Arkansas rules on smoking medical cannabis, staffing go to governor

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The Arkansas Senate has approved regulations on where medical marijuana can be smoked as well as requirements for staffing dispensaries.

According to the Arkansas News, the next stop for House Bill 1400 is the desk of Gov. Asa Hutchinson. If he signs the measure into law, it will ban patients from smoking medical cannabis:

  • Anywhere that smoking tobacco is prohibited.
  • In the presence of someone younger than 14.
  • In a vehicle.
  • In the presence of a woman the smoker knows is pregnant.
  • In a space – likely small and enclosed – where non-MMJ patients could be affected by the cannabis.

The rule also forbids anyone younger than 21 to smoke medical marijuana.

The Senate also passed Senate Bill 271, which would require a dispensary to establish a “pharmacist director,” according to the Arkansas Times. That person would be available to the dispensary by phone and to patients via phone or video during business hours.

SB 271, which now advances to the House, would also require dispensaries to sell vaporizers but would forbid the outlets from selling or providing smoking paraphernalia such as pipes or bongs, the newspaper reported.