Dear Arkansas medical marijuana letter of approval holders,

You’re not “card holders” yet, but you’re not alone. People in your condition also waited for about two years after medical marijuana was passed in North Dakota and Ohio. But your anger at the Arkansas government and Medical Marijuana Commission is warranted. It is also compounded by the lightning speed at which our neighbors in Oklahoma were able to get the green meds into the hands of patients.

We are aware that even calling it marijuana, instead of the more scientific name of cannabis, has political overtones that stretch back to the 1930s. There is no doubt that cannabis has medical benefits, from pain relief to incredible reversal of seizures in children when used properly. Having cannabis still listed as a federal Schedule I drug right alongside heroin is nonsense and keeps the drug from being researched to find its full potential.

A majority of the United States has approved the use of cannabis in either medical or recreational forms, yet in the eyes of Uncle Sam, it's a drug "with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse."

CBD, one of many compounds with medical properties found in both marijuana and its non-psychoactive cousin hemp, however, was downgraded from a Schedule I to a Schedule V by the DEA in September.

The governor of Arkansas, a former head of the DEA, has warned his constituents of crossing state lines with cannabis from Oklahoma dispensaries. But if the 6,700 or so people in Arkansas who have been approved to receive medical marijuana cards actually had cards instead of just letters of approval ensuring them a card, there is no doubt many would politely disregard his advice and be in line at any one of the 785 licensed medical marijuana dispensaries in Oklahoma. They honor other state medical card holders, but remember, you're not supposed to cross state lines with it.

Much of this two-year-plus delay in Arkansas could have been avoided if the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission had simply farmed out the grading process for cultivation facilities to a third-party, like it did with the dispensaries. The turnaround for dispensary applications was quick in comparison with the cultivation facilities. Those got tied up in court because of complaints of conflict of interest and unfair grading.

There were early signs the Arkansas Legislature was not really down with the will of the people when it came to medical marijuana. It’s hard to reconcile with that, especially when compared with how surprisingly smooth it went over in Oklahoma.

Thankfully, the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission this week approved the results of grading on dispensaries, and there will soon be 32 dispensaries for medical cannabis in Arkansas: Four in each of the eight state zones. The Department of Finance and Administration on Friday released the results of those gradings. Three companies in Fort Smith and one in Bluffton (Yell County) were chosen as the top scoring applicants in Zone 4.

Let's hope that medical cannabis in Arkansas lives up to its potential to decrease opioid deaths. Most of the people signed up for medical cannabis in Arkansas have qualified for its use to manage "intractable pain."