Arkansas’ medical marijuana identification cards will resemble state-issued ID cards and driver’s licenses, a sample marijuana ID card released by the state Department of Health shows.

The Health Department began mailing out marijuana ID cards to qualifying patients on Monday, Feb. 4, Health Department spokesman Meg Mirivel said. The cards have an effective start date of Feb. 15.

Approved by the state’s voters in 2016, Amendment 98 to the Arkansas Constitution allows patients suffering from a qualifying medical condition to purchase up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana every two weeks from state-licensed dispensaries. Patients must obtain a marijuana ID card from the Health Department before they can do so.

State regulators expect that the first batch of medical marijuana will be available for purchase in April, with most dispensaries being in operation by summer.

The cannabis sold through the state’s medical marijuana program will be grown at five large-scale cultivation facilities. Plant Family Therapeutics, one of the state’s initial 32 dispensaries, plans to open at 5172 Highway 62 E in rural Mountain Home in late summer, a news release from the business states.

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The sample marijuana ID card released Thursday displays a patient’s photo along with their name and address. Other items listed on the card include the patient’s date of birth, sex, height, race and eye color. The card also includes an issuing date and an expiration date.

The ID card also contains an entry line for a unique customer ID number and two additional lines for “internal IT codes,” Mirivel said.

The sample card has a two-tone green/yellow backing. An all-caps “Arkansas” is displayed on the top of the card in red lettering, with “Medical Marijuana Identification Card” displayed underneath in smaller, all-caps black lettering.

A blue square located in the upper right-hand corner identifies the cardholder as a patient.

The cards are printed on thick, cardstock-like paper, Mirivel said, but will not have the clear laminate or holographic designs found on current Arkansas driver’s licenses or state-issued ID cards.

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The Health Department has approved more than 7,000 applications for marijuana ID cards.

“With that many cards, it’s taking us some time to get them all mailed out,” she said. “If a patient has not received their card by the end of the month, they should contact the Health Department.”

Those with marijuana ID card questions should call the Health Department at (501) 682-4982 or email adh.medicalmarijuana@arkansas.gov, Mirivel said.

Applicants must pay a $50 yearly registration fee, provide a copy of a valid Arkansas driver’s license or other state-issued ID and obtain a written certification from a physician that the patient has a qualifying medical condition.

Medical conditions covered by Amendment 98 include cancer; glaucoma; HIV or AIDS; hepatitis C; amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Tourette syndrome; Crohn’s disease; ulcerative colitis; post-traumatic stress disorder; severe arthritis; fibromyalgia; or Alzheimer’s disease to use medical marijuana. Various conditions causing “intractable pain” also qualify patients for the medical marijuana program.

A bill currently under consideration in a state House of Representatives committee would add 40 additional qualifying medical conditions to those currently approved.

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