Arkansas Medical Marijuana: State Sees High Number Of Applications

LITTLE ROCK, AR — Arkansas state officials have been flooded with applications from hopeful medical marijuana growers and distributors.

There was a roughly three-hour wait for applicants at the Department of Finance and Administration Building ahead of Monday afternoon's deadline. Before noon, the office had distributed paperwork to more than 100 groups or individuals, agency spokesman Scott Hardin said. Less than half of those applicants were called in for clerks to review paperwork and make sure everything looked ok.

Voters last year approved marijuana use by people with certain medical conditions. A state commission will review applications after the names of companies and individuals have been removed and then select five growers and 32 distribution sites.

The applications are on average about 1,000 pages long, Hardin said. (For more information on medical marijuana and other Arkansas stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

By KELLY P. KISSEL, Associated Press

Photo credit: Kelly P. Kissel/Associated Press