The state's first medical marijuana sale was transacted in Garland County Friday night, a spokesman for the dispensary making the sale said.
Bailey Moll of JPJ Consulting said the initial sale occurred after 6 p.m. at Doctor's Orders RX in the 4800 block of Malvern Avenue. It and Green Springs Medical at 309 Seneca St. are the only dispensaries among 32 statewide the state has approved to open. The latter hopes to make its first sale Monday morning.
Moll identified the first customer as Sean Sharp. Friday's sale seemed unlikely after Doctor's Orders had difficulty installing state-mandated software that tracks inventory and sales to ensure compliance with the per-patient limit of 2.5 ounces per 14 days.
"Doctor's Orders RX has successfully resolved all software problems," President Don Sears said in a news release. "As a result, we were able to sell medical marijuana to an Arkansan with a physician-issued medical marijuana card."
Moll and Sears said processing new patients will take time, as their information has to be logged into the tracking software during initial transactions. Doctor's Orders will reopen at 8 a.m. today.
"We expect long lines and apologize for any inconvenience," Sears said in the release. "However, at this time, processing schedules are unpredictable and out of our control. But we are thrilled to finally be able to provide Arkansans with the prescriptions they have waited more than two years to fill."
Green Springs President Dragan Vicentic said his dispensary, the only one licensed to operate inside the city limits of Hot Springs, is scheduled to open Monday morning. The state's Alcoholic Beverage Control Division gave it the go-ahead after a final inspection Thursday. Doctor's Orders got approval May 3.
Vicentic said Green Springs will be rationing the drug until availability increases. The Bold Team cultivation facility in Cotton Plant is the only grower with product, he said. The state's other three cultivation sites don't have any ready for market.
"We're allotting one-half ounce per person for the first week," he said, noting that dozens of people have been calling to inquire about product availability. "If we get 50 pounds, that will allow us to serve 1,600 patients."
Moll said Doctor's Orders doesn't plan to limit sales.
"Every patient needs what they need," he said. "We're going to follow the law and allow them to get up to the legal amount. There's not an expectation that people are going to be buying the maximum amount. For one, it's very expensive. And 2.5 ounces is a lot of marijuana."
Vicentic said Green Springs will have seven strains of the drug available Monday. Bold Team plans to cultivate 25 strains when its grow operation reaches full capacity, he said. The drug will be limited to smokable form until the cultivation process has more time to develop.
"The dried herb is the quickest to process," he said. "The vape oils and edibles require further processing."
Green Springs and Doctor's Orders are both licensed to grow and maintain up to 50 mature plants, but Vicentic said product grown on site won't be ready for another three or four months. Natural State Medical Group at 1402 Airport Road, the county's other licensed dispensary, is also authorized to grow plants.
A written doctor's certification attesting to a qualifying condition is required to apply for a medical marijuana card through the Arkansas Department of Health. A 2017 study showed more than 25,000 Garland County residents have a qualifying condition. They include: cancer, Alzheimer's disease, peripheral neuropathy, post-traumatic stress disorder, epilepsy, intractable pain, severe arthritis, Crohn's disease, multiple sclerosis, ALS, fibromyalgia, glaucoma, Tourette's syndrome and hepatitis C.
Local on 05/11/2019