What’s next for the marijuana movement?

Our View

What’s next for the marijuana movement?

As we all know, to the disapproval and disappointment of Gov. Asa Hutchinson, the state surgeon general, scores of politicians and other prominent leaders voters approved the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2016, so where do we go from here?

We’ve heard very little about what we can expect from this amendment which supposedly will allow certain people with specific illnesses to puff on a marijuana joint, which proponents of this amendment claim is the better alternative to conventional medicine for the purpose of easing pain.

Let us say to all those sick people anxiously waiting to legally toke up on a joint and that is they won’t be able to qualify to obtain a registry card for many months. But, we’re sure in the meantime there are many Arkansans having little trouble obtaining their “pot” fix.

From what we understand, the first step the state must have in place is a regulatory structure with specific guidelines that specifically focus on the use of “medical” marijuana.

Under this complex structure will be three different agencies that have until March to establish the rules.

The Department of Health will be tasked with regulating qualifying patients, qualify medical conditions and designating caregivers.

Furthermore, the Department of Health must have in place a labeling process, testing standards and criteria that identifies who can and who can’t qualify for a registration card.

During this process the president pro tempore of the senate, the speaker of the house and the governor must create what will be called The Medical Marijuana Commission. This commission will utilize the services of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division which will be responsible for dispensing the “pot” and oversee the cultivation process.

ABC staff will also be responsible for inspecting and investigating the dispensaries and cultivation facilities and for enforcement of the rules and laws.

With all this said, allow us to reiterate our concerns with this amendment. As it has been made clear, implementation will be very costly and the taxpayers will be on the hook to manage, monitor and enforce this mess. And then, and then, there is the issue of added responsibilities being placed on law enforcement agencies called upon to deal with illegal activity.

From yet another aspect of all this there is the motivation of financial opportunity for those entrepreneurs seeking permits to open marijuana stores and those individuals wanting to cultivate the weed for profit.

From a pure business standpoint there is a great opportunity to make a lot of money while the costs to the state for managing this will be enormous.

With that said we would expect Gov. Hutchinson and others in Little Rock to have in place the necessary charges, fees and taxation to absorb these costs.

We are still of the opinion that this is just the first step on the part of the proponents of this amendment to make the use of marijuana available for anyone, similar to tobacco sales. Let’s not fool ourselves to believe otherwise.