Last verified: May 2026
The Vote
On November 8, 2016, Arkansas voters approved the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2016 (Issue 6 on the ballot, codified as Constitutional Amendment 98) by 585,030 votes to 516,525 — 53.11% to 46.89%. Drafted by Little Rock attorney David Couch and championed by Arkansans United for Medical Marijuana, the measure made Arkansas the first state in the Bible Belt to legalize medical cannabis at the ballot box.
The 913-Day Implementation Delay
The state began taking patient applications on July 1, 2017, but legal challenges, scoring disputes among license applicants, and software problems delayed retail sales until 913 days after voter approval. The first legal sale occurred at Doctor’s Orders RX (now Suite 443) at 4897 Malvern Avenue between Hot Springs and Malvern on the afternoon of Friday, May 10, 2019, with the first full day of sales on Saturday, May 11. Owner Don Sears served patients in a steady drizzle outside the cinder-block shop; opening-day prices hit $420 per ounce, more than double prevailing prices in Oklahoma at the time. Green Springs Medical in downtown Hot Springs followed three days later.
The Statutory Architecture
Amendment 98 is supplemented by Ark. Code § 20-56-101 et seq. and the Arkansas Department of Health’s Rules Governing the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Program. Four agencies share oversight:
- Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission (AMMC) — five gubernatorially appointed commissioners; administers business licensing under Amendment 98 § 8.
- Arkansas Department of Health (ADH), Medical Marijuana Section — issues patient and caregiver registry ID cards under Amendment 98 § 5.
- Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control Division (ABC), an arm of the Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) — handles licensee inspections, enforcement, and seed-to-sale tracking.
- DFA — collects all medical-cannabis taxes (the 6.5% sales tax + the 4% privilege tax stacked at both wholesale and retail).
Program Scale (May 2026)
| Metric | Value (May 2026) |
|---|---|
| Active patient cards (ADH, Apr 25, 2026) | ~115,105 (115,275 as of Mar 14, 2026) |
| Cumulative dispensary sales (May 2019 – present) | $1.6 billion+ |
| 2025 calendar-year sales | $291.1 million (all-time annual record; +5.5% YoY) |
| 2024 calendar-year sales (prior record) | ~$276 million |
| 2023 calendar-year sales | $283 million |
| Cumulative state cannabis-tax revenue | $218.32 million+ |
| 2025 cannabis-tax revenue | $32.3 million |
| Cultivation licenses issued | 8 of 8 |
| Dispensary licenses awarded | ~38 of 40 cap |
| Active dispensaries | ~36–37 |
| Patient registration fee | $50 (annual; non-refundable) |
| Visiting-patient card fee | $50 (30-day) |
| Patient possession / purchase limit | 2.5 oz / 14-day rolling period |
Sources: Arkansas Department of Health Medical Marijuana Section; Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) spokesman Scott Hardin; Amendment 98 § 8 license caps.
The Eight Cultivators & Forty Dispensaries
Amendment 98 § 8 caps the program at eight cultivation facilities and forty dispensaries distributed across eight geographic zones (no more than four dispensaries per county). As of May 2026, all 8 cultivation licenses are issued; ~38 dispensary licenses are awarded; 36–37 are actively operating.
| Cultivator | City | County |
|---|---|---|
| BOLD Team LLC | Cotton Plant | Woodruff |
| Carpenter Farms Medical Group | Grady | Lincoln |
| Good Day Farm Arkansas (formerly Natural State Wellness) | Pine Bluff | Jefferson |
| Leafology (formerly New Day Cultivation) | Hot Springs | Garland |
| Natural State Medicinals Cultivation (NSMC) | White Hall | Jefferson |
| Osage Creek Cultivation | Berryville | Carroll |
| Revolution Cannabis (formerly Delta Medical Cannabis Co.) | Newport | Jackson |
| River Valley Relief Cultivation (RVR) | Fort Smith | Sebastian |
Source: Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission (AMMC). The original five cultivation licenses were awarded February 2018; the final three (RVR, Carpenter, New Day/Leafology) followed through 2020–2022 amid extensive litigation. Carpenter Farms is one of the largest Black-owned commercial farming operations in the Delta.
The Quiet Constitutional Risk
⚠️ Major constitutional development. In December 2025, the Arkansas Supreme Court overturned its 1951 Edgmon decision and held that the General Assembly may, by two-thirds vote, amend any voter-approved constitutional amendment — including Amendment 98. Litigation and a citizen-initiative response (the Save AR Democracy amendment for the 2026 ballot) are ongoing, but the practical effect is that the medical-marijuana program is, for the first time since 2016, vulnerable to direct legislative alteration. Per January 2026 Arkansas Advocate reporting, multiple legislators — including Senate President Bart Hester (R-Cave Springs) — have signaled they may use the Edgmon ruling to "review" Amendment 98 in 2027, including potentially raising medical-cannabis taxes. See Edgmon Reversal page.
The Program Timeline
Issue 6 / Amendment 98 passes (53.11%)
Voters approve the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2016 585,030 to 516,525 (53.11% / 46.89%) — making Arkansas the first state in the Bible Belt to legalize medical cannabis at the ballot box. Drafted by Little Rock attorney David Couch; championed by Arkansans United for Medical Marijuana.
Patient applications open
The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) begins accepting patient registry applications. Practitioner certifications and license-applicant scoring begin in parallel.
First five cultivation licenses awarded
AMMC awards cultivation licenses to BOLD Team, NSMC, Osage Creek, Delta Medical (now Revolution), and Natural State Wellness (now Good Day Farm). The remaining three follow through 2020–2022 after litigation.
First legal sale — 913 days after voter approval
Doctor’s Orders RX (now Suite 443) at 4897 Malvern Avenue between Hot Springs and Malvern makes the state’s first medical cannabis sale. Owner Don Sears serves patients in a steady drizzle outside the cinder-block shop. Opening-day prices: $420 per ounce.
Green Springs Medical opens (Hot Springs)
Three days after Suite 443. Hot Springs becomes the symbolic capital of Arkansas cannabis.
Litigation, scoring fights, and license expansions
Carpenter Farms wins its license through a settlement after challenging a "scrivener’s error" rejection. A 2023 RICO class action accuses BOLD, NSMC, and Osage Creek of inflating THC potency in lab testing.
Act 629 signed (hemp-intoxicant ban)
Sen. Tyler Dees’ SB 358 / Act 629 classifies delta-8, delta-10, delta-6a, delta-10a, and synthetic cannabinoids as Schedule VI controlled substances; caps hemp finished-product delta-9 at 0.3%. Federal injunction follows.
Issue 4 (recreational) fails 56.25% No / 43.75% Yes
Arkansas Adult Use Cannabis Amendment defeated 505,128 to 392,938. Coalition opposition: Family Council Action Committee (Jerry Cox) + AG Leslie Rutledge + Gov. Asa Hutchinson + then-candidate Sarah Huckabee Sanders + Sen. Tom Cotton + Sheriffs’ Association. Long-time advocate Melissa Fults also opposed (monopoly critique).
Issue 3 enjoined — votes not counted
Arkansas Supreme Court 4–3 (with two Sanders-appointed special justices) blocks certification of Issue 3 (medical expansion w/ home-grow + federal-trigger rec). Votes appear on the November ballot but are not counted.
SB 59 / Act 122 signed — school-breakfast pivot
Gov. Sanders signs SB 59 (Sen. Jonathan Dismang) re-routing medical-cannabis tax revenue from the UAMS NCI Designation Trust Fund to a new Food Insecurity Fund — underwriting universal free school breakfast for the 2025–26 school year.
Eighth Circuit reverses Bio Gen injunction
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacates the federal injunction blocking Act 629, holding that the 2018 Farm Bill "facilitates" but does not require state legalization of hemp products.
AG Tim Griffin certifies Act 934 enforcement
Within three months, DFA seizes more than 6,000 hemp-derived intoxicant products from convenience stores and vape shops. Delta-8, delta-10, hemp-derived delta-9 edibles above 0.3%, and most THCa flower become illegal in Arkansas.
⚠️ Edgmon reversed — legislature can amend voter-passed amendments
The Arkansas Supreme Court overturns its 1951 Edgmon decision, holding that the General Assembly may amend any voter-approved constitutional amendment by two-thirds vote — including Amendment 98. Save AR Democracy citizen-initiative response launches for 2026.
115,275 active patient cards
ADH reports the program’s all-time-high active-card count, up from 110,259 a year earlier.
⚠️ No 2026 ballot measure on track
Save AR Democracy signature campaign falls short of 90,704-signature threshold by July 3, 2026 deadline. Any future legalization effort expected to wait until 2028.
The Defining Tensions
- Constitutional protection vs. legislative flux. Amendment 98 is constitutional — harder to alter than a statute — but the December 2025 Edgmon reversal has reshaped that durability significantly.
- Patient access vs. price. 115K+ active patients reflect strong demand; ~$420/oz opening prices and the persistent ~2× Oklahoma price gap reflect the supply-cap-driven pricing.
- Bible Belt firstness vs. recreational holdout status. Arkansas legalized medical first in the Bible Belt and has now twice rejected recreational. Both can be true.
- Tax revenue narrative. The cumulative $218M+ in tax revenue is more than enough to materially improve patient access if reinvested; instead it has flowed to UAMS and now to school breakfast.
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Related on this site: Arkansas Caregiver Card, Arkansas Medical Card, Arkansas Medical Cannabis Practitione....