Arkansas Medical Marijuana Up In Smoke?

Without immediate action by the Arkansas General Assembly, Amendment 98, the Amendment to the Arkansas Constitution that was supposed to allow patients in Arkansas access to "Medical Cannabis" may literally disappear like a puff of smoke. This will adversely affect over 7,000 patients that have already requested and or received their Medical Cannabis Card.

The following is the write-up from the Dopey Times Concerning the article titled “Feds Seize Cannabis Seeds Heading to Bold Team Facility" that was published March 4, 2019 by Arkansas Business

“A former state official in a position to know tells us that federal authorities seized cannabis seeds in transit to the state’s first marijuana business operating legally, the cultivator Bold Team LLC of Cotton Plant (Woodruff County).

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire? Hardly, Bold Team appears to have done everything by the book, but all states with legalized forms of cannabis face the same Catch-22: Under federal law, marijuana remains an illegal Schedule 1 narcotic, and interstate transportation of products is strictly verboten.

Arkansas law allows licensed cultivation sites to grow cannabis for Arkansans with a medical qualification card, but interstate commerce is forbidden, and no provision was made for legally obtaining mother plants or seeds.

Federal authorities said they do not routinely reveal seizures of contraband until they emerge in legal filings as cases proceed. Bold Team Director of Customer Relations Robert Lercher, whose wife is one of four owners of the high-tech cannabis greenhouse operation in Woodruff County, responded carefully. “In regards to your seed question, what I will say is that Bold Team continues to move expeditiously to provide medical cannabis to the patients of Arkansas, and we have at all times complied with Amendment 98 and all Arkansas rules and regulations.”

Meanwhile, Lercher said the state’s first medical marijuana crop is only weeks from hitting dispensary shelves. “Making great progress,” he said. “The plants have doubled in size since you were here [Arkansas Business took a tour four weeks ago], and we took our first 650 and flipped them to flower a week ago today [Feb. 19].” (See Bold Team Provides Peek at Arkansas’ First Legal Pot Operation.)

State officials have said that cannabis products are likely to be available to qualified patients at some of the state’s 32 dispensaries by early to mid-April.

Since the conception of Amendment 98 by the author and sponsor Attorney David Couch of Little Rock it was pointed out at the conception that this amendment had three very major issues. One is that the Arkansas Attorney General approved the amendment which does not contain a definition of “Marijuana".

Two, there is no language to allow the grow operations or dispensers access to seeds or plants from out of state sources, unlike that allowed under the Arkansas Hemp Study Act. Last but the most critical is that Section 20 of the amendment states the following “Arkansas Constitution of 1874 Amendment 98, § 20. No implied repeal (b)This amendment acknowledges that marijuana use, possession, and distribution for any purpose remains illegal under federal law.”LINK

Arkansas, unlike all other states that approved Medical Cannabis, did not exercise their 10th Amendment Rights under the Constitution of the United States, and in effect leaves the enforcement of “Marijuana Laws” directly in the hands of Federal Law Enforcement like the DEA.

This to some may appear to be breaking news when in fact it is ancient history. Since the conception of Amendment 98 two Cannabis Activist in Arkansas, Don Lane, a disable former corrections officer who is now a Medical Cannabis Refugee in a legal state and Robert Reed, a disabled veteran and member of (LEAP), Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, brought these issues before the sponsor and the media numerous times. Appearing on TV, Radio, in town hall events and in print along with attempting to persuade the Arkansas General Assembly and the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission to correct these issues to no avail due to lack of support from the Cannabis Community in Arkansas.

Due to the recent developments, Medical Cannabis in Arkansas appears to be further down the road than ever before, unless the 7,000 plus patients and their supporters immediately have their voices heard by going to the Arkansas Sate Capitol and demanding that the “Will Of The People”, access to Medical Cannabis, be made immediately available by “Emergency Legislation” to correct these issues.

If you do NOTHING, NOTHING will be done! #ENDtheMADNESS

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