Trio of marijuana dispensaries expected to spark medical tourism revenues in West Memphis

Trio of marijuana dispensaries expected to spark medical tourism revenues in West Memphis

City will be closest location for cannabis card carriers to fill their prescriptions for much of Northeast Arkansas

news@theeveningtimes.com

Southland Park Gaming & Racing may be the biggest tourist attraction in the county, but a money-making venture of a decidedly different type will be bringing a decidedly different type of visitor to the Wonder City. Medical Marijuana patients from all across Northeast Arkansas will soon be trekking to West Memphis to fill their prescriptions for cannabis. Medical tourism has traditionally been seen as a lunch stop or maybe an overnight hotel stay for family of a surgery or oncology patient. Come April, three medical marijuana dispensaries will open in West Memphis, adding a medical tourism niche to the Gateway City.

No other city was awarded three. Four other towns will have two outlets: Bentonville, Fayetteville, Hot Springs and Pine Bluff. There are a pair of places in the Little Rock area including one in Sherwood.

From here, the next-nearest outlets were granted in Helena and Rector both about 80 miles in different directions from West Memphis. Rector sits north of Paragould and west of Kennett, Missouri. Helena na is a river city 75 miles south.

The three local dispensers listed addresses on the applications with the state. Two will be on the Interstate Interchange service roads and the other just off east Broadway on OK Street.

THC RX will build a shop in 3700 Interstate Frontage Road East. Delta Cannabis Co., will construct a new store on 1151 E. Service Road; and Comprehensive Care Group, would move into an existing building at 201 and 203 N. OK St.

The state divvied Medical Marijuana dispensaries into eight zones and allowed four dispensaries in each zone. The Arkansas beverage Control Division keeps a waiting list. The only other dispensaries in the fourteen county northeast Zone 3 with West Memphis was in Rector, population MARIJAUNA

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2,000.

Councilman James Pulliaum made note of the announced dispensaries and coupled it with the news of the casino expansion during budget considerations

on Wednesday afternoon. “We have three dispensaries

getting ready to be

built here,” said Pulliaum. “We have Southland getting ready to do their expansion with a casino.

I have 15 years in law enforcement. I can tell you this, we need to do something for the police, to get them a living wage. We have to come up with something. Most of them have to work second jobs to get by.”

By John Rech