We’ve been checking police plans for enforcement of marijuana law against people with valid medical marijuana cards who are found in possession of marijuana not in dispensary packaging. Rebekah Hall got this response today from the North Little Rock Police Department’s Sgt. Amy Cooper:

The NLRPD is currently drafting a policy in reference to the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Act. I can advise, at this time, that the NLRPD will not be ticketing or arresting any medical marijuana card holders who are in possession of medical marijuana whether inside or outside of the original dispensary packaging.

Our inquiries began after the West Memphis arrest of a cardholder with marijuana. Police were quoted there as saying they had probable cause for an arrest because he held marijuana that wasn’t in dispensary packaging. The law requires that drugs be sold in child-proof packaging, but it is silent on requirements for those who purchase it. That’s by design, says David Couch, a lawyer who helped write and pass the measure.