Alcoholic Beverage Control Division
Loudest Voice in the Grow Room (Hunter Field Editor’s Note)
The silence has been deafening as the first dispensary license is stripped. read more >
by Hunter Field -
Plaintiffs in Medical Marijuana Lawsuit Include Big Names in Business
The lawsuit that led Pulaski County Circuit Judge Morgan “Chip” Welch to strike down 27 state laws on medical marijuana was filed by Good Day Farm Arkansas LLC. read more >
Lawsuit Leaves Cannabis Industry in Limbo
Cannabis firms in Arkansas await more legal action on laws struck down. read more >
by Kyle Massey -
Update: Judge Denies Fort Smith Cultivator’s Request for Rehearing in License Case
Storm Nolan argues that a ruling against River Valley Relief was flawed, and says $6 million worth of medical cannabis would go to waste if he's stripped of his license. read more >
by Kyle Massey -
Judge Rules Fort Smith Cannabis Cultivator Got License Improperly
A Pulaski County circuit judge rules that the Medical Marijuana Commission and others acted “unreasonably, unlawfully, and capriciously” by awarding a cultivation license to River Valley Relief Cultivation of Fort Smith. read more >
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Medical Marijuana Licensing Under Fire
Sworn depositions reveal that the original licensing process was questionable enough to spawn an FBI investigation. read more >
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Justices Deliver a Scolding to Cannabis Commission
The state Supreme Court's dissent cites past shortcomings the commission has exhibited. read more >
by Kyle Massey -
Racial Bias Alleged In Dispensary Denial
A Little Rock Black-owned business that sued the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission also has a case alleging racial discrimination against the firm that scored the applications for medical marijuana dispensary licenses. read more >
by Mark Friedman -
Adult Marijuana Use No Threat to Licensees
A potential vote this year on legalizing recreational marijuana in Arkansas could cripple sales in the state’s fledgling quarter-billion-dollar-a-year medicinal cannabis industry, but industry players are more than fine with that. read more >
by Kyle Massey -
Permit Request Claims Henderson State Ready for Alcohol
Sodexo Operations has asked the state for permits to serve alcohol at Henderson State University’s Garrison Center and Carpenter-Haygood Stadium in Arkadelphia. read more >
Van Buren County Still in the Game
Sandro J. Lukanovic has been granted a conditional permit by the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Division for Van Buren County's first (legal) distillery. read more >
Legal Alcohol Sales Push Up Revenue in Van Buren County
Van Buren County, long part of a wall of dry counties in north-central Arkansas, has spent the past six months transitioning to a wet county, bringing an increase in sales tax revenue and excitement. read more >
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‘New Normal’ in Dining Out: Dining Outside
Montine McNulty thinks COVID-19 will leave permanent marks on the restaurant industry in Arkansas, among them: increased outdoor dining. read more >
Medical Marijuana Licensing Tests Scales of Justice
As Arkansas’ fledgling medical marijuana industry passed $300 million in cumulative sales, its licensing system for cannabis businesses was taking fire in court, not least for granting a cultivation license to a company that didn’t legally exist. read more >
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Arkansas Pot Firms Feud, Pass Around The Blame
The state’s largest medical marijuana merchant says Arkansas cultivators have blackballed his business, and he’s planning to sue, alleging they cut off sales after he lobbied for the state to license more growers. read more >
by Kyle Massey -
Liquor Retailers Seek Permanent Status of Delivery
The Arkansas liquor industry will likely be asking the state Legislature to pass a bill permanently allowing the delivery of alcohol. read more >
Room to Grow: State Adds New Cannabis Growers
The Arkansas medical marijuana system has cleared three new growers, but the existing five cultivators are suing. read more >
by Kyle Massey -
Smoke Clears on Cannabis Cards
Medical marijuana patients in Arkansas have been getting mixed signals about when their cards — whose expiration dates have been extended during the coronavirus pandemic — will start to expire. read more >
Medical Marijuana Litigation Grows Like Weeds
A Pulaski County circuit judge took a whiff of a medical marijuana licensing dispute last month and promptly passed it on. read more >
In Coronavirus Outbreak, Arkansas Businesses Fight for Their Future
The voices of small-business owners in Arkansas betray their anxiety, even anguish approaching grief, as they fight for their future — and a future for their employees — in a world upended by a deadly pandemic. read more >
by Jan Cottingham -