Hot Springs dispensary tops in sales

HOT SPRINGS — A Hot Springs medical marijuana dispensary continued to pace the state in sales over a 25day period from mid-April to early May, leading an industry reporting more than $30 million in sales since March 1.

Green Springs Medical sold 276.15 pounds from April 17 though Monday, according to the latest sales report from the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration.

Its sales outpaced Bentonville dispensary The ReLeaf Center’s 240.92 pounds. The ReLeaf Center joined Green Springs last month as the only locations with more than 1,000 pounds in sales. The latter has sold 2,303.78 pounds since opening last May.

Sunday was the one-year anniversary of the first legal sale of marijuana in Arkansas, which took place in unincorporated Garland County at what’s now known as Suite 443 on Malvern Avenue.

The 22 operating dispensaries have reported sales of 12,000 pounds for $75 million since Suite 443 opened in May 2019, according to Tuesday’s sales report, with 40% of the revenue coming since March 1. Eleven of the state’s 33 licensed dispensaries have yet to open.

Arkansans voted to legalize cannabis for medical use in 2016, approving Amendment 98 to the Arkansas Constitution. The amendment allows approved patients suffering from one of 18 qualifying conditions to legally purchase and use the drug.

In addition to the 33 dispensaries, the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission has also issued five cultivation licenses.

Green Springs opened two days after the Malvern Avenue location and has led the state in sales ever since, reporting more than 600 pounds sold since mid-March. The Seneca Street store’s sales the last two months have outperformed the 586.32 pounds Suite 443, the county’s other dispensary, has reported since opening last May. The Malvern Avenue dispensary logged more than 100 pounds in sales during the 25-day period reported Tuesday.

The Tax Procedure Act prohibits the Department of Finance and Administration from releasing revenue figures from individual dispensaries. The Arkansas Department of Health had issued 51,888 patient cards as of Friday that certify cardholders have a health condition qualifying for medical marijuana treatment.

Body and Mind in West Memphis is the latest dispensary to open, reporting 7.75 pounds sold since its April 27 opening. All four dispensaries licensed for Zone 6, which includes Garland, Hot Spring, Montgomery and Saline counties, are in operation.

(The Sentinel-Record/Grace Brown) Medical marijuana is displayed in a glass case for customers at Green Springs Medical in Hot Springs on March 26. Forty percent of sales statewide since last May have occurred over the last 10 weeks. Green Springs has reported more than 600 pounds sold since mid-March.