Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission chair says access ‘going to make a difference for some’

The members of the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission on Monday (Dec. 12) had their first meeting, took an oath, elected a chairperson, heard a couple of brief presentations, and decided to meet again Dec. 20.

That’s when the real work will begin, and none too soon. That because, under the terms of the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment passed by voters Nov. 8, the commission has until March 9 – 120 days after the election – to adopt rules governing the four to eight cultivation facilities that will grow the plants, and the 20-40 dispensaries that will make them available.

And because there must be time for public comment as well as legislative review by the Administrative Rules Subcommittee of the Joint Budget Committee, the rules must be written by the end of January, commission members were told by Joel DiPippa, an attorney with the Department of Finance and Administration’s Office of Revenue Legal Counsel.

A bill has been prefiled by Rep. Doug House, R-North Little Rock, that would extend the process 60 days to May 8. But DiPippa warned commission members not to count on that possibility.

The meeting began with the commission’s members electing their chairman, Dr. Ronda Henry-Tillman, of Little Rock, a surgical oncologist specializing in breast oncology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. The other members are Dr. Stephen Carroll, a pharmacist from Benton; Travis Story, a Fayetteville attorney; James Miller of Bryant, a former chief of staff for the Senate; and Dr. J. Carlos Roman, a Little Rock doctor specializing in pain management.

Tilman said she has never been involved in something this political. She said she has had patients ask for cannabidiol, a compound present in the marijuana plant.

“I think this is an exciting time, and I think that it’s going to make a difference for some,” she said. “And not everyone in the state voted for it, so we have to be very conscientious of that, and we have to do it right, and so being a part of that is going to be good for us.”

Roman said he has patients with chronic pain issues who would like access to medical marijuana, and some do smoke recreationally. He said he voted against the amendment because he is skeptical of the drug’s medicinal value, but he said he is “open to the efficacy” of the drug. He said marijuana is less addictive than alcohol or opiates and is easier to withdraw from then opiates.

“I think you could probably smoke your body weight in marijuana if that was physiologically possible,” he said. “You will live to tell about it, but you could take two or three pills of an opiate and not live to tell about it.”

Asked if he would prefer a lottery or a merit system for awarding licenses, he said he was open to ideas but will consider how well growers can control potency. He said he doesn’t want to see “kid-friendly packaging.”

“My preference would be to put these criteria first and then let the companies come and show us that they can meet those criteria,” he said.

He said he would like to see the industry controlled by Arkansas-based businesses.

The meeting ended with the members setting their next meeting for Dec. 20 at 3 p.m. Commission members earlier heard an overview of their duties from DiPippa and an overview of the Freedom of Information Act by Meredith Rebsamen with the attorney general’s office. They also voted themselves an $85 stipend for each meeting.

The meeting was attended by Melissa Fults, sponsor of a rival medical marijuana proposal that the Arkansas Supreme Court removed from the ballot. She said she was pleased he commission includes three medical professionals, indicating a medical rather than business focus. She and her husband, Gary, will be working with legislators to add some of the provisions she had hoped would come from her original proposal, including a maximum license fee for patients and more qualifying medical conditions. She said she and Gary will register as lobbyists for the next legislative session.