Medical marijuana coming to a locale near you

I write today to remind readers that I urged a vote AGAINST both the medical marijuana proposals last November.

The Arkansas State Supreme Court took care of one of those offerings, but only after the early voting period had begun.

But that ruling was for naught, as the Arkansas voting public, to my way of thinking, finally got tired of wading through all the prescription pot proposals and said, “Yes,” approving the measure.

And here we are just months away from handing out the first permits to grow, the first licenses to dispense — and possibly less than a year away from seeing the first sale of medical marijuana in the South – in Arkansas. Wow!

Say it again.

Wow!

Now that the 91st General Assembly and an Extraordinary Special Session of the 91st General Assembly has both ended, the spate of medical marijuana news seems to have leveled off, but then comes the June 1 date, which can only mean that the September deadlines, set by the constitutional amendment approved by voters, and some laws enacted by the General Assembly, are about to kick in.

In a nutshell – not every city or town will have a medical marijuana dispensary. Not every county will have a permitted grow facility. For that matter, the grow facilities may be far, far away from where the medical components of the drug are dispensed.

But remember, remember, remember — this is medical marijuana.

Not the old-fashioned, roll-it-up-and-smoke-it kind that evokes such memories of long ago stadium or indoor concerts of rock musicians, or of a clutch of teenagers with long hair and tie-dyed clothing passing a minuscule hand-rolled cigarette-like “bud” around the campfire.

And it won’t be the widely talked about “gummy bears” sold in the now cash-flush state of Colorado, where recreational marijuana is afire.

Already in the statewide newspaper there has arisen a story about a city – Fayetteville – selling off a part of its industrial park for a grow facility. Because of the location, the land would be free of all its encumbrance: near nosy neighbors who might object, churches, schools, and other such hindrances.

And lo and behold, this week a local mayor (Butch Berry) of Eureka Springs, a proponent of medical marijuana, and his local banker, John Cross, who often kicks against the status quo, are at odds on the issue and quarrelling about it in print.

But surely there will be much more debate as the time grows closer to the enactment of the rules, regulations and the passing out of licenses and permits for the medical marijuana issue in Arkansas.

Will it grow jobs? Well, most assuredly.

Will it raise tax money? Again, most assuredly.

Little Rock attorney David Couch, who is passionate about several voter-driven initiatives to state government, says the advent of medical marijuana in Arkansas will save lives.

That leaves most civic audiences, task force meetings and general public discussions flabbergasted.

Couch explains that opioid overdoses are a rising statistic of both intended and unintended deaths in Arkansas and the nation.

It has been proven, Couch asserts, that opioid use goes down when medical marijuana is available to ease the pain. Couch also counters that opioid use is addictive and almost never stops.

Speaking with science as a back-up, Couch says, “Medical marijuana is not addictive.”

Wow.

He did say that the habit of smoking recreational marijuana does not have

devastating effects — it can. In fact, Couch, does not really like the fact that most Arkansans equate medical marijuana too closely with just the smoking aspect.

There are many and better uses for medical marijuana than smoking, he says.

And as Arkansas begins to head down this homegrown road for medical pot – there will be more and more that each of us shall observe and learn in this process.