Our View

Our View

Plenty of questions remain on medical marijuana in Arkansas

We mentioned the other day how little was being said publicly from the politicians and bureaucrats as to how they were handling the implementation of constitutional amendment requiring the state to create a system for selling marijuana to people with certain medical conditions.

Well, since then we hear at least one lawmaker has filed a bill that would delay the implementation deadlines for the program while the state Department of Health is detailing the process for people to obtain registry cards for buying medical marijuana, the lab testing requirements for the pot and the process for adding new qualifying conditions.

Because of the complexity of putting all this together, Rep. Douglas House, R-North Little Rock, wants to change the 120-day deadlines to 180 days and change the June 1 deadline to July 1.

Based on the amendment voters approved the state faces a June 1 deadline to begin accepting applications for dispensaries that would sell the pot. We’re told draft rules haven’t yet been released for the regulation of and application process for dispensaries and cultivation facilities. The governor, we’re told and lawmakers have until Dec. 9 to appoint members of the five-member commission that will license the pot dispensaries.

The proposed Health Department rules so far don’t say how much these pot users would have to pay to apply for a registry card allowing them to purchase the wacky weed from the designated profit-making dispensaries.

The Department of Health still has to determine how much it will cost the taxpayers to administer the program and how many qualified users are expected to participate, but we anticipate there will be pot users from all corners of the state lining up to grab their share of the marijuana.

What we do know at this point is eligible conditions under the amendment that users must have in order to obtain a a registry card.

Users have to be determined by a licensed physician to be ailing from Crohn’s disease, cancer or post-traumatic stress disorder. Now then, for those inquisitive individuals who don’t know what Crohn’s disease is allow us to explain. This is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease characterized by inflammation of the digestive, or gastrointestinal tract. It is more commonly found at the end of the small intestine where it joins the beginning of the large intestine.

We all know what cancer is but let’s explain this posttraumatic stress disorder. It was once called shell-shock or battle-fatigue syndrome. It is a condition that can develop after someone has experienced or witnessed a traumatic or terrifying event in which serious physical harm occurred or was threatened. It causes intense fear, helplessness or horror. People who have been diagnosed with this disease will have reactions that may include shock, anger, nervousness, fear and even guilt.

So, with that said we can just imagine the task at hand, not to mention having to deal with those individuals biting at the bit to get in on the action, thinking there is a tremendous opportunity to make a lot of money growing this pot and selling it to those individuals determined to have one of these diseases.

Based on how our state Department of Health has handled things, it will be interesting to see how they put all this into motion without wasting a ton of our tax dollars.