River Valley Relief Cultivation to open in Fort Smith on October 1


On October 1, the opening of River Valley Relief Cultivation on Old Greenwood Road will give River Valley its first medical marijuana cultivation facility.

Scott Hardin, director of communications for the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, said Amendment 8, which was passed by voters in 2016 to legalize medical marijuana, limits the number of producers in the state at eight. The state has reached its limit of eight producers.

Fort Smith was cleared to grow cannabis in 2020 with Grady and Hot Springs. They join Pine Bluff, Cotton Plant, Newport, Berryville and White Hall, which were approved in 2018.

Dispensaries in the state

Amendment 8 limits the number of dispensaries in the state to 40. The state has granted 38 licenses to allow dispensaries to sell medical marijuana. The state is divided into eight zones and each zone can have up to five dispensaries.

The river valley is part of Zone 4, which has reached its limit of five dispensaries – Fort Cannabis Co. (Fort Smith), Enlightened Cannabis for People Clarksville (Clarksville), 420 Dispensary (Russellville), Enlightened Cannabis for People Morrilton (Morrilton) and 3J Investments, which is leaving Lamar. 3J has filed an opening application with Van Buren, which requires approval from Van Buren City Council and the Marijuana Medical Commission.

Despite state legalization, there are concerns that medical marijuana may not be accessible due to its cost.

Kristy Floyd, director of operations for River Valley Relief Cultivation, said increasing supply alone will not solve the affordability problem. She explained that one of the challenges of affordability is that insurance companies will not cover medical marijuana because it is illegal at the federal level.

In order to increase affordability, River Valley Relief Cultivation will have the Compassionate Care Program to help patients who cannot afford medical marijuana. Floyd said details of the program are still being worked out.

According to Weed Cards, the average cost of a gram of weed is $ 15 in Arkansas. In Missouri, it costs around $ 10 to $ 20 per gram. Missouri was the only state bordering Arkansas where a price index was available for cannabis. The average price in Colorado is $ 12 and $ 10 in Washington. Colorado and Washington were two of the first states to legalize medical and recreational marijuana.

Cannabis taxation

In Arkansas, 79,019 residents have medical marijuana cards and the River Valley has a total of 8,514 medical marijuana cards.

Medical Marijuana Maps by County in the River Valley:

  • Logan County – 418
  • Sebastian County – 2,848
  • Crawford County – 1,620
  • Franklin County – 344
  • Johnson County – 644
  • Pope County – 1,357
  • Conway County – 908
  • Yell County – 375

In addition to the 6.5% sales tax, Arkansians pay a 4% lien tax, created by law, on cannabis purchases.

The lien tax is paid by patients when they buy from a dispensary and for dispensaries buying from producers. However, dispensaries are exempt from paying 6.5% sales tax when purchasing cannabis from producers.

Since 2019, the state has collected $ 47 million – including $ 23 million in the past nine months – in sales tax on the 60,000 pounds of products sold. Each month, the state raises around $ 3 million in tax revenue from cannabis sales.

Proceeds from the lien tax go to the University of Arkansas National Cancer Institute for Medical Sciences in Little Rock and the Medical Marijuana Commission.

Hardin said data on the amount of sales tax generated by region is not available. The Tax Procedure Law preserves the confidentiality of the amount of sales tax generated by businesses, making regional data unavailable. The state can only provide the aggregate tax revenue collected by the state on cannabis.

Fort Cannabis Co. has sold 2,554.48 pounds of cannabis since it opened on December 18, 2019. In August, the dispensary sold 116.32 pounds. Zone 4, which represents the River Valley, nearly 4,300 pounds of medical marijuana has been sold.

According to Statistical, the United States will generate approximately $ 23 billion in taxes on legal cannabis sales by 2025.

Arkansas is one of 36 states that have legalized medical marijuana.

Culture of the river valley

River Valley Relief Cultivation, which opens October 1, will use 25,000 square feet of indoor grow space for cannabis. Each of the seven grow rooms will have 2,000 plants.

An economic study by the Arkansas Cannabis Industry Association found that River Valley Relief Cultivation, which will be located on Old Greenwood Road, could bring in $ 80 million to the local economy over the next four years and 80 to 100 jobs.

On its website, the company said it will also help educate patients about opioids and research the impact of medical marijuana in stopping the opioid epidemic.

Floyd said 90% of the water the facility will use to grow plants will be created by turning the humidity in the facility into water, which is a system used by hospitals. Floyd said this limits the amount of city water used by the facility.

The facility will include a C1D1 shelter, which is a room used to handle flammable liquids and gases, to perform the extraction process on plants.