A pair of bills sponsored by Arkansas Senator Cecile Bledsoe has medical marijuana advocates concerned about restrictions with the industry.

A pair of bills sponsored by Arkansas Senator Cecile Bledsoe (R- Rogers) has medical marijuana advocates concerned about restrictions with the industry a few months away from finally getting going in Arkansas.

“This is about making sure that people do the right thing,” State Sen. Bledsoe said. “If they are doing the right thing by following the rules and regs established by the medical marijuana commission, there won't be a delay.”

Senate Bills 440 and 441 severely restrict sales of edible marijuana to approved customers, as well as curtails advertising for the drugs to be more in line with tobacco advertising. Sen. Bledsoe said her main concern is keeping marijuana from being marketed to children. But for advocates who have been waiting for more than two years since voters approved medical marijuana, there are fears the new proposals could bog down the process again.

“This is not in any way a ploy to slow them down or to see that medical marijuana patients do not get their medicine,” Bledsoe said. “The bill is being drafted now so I know what I want it to say, but the drafters are getting that language together. So it's a work in progress.”

At least one of the larger cultivators and dispensary companies is prepared if the restrictions went into place, though they hope several details are cleared up in later drafts.

“Edibles are already very tightly described in [Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission] rules,” said Ben Kimbro, public affairs director for Harvest Inc., the parent company for Natural State Wellness. “The fact is that we've got a lot of experience working with the medical community and have found some ways to do that that are very sensible.”

Kimbro agreed that calls to prohibit the use of medical symbols in packaging are acceptable, but said advertising restrictions, if they matched what exists on tobacco products, could make customer education in the state a challenge.

“We would like to be able to reach out to Arkansas patients,” he said. “We think there is a lot of room for education in this market. We want to do that in a way that is respectful, sensible and balanced.”