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WEBVTT "COMMISSIONERS WERE UNANIMOUS IN THEIR DECISION TO ACCEPT THE SCORES PROVIDED TO THEM BY A PAID CONSULTING FIRM. BUT SOME APPLICANTS SAY THE SCORING PROCESS WAS FLAWED AND THEY'RE PUSHING FOR CHANGES." ? (NATS...PCG REP SAYS "WE DID WHAT WE SAID WE WERE GOING TO DO.") ? ? REPRESENTATIVES WITH THE PUBLIC CONSULTING GROUP OUT OF BOSTON MASSACHUSETTS TOLD THE BOARD HOW THEY SCORED DISPENSARY APPLICATIONS, THEN THE COMMISSIONERS MADE THEM OFFICIAL.? ? NOW 32 LICENSES WILL soon BE ISSUED ACROSS THE 8 ZONES IN THE STATE.? ? EACH ZONE WILL HAVE FOUR DISPENSARIES THAT WILL SELL AND IN SOME CASES EVEN DELIVER MEDICAL MARIJUANA TO qualified patients. ? REPRESENTATIVES WITH THE CONSULTING FIRM SAID INITIALLY IT TOOK A LOT OF TIME TO SCORE THE 200 APPLICATIONS BUT THEY SAID TOWARDS THE END THEY COULD SCORE AN APPLICATION IN ABOUT AN HOUR, WHICH DID NOT SIT WELL WITH MANY WHO WERE NOT AMONG THE TOP SCORES.? ? "this just means that they got overwhelmed and they started copying their scores down." "please explain to me how you can read a twelve hundred page application and understand security, packaging, transportation, qualifications in one hour."? ? BARON CRANE WITH NEW LEAF CANNABIS WAS HOPING TO GET A LICENSE TO OPEN A DISPENSARY IN EUREKA SPRINGS OR HARRISON.? ? HE SAYS JUDGES GAVE NEARLY IDENTICAL SCORES TO APPLICANTS IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT CATEGORIES.? ? "these facilities are going to be in your neighborhoods, and these consultants did not even bother to check into the security requirements and simply gave a blanket same score on 86 percent of the applications."? ? CRANE SAYS the scores should be recalculated.? ? "believe me, we've waited a long time we do not want any more delays but this needs to be done right and safely."? ? "CRANE SAYS HIS GROUP WILL MOST LIKELY TAKE THEIR COMPLAINTS TO COURT. COMMISSIONERS SAID IT WILL LIKELY TAKE ABOUT 2 WEEKS TO ISSUE THE LICENSES BECAUSE SOME WINNERS WON IN MULTIPLE ZONES. THEY'LL HAVE TO CHOOSE WHERE TO OPEN UP SHOP BECAUSE BY LAW YOU'RE ONLY ALLOWED ONE LICENSE PER ORGANIZATION. IN

Advertisement Arkansas medical marijuana dispensary scores approved by commission The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission is set to discuss legal dispensary sites at a meeting Wednesday afternoon in Little Rock. Share Shares Copy Link Copy

The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission voted Wednesday evening to approve the scores submitted for dispensary applications in the state.The scores help determine which of the applicants will be allowed to sell medical marijuana to patients in the state.There is "about a two week process" to officially issue the licenses. Applicants who had high point totals in multiple zones will have to pick a zone, successful applicants will need to pay surety bonds to the state, and the state will verify storefront locations. Tap or click here if the Facebook Live video of the meeting does not show up above.The state hired a Massachusetts-based company called Public Consulting Group to assign scores to each of the dispensary applications. The company presented those scores and discuss them at Wednesday's meeting.Two commissioners, Dr. Ronda Henry-Tillman and Dr. Stephen Carroll, asked the PCG spokespersons at the meeting if the scores take into account the particular strains of marijuana the dispensaries would sell. A company spokesperson said he would talk to the scorers and to learn the answer.Henry-Tillman and Carroll were concerned that certain patients would need particular strains, and those strains may not be available in a dispensary nearby..A total of 32 dispensary locations will be awarded, divided into 8 zones across the state. 40/29 News obtained raw data of the scores for each of the 8 zones.The four highest-scoring applicants in each of the zones on the state's map should be awarded licenses, according to the process described by the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission. Companies who are in the top 4 in multiple zones will have to pick one zone to open in. Tap or click here to see a map of the zones.The Arkansas Department of Human Services had approved 6,743 Arkansans for medical marijuana patient cards as of December 28, 2018. The department told 40/29 News it will distribute the cards by February 2019.The dispensary licenses are distinct from the cultivation centers, where marijuana can be legally grown.Five companies have already been selected to grow marijuana. None have begun planting yet, and the earliest estimate marijuana plants would be ready for harvest is April 2019.However, Arkansans will be able to cross state lines into Oklahoma to purchase medical marijuana there. They just won't be able to bring it back.Pharm 788 is a legal dispensary that just opened in Roland, Oklahoma, just two miles across the border with Arkansas.Oklahoma has a new temporary medical marijuana license program that allows people with patient cards in other states to legally buy, use and grow marijuana in Oklahoma, according to the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority. The temporary licenses are valid for 30 days.Click or tap here to learn how to apply for a temporary Oklahoma medical marijuana license.