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This year, a new cultivator in Ft. Smith has started growing its cannabis and plans to be fully operational by the end of the year, a big step for a large city with only one dispensary.
Arkansas allows for 8 total cultivators in the state, an extremely small list for a state as spread out as we are, and while 8 farms is hardly enough, cultivators have slowly stepped up to produce viable cannabis crops for qualifying cannabis patients in the Natural State.
Fort Smith, AR Cannabis
Fort Smith, Arkansas is a beautiful and growing town in Northwestern Arkansas, the second largest city in the state.
With a population of nearly 280,000, Fort Smith becomes a much bigger place when you consider the towns outside of its city limits, such as Mountainburg, Alma, Charleston, and Greenwood.
Ft. Smith also sits right on the Arkansas/Oklahoma border, making it an interesting spot for medical cannabis, where the two states quite frankly couldn’t be more different.
Oklahoma accepts out of state medical marijuana cards, and for a small fee, anyone with an Arkansas medical marijuana card can apply for a visitor pass to the Sooner state, where Arkansas patients will find most of their medicine is close to 50% cheaper just a few miles over the border.
Of course, Arkansas legislation isn’t a fan of you spending your hard-earned tax dollars on affordable cannabis medicine that doesn’t line their pockets, so naturally Governor Hutchinson issued a warning to patients in 2019 that purchasing medical marijuana out of state and bringing it back to Arkansas is “against state and federal laws”.
That’s right, bringing medical buds over the border, the same buds you can buy at AR dispensaries for twice the price, is considered illegal according to the Governor.
Although Gov. Hutchinson hasn’t been an advocate, fan, or even an ally to medical marijuana, many citizens bring their cannabis back from Oklahoma regardless.
Especially considering the high cost of Arkansas cannabis, for many living on low-income wages or state-sponsored incomes Arkansas cannabis just isn’t affordable compared to what you can get just a few miles across the border.
Of course, to qualify for a visitor pass in Oklahoma you need to have an Arkansas medical marijuana card. Qualifying for an Arkansas medical marijuana card is very easy and there are affordable options both in, and out of state for your medicine.
In fact, you’ll find that Ft. Smith’s Fort Cannabis Company frequently hosts $45 grams of hash and $35 1/8ths, which are inching much closer to Oklahoma prices than cities like Little Rock, where the average gram of hash is much closer to $70-80 before tax, and 1/8ths are commonly $55 or more.
River Valley Relief Cultivators Push Forward in NW AR
Despite the obvious problems with cultivators and dispensaries in Northwest Arkansas, cultivators do want to produce cannabis here, and that’s a good thing.
One of the reasons for the absurd prices in Arkansas is clearly the stranglehold the state is exacerbating on cultivators; they just don’t want more than a few tightly controlled farms in Arkansas.
This puts a big boot-to-the-neck on product availability, prices, dispensaries, and of course, patients.
One only needs to casually scroll Oklahoma’s 578 page list of cultivators to realize what Arkansas is doing to itself and its chronically and terminally ill patients.
With Fort Smith bringing on a new farm in such a competitive area, business is almost guaranteed to boom if River Valley Relief can manage to get their prices close to reasonable, and that will only help encourage others to do the same.
New Cultivator, Same Challenges in Arkansas
While River Valley Relief is waiting on approval for a dispensary license in the state, the company has already faced several zoning challenges and legal issues with the Arkansas Marijuana Commission.
But it seems the cultivation side of the business has found its home and plans to be operational by the end of 2021.
Currently, the only operational dispensary in Fort Smith is Fort Cannabis, while cities with similar populations like Little Rock have access to 3-5 dispensaries within a 20-mile radius.
It’s probably safe to assume that many Northwest Arkansas residents are buying their medicine across the border, and that may be why there hasn’t been an extreme interest in adding more dispensaries or farms to the area.
Or perhaps it’s that the state has already maxed it’s allowed number of cultivators, and nearly maxed the number of dispensaries allowed.
Regardless of the reasons why, Northwest Arkansas is looking forward to their new cultivator, and so is the rest of the state.
River Valley Relief can be an example for the rest of Arkansas, show us what good cannabis should look like - less autoflowers, more trichomes, no machine trimming, solventless hash.
All the things that cultivators are dropping the ball on could open the doors for River Valley Relief to pick up the torch and carry us into a new, and better year for Arkansas cannabis cultivation.
Become an Arkansas Marijuana Patient
Qualifying Arkansas patients can schedule an appointment to meet with one of our certified physicians and get approved for medical marijuana treatment.
We’re dedicated to helping patients every step of the way, feel free to give us a call at 844-249-8714, and we can answer your questions about getting medical marijuana in Arkansas.
Doctors Who Care. Relief You Can Trust.
Helping everyone achieve wellness safely and conveniently through increased access to medical marijuana. Our focus on education, inclusion, and acceptance will reduce stigma for our patients by providing equal access to timely information and compassionate care.
If you have any questions, call us at 844-249-8714, or simply book a medical marijuana evaluation to start getting relief you can trust today!
Check out Arkansas Marijuana Card’s Blog to keep up to date on the latest medical marijuana news, tips, and information. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to join the medical marijuana conversation in Arkansas.
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