Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Two doctors, a lawyer, a pharmacy executive and a lobbyist will comprise the state board that will pick who can grow and sell medical marijuana in the state.
The appointments – one by Gov. Asa Hutchinson and two each by Senate President Pro Tem Jonathan Dismang and state House Speaker Jeremy Gilliam – were announced Wednesday afternoon in Little Rock.
Gov. Hutchinson selected Dr. Ronda Henry-Tillman of Little Rock, a surgical oncologist at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
Sen. Dismang appointed James Miller of Bryant and Dr. Carlos Roman of Little Rock. Miller is a lobbyist for the Arkansas Railroad Association and a former aide to Dismang; Roman is a pain doctor and the chairman of the Arkansas State Medical Board's Pain Management Review Committee.
Rep. Gilliam selected Stephen Carroll of Benton and Travis Story of Fayetteville. Carroll is a pharmacist and the chief operations officer of the Allcare Correctional Pharmacy; Story is the lead attorney for the Story Law Firm.
The five-man Medical Marijuana Commission will be asked to "administer and regulate the licensing of dispensaries and cultivation facilities" as laid out in the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment, which was approved by Arkansas voters in November. Under the amendment, Arkansans with a qualifying medical condition will eventually be able to purchase marijuana from dispensaries stocked with marijuana grown from local cultivation facilities.
The amendment also allows at least 20 but no more than 40 dispensaries statewide, along with at least four but no more than eight cultivation facilities.
"Licenses are going to be, I suspect, highly sought after," Gov. Hutchinson said at the press conference announcing the appointments. "We want to have a process that has credibility and integrity."
The governor said that staffing the commission with representatives from the medical field was intentional.
"We have to remember, this is not recreational-use authorization," Gov. Hutchinson said. "It is really not a medical marijuana commission. We're dealing with pain medication. We're dealing with the medical community and the implementation of medicine."
The state Department of Health will issue registry identification cards for patients who have medical conditions that qualify them for medicinal marijuana use. Those conditions, identified in the amendment, include cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, post-traumatic stress disorder, severe arthritis, fibromyalgia and Alzheimer's disease, Tourette syndrome, Alzheimer's disease and hepatitis-C.
A second category of qualification is defined as "a chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition or its treatment that produces one or more of the following: cachexia or wasting syndrome; peripheral neuropathy; intractable pain, which is pain that has not responded to ordinary medications, treatment or surgical measures for more than six months; severe nausea; seizures, including without limitation those characteristic of epilepsy; or severe and persistent muscle spasms, including without limitation those characteristic of multiple sclerosis."
The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration's Alcoholic Beverage Control Division will be in charge of inspecting the dispensaries and cultivation facilities.
Under the amendment, the Medical Marijuana Commission begin accepting dispensary and cultivation facility licenses on June 1. Both the Department of Health and the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division must establish their own marijuana guidelines before the amendment can go into effect.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Doctors, Pharmacist Named To Marijuana Committee
Author: Scott Liles
Contact: The Baxter Bulletin
Photo Credit: David Kidd
Website: The Baxter Bulletin
The appointments – one by Gov. Asa Hutchinson and two each by Senate President Pro Tem Jonathan Dismang and state House Speaker Jeremy Gilliam – were announced Wednesday afternoon in Little Rock.
Gov. Hutchinson selected Dr. Ronda Henry-Tillman of Little Rock, a surgical oncologist at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
Sen. Dismang appointed James Miller of Bryant and Dr. Carlos Roman of Little Rock. Miller is a lobbyist for the Arkansas Railroad Association and a former aide to Dismang; Roman is a pain doctor and the chairman of the Arkansas State Medical Board's Pain Management Review Committee.
Rep. Gilliam selected Stephen Carroll of Benton and Travis Story of Fayetteville. Carroll is a pharmacist and the chief operations officer of the Allcare Correctional Pharmacy; Story is the lead attorney for the Story Law Firm.
The five-man Medical Marijuana Commission will be asked to "administer and regulate the licensing of dispensaries and cultivation facilities" as laid out in the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment, which was approved by Arkansas voters in November. Under the amendment, Arkansans with a qualifying medical condition will eventually be able to purchase marijuana from dispensaries stocked with marijuana grown from local cultivation facilities.
The amendment also allows at least 20 but no more than 40 dispensaries statewide, along with at least four but no more than eight cultivation facilities.
"Licenses are going to be, I suspect, highly sought after," Gov. Hutchinson said at the press conference announcing the appointments. "We want to have a process that has credibility and integrity."
The governor said that staffing the commission with representatives from the medical field was intentional.
"We have to remember, this is not recreational-use authorization," Gov. Hutchinson said. "It is really not a medical marijuana commission. We're dealing with pain medication. We're dealing with the medical community and the implementation of medicine."
The state Department of Health will issue registry identification cards for patients who have medical conditions that qualify them for medicinal marijuana use. Those conditions, identified in the amendment, include cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, post-traumatic stress disorder, severe arthritis, fibromyalgia and Alzheimer's disease, Tourette syndrome, Alzheimer's disease and hepatitis-C.
A second category of qualification is defined as "a chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition or its treatment that produces one or more of the following: cachexia or wasting syndrome; peripheral neuropathy; intractable pain, which is pain that has not responded to ordinary medications, treatment or surgical measures for more than six months; severe nausea; seizures, including without limitation those characteristic of epilepsy; or severe and persistent muscle spasms, including without limitation those characteristic of multiple sclerosis."
The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration's Alcoholic Beverage Control Division will be in charge of inspecting the dispensaries and cultivation facilities.
Under the amendment, the Medical Marijuana Commission begin accepting dispensary and cultivation facility licenses on June 1. Both the Department of Health and the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division must establish their own marijuana guidelines before the amendment can go into effect.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Doctors, Pharmacist Named To Marijuana Committee
Author: Scott Liles
Contact: The Baxter Bulletin
Photo Credit: David Kidd
Website: The Baxter Bulletin
