Last verified: May 2026
Arkansas Cannabis Industry Association (ACIA)
The state’s medical-cannabis trade association.
- Website: arcannabis.org
- Managing director and chief lobbyist: Bill Paschall.
- Membership director: Tricia Larson.
- Members: Most of the eight cultivators, many dispensary operators, processors, transporters, testing laboratories.
- Functions: Industry advocacy at the General Assembly and AMMC; ballot-measure petition campaigns (Bill Paschall served as petition representative for Issue 3 of 2024).
David Couch — Attorney at Law
Little Rock attorney David Couch is the principal legal architect of Arkansas medical-cannabis policy.
- Website: davidcouchlaw.com
- Drafting credits: Amendment 98 of 2016, Issue 3 of 2024 (Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2024).
- Functions: Constitutional-amendment drafting, ballot-measure petition representation, cannabis-business legal counsel.
- Public role: Couch is among the most-quoted Arkansas cannabis-policy commentators. His warning that higher Arkansas privilege taxes could push patients across the Missouri border for recreational purchase was widely covered in the post-Edgmon coverage.
Arkansans for Compassionate Care
Long-running Arkansas patient-advocacy group focused on medical-cannabis program expansion (qualifying conditions, certifying providers, home cultivation). Arkansans for Compassionate Care has been active continuously since the early 2010s.
Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) Arkansas
MPP Arkansas chapter — mpp.org/states/arkansas. National MPP coordination with state-level Arkansas policy work; MPP funding has supported various Arkansas reform initiatives.
NORML Arkansas Chapter
The Arkansas chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). Local advocacy and legal-defense referrals. NORML’s Arkansas penalties chart is norml.org/laws/arkansas-penalties-2.
ACLU of Arkansas
The American Civil Liberties Union’s Arkansas affiliate.
- Website: acluarkansas.org
- Location: Little Rock.
- Functions: Civil-rights and racial-disparity advocacy. ACLU Arkansas was a substantial contributor to the 2020 ACLU national report A Tale of Two Countries: Racially Targeted Arrests in the Era of Marijuana Reform, which documented the 2.4× Black-to-white possession-arrest disparity in Arkansas.
Arkansas Bar Association — Lawyer Referral
The State Bar of Arkansas (arkbar.com) operates a Lawyer Referral Service that can refer to local cannabis-defense attorneys, employment-law attorneys, and cannabis-business attorneys. For arrest situations, federal-employment matters, expungement petitions, or trafficking exposure, the State Bar referral is the standard starting point.
Family Council Action Committee — Opposition
The Family Council Action Committee (Jerry Cox, longtime evangelical political organizer) is the principal institutional opposition to cannabis reform in Arkansas. Family Council ran the statewide opposition tour against Issue 4 in 2022 and against Issue 3 in 2024. The organization’s deep church-network outreach in rural counties is a structural feature of Arkansas cannabis politics.
Arkansas Sheriffs’ Association — Opposition
The Arkansas Sheriffs’ Association publicly opposed Issue 4 in 2022 and has remained skeptical of recreational legalization. The Association’s county-level political influence is substantial. The Association’s opposition has not extended to Amendment 98’s medical program in operation; sheriffs largely accept the medical program as settled law.
Arkansas Baptist State Convention — Opposition
The Arkansas Baptist State Convention (Southern Baptist) formally opposed Issue 4 in 2022. The Baptist Convention has been the dominant institutional religious opponent of cannabis reform since the 1990s. The Convention’s approximately 1.4 million Arkansas adherents represent a substantial cultural-political force.
Patient-Advocate Networks (Online)
Several online networks provide Arkansas patient information, peer support, and advocacy coordination:
- Reddit r/ArkansasMedicalMarijuana — active Arkansas patient subreddit.
- Various Facebook groups for Arkansas patients — informal networks for dispensary recommendations, deal alerts, and policy discussion.
- Leafly and Weedmaps Arkansas listings — commercial dispensary directory and review platforms.
Where to Get Legal Help
- For arrest situations: Consult an Arkansas criminal-defense attorney with cannabis-policy experience. State Bar of Arkansas Lawyer Referral Service.
- For federal-employment matters: An employment attorney with federal-clearance experience.
- For expungement petitions: The Arkansas Center for Restorative Justice or a local public-defender office.
- For cannabis-business matters: David Couch and other industry-experienced cannabis attorneys.
- For civil-rights and racial-disparity cases: ACLU of Arkansas.
For in-depth cannabis education, dosing guides, safety information, and research summaries, visit our partner site TryCannabis.org
Related on this site: Arkansas Cannabis Jobs, Arkansas Cannabis Official Sources, Send a Message.