Medical Marijuana Update

A Delaware bill to allow medical marijuana dispensaries to jumpstart legal adult-use sales awaits the governor's signature, Kansas lawmakers will take up medical marijuana in an interim session, and more.

Arkansas

Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment Campaign Hands in Signatures. Arkansans for Patient Access (APA), the group behind the Arkansas Medical Cannabis Amendment, has handed in 114,402 raw signatures to state officials. The campaign needs 90,704 valid voter signatures to qualify for the November ballot.

Voters in the state approved medical marijuana in 2016, but patients, especially those in rural areas, have complained about lack of access to their medicine. This initiative would ease access by allowing health practitioners -- not just doctors -- to recommend medical marijuana and by allowing recommendations via telemedicine.

"Our canvassers found voters eager to place an amendment on the ballot that will eliminate barriers to access and make it less expensive to acquire and keep a medical marijuana card," said Bill Paschall, APA campaign committee member. "As we move into the fall, we look forward to educating Arkansans all across the state about this amendment and the medicinal benefits of marijuana," Paschall said.

If passed, the amendment would also allow patients to grow their own plants at home and eliminate annual patient card renewals and fees.

Delaware

Delaware Legislature Approves Bill to Allow Medical Marijuana Dispensaries to Start Selling to All Adults. In a bid to speed up the emergence of a legal marijuana marketplace, lawmakers have approved a bill that would allow existing dispensaries to apply for "conversion" licenses to be able to sell in the adult-use market, House Bill 408. The bill also specifies that funds from licensing will go to support social equity applicants.

When lawmakers approved marijuana legalization last year, there was no path for medical marijuana dispensaries to move into the adult-use market. If Gov. John Carney (D) signs the bill into law, adult sales could begin by March or April of next year.

"They're already established here," said state marijuana commissioner Rob Coupe, who helped draft the bill. "They're good businesses that were established in Delaware based on our need. They've been contributing to our employment; they've been contributing to taxes; they're providing the service to the patients. So, it's good business for us to create a pathway for them."

The medical marijuana operators would have to be $100,000 for manufacturing, testing, and retail permits and $200,000 for cultivation permits to transit into the adult-use market. That is the money that will go to social equity applicants.

"House Bill 408 has the potential to raise up to $4.2 million in licensing fees," Sen. Trey Paradee (D) explained during the debate. "That money will then be used to help launch and support the social equity licenses in the form of grants."

Kansas

Kansas Lawmakers to Devote Two Days of Interim Session to Medical Marijuana Hearings. The state's Legislative Coordinating Council, which is made up of Republican and Democratic leadership in the House and Senate, has acceded to a request from Sen. Michael Fagg (R) for a hearing on options for developing a medical marijuana bill ahead of the 2025 legislative session.

"Although the Legislature has worked to address medical marijuana, further study is needed," Fagg said.

Fagg also pointed to the looming federal rescheduling of marijuana as another reason to hold the hearings. "The special committee would also study the impact of this reclassification," he said.

Kansas is one of only a handful of states that have yet to adjust their marijuana laws to accommodate medical marijuana.

The legislative leadership has allocated two days for medical marijuana discussions out of 56 days to debate various policy issues in the interim.