The panel that licenses medical marijuana businesses in Arkansas voted Wednesday to authorize an additional dispensary in southeast Arkansas after those businesses that were supposed to open have been slow to do so.

The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission will award an additional permit for a cannabis company to open a dispensary in one of 13 counties: Arkansas, Ashley, Bradley, Chicot, Cleveland, Desha, Drew, Jefferson, Lee, Lincoln, Monroe, Phillips and Prairie.

Of the four dispensary companies licensed to operate there, only one -- Greenlight Dispensary in Helena-West Helena -- has opened to patients.

Commissioner Justin Smith, a nurse at Arkansas Children's Hospital, made the motion to issue an additional license in what is called Zone 7. It couldn't be determined Wednesday evening which group would receive the extra license.

"That population isn't being served, so I would like to help them by issuing an additional license in Zone 7," Smith said.

The commission in recent months has become impatient with dispensaries that have repeatedly missed their targeted opening dates.

Last summer, only a handful of dispensaries told regulators that they would still be under construction at the turn of the new year, but still, 16 dispensaries -- out of 32 licensed last year -- remain unopened.

The opening delays are just the latest snags in the rollout of Arkansas' medical cannabis program since voters legalized the drug by approving a constitutional amendment in 2016.

The commission, under Amendment 98 to the Arkansas Constitution, has the authority to issue additional licenses in any of eight zones in the state if it determines that there aren't enough to meet patient demand. It can issue a total of 40 dispensary licenses.

David Couch, the Little Rock attorney who drafted Amendment 98, suggested in an article published Jan. 19 in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that the commission could issue additional licenses in zones where dispensary openings are lagging.

The Alcoholic Beverage Control Division was still trying to determine Wednesday evening which dispensary stood to receive the fifth license in Zone 7.

The commission voted to award the additional license to the company that scored the next highest during the dispensary license application process. However, the next two highest-scoring companies -- Medicanna Dispensary and Wild Wings on the Delta -- both withdrew their applications to receive a partial refund of their application fees. The next dispensary in line is Nature's Herbs and Wellness of Arkansas in Pine Bluff, according to Alcoholic Beverage Control records.

In addition to Greenlight, Zone 7's other licensed dispensaries are: Pain Free Rx in Pine Bluff, Arkansas Patient Services Co. in Warren and Pine Bluff Agriceuticals in Pine Bluff.

Scott Hardin, an Alcoholic Beverage Control spokesman, said the agency would determine the fifth licensee in short order.

"We anticipate a letter confirming the intent to award a license will be issued to this company by the end of the week," Hardin said. "Upon receipt of the letter, the company will have seven business days to pay the licensing fee and post the required bond. If the company fails to complete this process, ABC will make the licensing offer to the next eligible company based on score and status."

The commission chairwoman, Dr. Ronda Henry-Tillman, said the commission wanted to discuss issuing additional licenses in Zones 3 and 7 "based on access," despite the matter not being on the agenda for Wednesday's meeting.

In addition to Zone 7, Smith moved to issue an additional license in Zone 3, which encapsulates 14 northeast Arkansas counties.

Zone 3 has one open location in Brookland, a small town just outside Jonesboro. The zone's other locations, which are all in West Memphis, remain unopened.

State Alcoholic Beverage Control Director Doralee Chandler said that none of the dispensaries in West Memphis had requested final inspections, which typically signals an intent to open in the following few weeks.

Two of the retailers, Chandler said, anticipate opening in mid-2020, while the other had told state regulators it planned to open in February.

MissCo Cannabis Dispensary in Osceola would be the next in line for a fifth retail license, according to Alcoholic Beverage Control records.

"Let's move forward," Tillman said. "Again, these are areas that aren't being served, and we need to move forward. We have the license and other people are on the list waiting."

Commissioner Kevin Russell said the commission could revisit issuing an additional license in Zone 3 down the road. Zone 3's counties are Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Greene, Independence, Jackson, Lawrence, Mississippi, Poinsett, Randolph, St. Francis, Sharp and Woodruff.

Dispensaries have sold more than 5,463 pounds of medical cannabis since early May with sales totaling more than $35.6 million, according to Alcoholic Beverage Control.

Metro on 01/30/2020