629 (formerly Senate Bill 358), which came into effect on 1st August, prohibiting the sale of intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids (IHDCs) such as delta-8 THC, press reports. Concerns over minors’ access to the products prompted the ban, but the hemp companies are seeking an injunction to resume sales while the case proceeds. They claim the ban violates the US Constitution’s commerce and supremacy clauses, as well as the 2018 Farm Bill.
22nd June 2023: US - Arkansas: A circuit judge has nullified 27 medical cannabis laws found to be unconstitutional under Amendment 98, which legalised medical cannabis in Arkansas in 2016 after voters approved the measure, press reports. The lawsuit, brought by Good Farm Arkansas and Capital City Medicinals, challenged the authority of state legislators to modify the amendment with laws passed in the House and Senate. The judge ruled that any amendments made to Amendment 98 are unconstitutional, thus preserving the original language. The voided laws include THC caps, tax collection methods, and advertising regulations for dispensaries and cultivators.
19th April 2023: US - Arkansas: Senate Bill (SB) 358 has been signed by the governor and enacted into law. What is now Act 629 bans the production and sale of any intoxicating substances derived from industrial hemp, specifically including products “produced as a result of a chemical process that converted the industrial hemp or a substance contained in the industrial hemp into Delta-8, 19 Delta-9, Delta-6a, 10a, or Delta-10 THC…and any other psychoactive substance derived therein”. Such substances would be classified as Schedule VI controlled substances under the Uniform Controlled Substances Act. However, Act 629 also makes a potentially problematic amendment by placing the following THC limitation on hemp: “a total delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of no more than three-tenths of one percent (0.3%) of the hemp derived cannabadiol [sic] on a dry weight basis, unless specifically controlled under the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, § 5-64-101 et seq”. A literal reading of this definition seems to limit the THC concentration to 0.3% of the CBD concentration, which is seemingly impossible in the plant and could therefore be interpreted by a court as allowing virtually zero THC in hemp. CannIntelligence emailed the governor and the bill's sponsor, senator Tyler Dees, to alert them to this apparent drafting error before it was enacted, to which Dees replied, “I sincerely appreciate your feedback as we review this new law.”
12th April 2023: US – Arkansas: House Bill 1784 has been signed into law by governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders. It protects qualified medical cannabis patients and their caregivers from that status being used against them when applying for a licence to carry a concealed handgun.
11th April 2023: US – Arkansas: House Bill 1784 has passed the Senate and now heads to the governor’s desk. It would protect qualified medical cannabis patients and their caregivers from that status being used against them when applying for a licence to carry a concealed handgun.
11th April 2023: US – Arkansas: Senate Bill 358 has passed the legislature and now moves to the governor’s desk. It would ban the production and sale of any intoxicating substances derived from industrial hemp, specifically including products “produced as a result of a chemical process that converted the industrial hemp or a substance contained in the industrial hemp into Delta-8, 19 Delta-9, Delta-6a, 10a, or Delta-10 THC…and any other psychoactive substance derived therein”. Such substances would be classified as Schedule VI controlled substances under the Uniform Controlled Substances Act.
6th April 2023: US - Arkansas: House Bill (HB) 1784 has passed the House and now heads to the Senate. HB 1784 would protect qualified medical cannabis patients and their caregivers from their status as such being used against them when applying for the issuance of a licence to carry a concealed handgun.

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