Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
Within months of Arkansans' November 2016 vote to legalize medical marijuana, Texarkana set rules–and a price–for cannabis businesses in the city.
In July, the Board of Directors fast-tracked and approved an ordinance setting fees for dispensaries that will sell medical marijuana, and cultivation centers that will grow it. Board members also voted to enact an emergency clause making the ordinance effective immediately.
Cultivation centers will pay the city an initial business license fee of $50,000 and thereafter $50,000 a year for renewal. Medical marijuana dispensaries will pay $7,500 for an initial license and $11,250 for renewal.
An annual surcharge equal to 25 percent of a dispensary's inventory had been included in a previous version of the ordinance, but it was dropped before the vote to make the city more competitive in attracting dispensaries, City Manager Kenny Haskin said.
The board also fast-tracked and approved changes to the city zoning ordinance regarding medical marijuana businesses, adding relevant definitions, adopting state restrictions on the businesses' signage and defining the zones where they may operate.
State law requires cultivation centers and dispensaries to be allowed in whatever zones allow retail pharmacies. The new local ordinance removes pharmacies from O-1, or office quiet, zones so cannabis businesses may not operate there. Office quiet zones allow certain businesses to set up among homes in residential neighborhoods.
Zoning will allow cultivation centers and dispensaries in all commercial and industrial zones except those designated O-1 and W-1. State regulations, however, dictate that cultivation centers must be 3,000 feet and dispensaries 1,500 feet from any church, school or daycare. That leaves mostly some manufacturing zones on the perimeter of the city, as well as some pockets of land in more populated areas, where cannabis businesses can operate.
The speed was necessary to give potential marijuana business owners certainty about what they could expect in Texarkana as they proceeded with the state licensing application process, Haskin said.
Six medical marijuana businesses have applied to the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission to operate in Miller County, Ark., including four within Texarkana's city limits. Two businesses seek to operate medical marijuana dispensaries in Miller County with no city specified, three look to open dispensaries in Texarkana and one wants a cultivation center in the city.
Before the vote in July, Mayor Ruth Penney-Bell and Ward 4 Director Travis Odom said they were against legalizing medical marijuana generally, but recognized the need for the city to be ready now that voters statewide have decided to allow it.
"We cannot do one thing about it. We can just be prepared," Penney-Bell said.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Arkansas legalizes medical marijuana: City officials set up rules for growers, sellers, users | Texarkana Breaking News
Author: Karl Richter
Contact: Texarkana Gazette | Texarkana Breaking News
Photo Credit: Ron Strider
Website: Texarkana Gazette | Texarkana Breaking News
In July, the Board of Directors fast-tracked and approved an ordinance setting fees for dispensaries that will sell medical marijuana, and cultivation centers that will grow it. Board members also voted to enact an emergency clause making the ordinance effective immediately.
Cultivation centers will pay the city an initial business license fee of $50,000 and thereafter $50,000 a year for renewal. Medical marijuana dispensaries will pay $7,500 for an initial license and $11,250 for renewal.
An annual surcharge equal to 25 percent of a dispensary's inventory had been included in a previous version of the ordinance, but it was dropped before the vote to make the city more competitive in attracting dispensaries, City Manager Kenny Haskin said.
The board also fast-tracked and approved changes to the city zoning ordinance regarding medical marijuana businesses, adding relevant definitions, adopting state restrictions on the businesses' signage and defining the zones where they may operate.
State law requires cultivation centers and dispensaries to be allowed in whatever zones allow retail pharmacies. The new local ordinance removes pharmacies from O-1, or office quiet, zones so cannabis businesses may not operate there. Office quiet zones allow certain businesses to set up among homes in residential neighborhoods.
Zoning will allow cultivation centers and dispensaries in all commercial and industrial zones except those designated O-1 and W-1. State regulations, however, dictate that cultivation centers must be 3,000 feet and dispensaries 1,500 feet from any church, school or daycare. That leaves mostly some manufacturing zones on the perimeter of the city, as well as some pockets of land in more populated areas, where cannabis businesses can operate.
The speed was necessary to give potential marijuana business owners certainty about what they could expect in Texarkana as they proceeded with the state licensing application process, Haskin said.
Six medical marijuana businesses have applied to the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission to operate in Miller County, Ark., including four within Texarkana's city limits. Two businesses seek to operate medical marijuana dispensaries in Miller County with no city specified, three look to open dispensaries in Texarkana and one wants a cultivation center in the city.
Before the vote in July, Mayor Ruth Penney-Bell and Ward 4 Director Travis Odom said they were against legalizing medical marijuana generally, but recognized the need for the city to be ready now that voters statewide have decided to allow it.
"We cannot do one thing about it. We can just be prepared," Penney-Bell said.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Arkansas legalizes medical marijuana: City officials set up rules for growers, sellers, users | Texarkana Breaking News
Author: Karl Richter
Contact: Texarkana Gazette | Texarkana Breaking News
Photo Credit: Ron Strider
Website: Texarkana Gazette | Texarkana Breaking News
