19th Ave New York, NY 95822, USA

Attorney general office shuts down discussion of pre-rolls and advertising

Attorney general office shuts down discussion of pre-rolls and advertising

State medical marijuana regulators were considering changes to some statewide cannabis restrictions, including the prohibition on pre-rolled joints, before Attorney General Tim Griffin advised them to forget it. They do not have the authority to consider these issues, he said.

State Medical Marijuana Commission chair James Miller said he had been asked during conversations at the state Capitol to consider changes to the rules prohibiting pre-rolled marijuana joints and restrictions on advertising. 

Advertisement

At Thursday’s commission meeting, Miller began a discussion on the pre-roll issue but commission counsel Doug House from the attorney general’s office said Griffin does not believe the commission has the authority to consider the issue. Miller asked the commissioners if they wished to continue the discussion but none spoke in favor of moving forward. 

Griffin made his negative opinion of marijuana use clear during a debate among candidates for attorney general last year. Griffin said he opposed a recreational marijuana amendment to the state constitution and said it might be all right if we wanted to have “a bunch of poets in Arkansas” but not if we want people who can pass drug tests to work in tech jobs.  

Advertisement

[embedded content] House said a pending lawsuit complicates the matter. When Miller asked for more information about the lawsuit, House told him he would tell him “offline.” 

Miller then began a discussion on cannabis advertising but House chimed in again, saying Griffin did not believe the commission had the authority to consider the issue and the discussion ended. 

Advertisement

The prohibition on pre-rolls, a commonly sold item in dispensaries in other states, comes from Act 1024 passed by the state legislature in 2017. That act prohibits the manufacture or sale of “marijuana paraphernalia that requires the combustion of marijuana to be properly utilized.” The act specifically lists pipes, water pipers, bongs, chillums, rolling papers and roach clips. It has been interpreted to include pre-rolls, which require combustion but are not specifically listed in the act. 

Arkansas cannabis businesses are also prohibited from advertising to the general public, according to commission spokesman Scott Hardin. The restriction does not specifically prohibit billboard advertising, for instance, but businesses would have to prove that the majority of people who see a particular billboard are not minors, commission spokesman Scott Hardin said. 

Hardin did not immediately know if the restriction is part of the constitutional amendment that legalized medical marijuana or if it is a commission rule. 

The advertising issue has been complicated by changing cannabis laws in neighboring states. Missouri voters legalized recreational marijuana in November and the first sales took place last month. Missouri cannabis businesses are not prohibited from advertising in Arkansas, giving Missouri businesses access to Arkansas consumers that Arkansas businesses don’t have. 

Advertisement

Oklahoma, which already has medical marijuana, will hold a special election on recreational marijuana on Tuesday. Mississippi’s medical marijuana program started around the beginning of the year as well. 

Interim director

The meeting was the first for interim Alcoholic Beverage Control division director Michael Lewis who was appointed on an interim basis by Governor Sarah Sanders. Lewis has worked for the ABC for several years, Hardin said. 

Former director Doralee Chandler submitted a resignation letter dated Feb. 1 and her last day was Feb. 18. 

Chandler was later announced as a deputy attorney general for state agencies in the attorney general’s office. 

Ownership changes, new processor

In other business, the commissioners unanimously approved ownership changes at Carpenter Farms Medical Group, Good Day Farm Monticello, NEA  Full Spectrum and Dark Horse Medicinals. 

At Carpenter Farms cultivation, Abraham Carpenter Jr. reduced his 91% ownership stake to 85% and brought on six new owners. 

At Good Day Farm Monticello, TJ Patterson reduced his sole ownership to 20% and brought on 13 new owners, including William E. Clark III and Margaret W. Clark

NEA Full Spectrum dispensary in Brookland brought on Brad Anthony Hartwell, Bradley Scott Hartwell and Gerald ‘Trae’ Scott Sale III as owners. The previous owners are staying on but reduced their ownership stakes. 

Dark Horse Medicinals, a Little Rock processor, made changes to its holding company but ownership percentages did not change. 

The commissioners also approved High Speed Extracts as a cannabis processor. The business will be solely owned by former Mountain Valley Spring Water CEO James Breck Speed who is the chief operating officer of a Louisiana company that performs hemp extraction, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Are you 21 or older? This website requires you to be 21 years of age or older. Please verify your age to view the content, or click "Exit" to leave.