Arkansas receives 300 applications for medical cannabis licenses

Arkansas received roughly 300 applications for medical marijuana business licenses, including about 200 on the final day the paperwork could be submitted.

The Department of Finance and Administration took in 200-plus applications Monday on top of the roughly 100 that had been submitted since the process began, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.

The turnout likely was a relief for Arkansas’ MMJ regulators considering no applications had been received a week and a half after the licensing process began June 30. The first applications weren’t submitted until late August.

An MMJ program spokesman told the Democrat-Gazette that roughly 200 applicants were seeking one of the 32 licenses to operate a dispensary and the others were hoping to secure one of the five cultivation permits.

Applicants for grow licenses were required to pay a $15,000 fee, and potential dispensary owners paid $7,500. All unsuccessful applicants will be refunded half their application fees.

Arkansas’ Medical Marijuana Commission will review applications after the names of companies and individuals have been redacted.

The commission plans to award business licenses near the end of the year, and MMJ sales could begin around March.

– Associated Press and Marijuana Business Daily