Arkansas is not lacking in either medical marijuana enterprisers seeking to provide the soon-to-be legal drug throughout the state or creative names for their proposed businesses, public records show.
A final tally announced by the state Department of Finance and Administration on Tuesday counted 322 applicants for just 37 licenses to be the first to grow or sell medical marijuana in the Natural State. The application deadline was Monday.
And while state officials say they're not ready to disclose the full list of applicants -- those names will be released when their bids are turned over to the Medical Marijuana Commission for grading in a few weeks -- business records from the secretary of state's office show that dozens of pot-related ventures have already been registered.
Searching business entities is not likely to give a complete list of who applied for one of the marijuana business licenses. Scott Hardin, a spokesman for the Finance and Administration Department, said applicants were not required to incorporate a business name with the state before submitting a bid.
But industry hopefuls still searching for a moniker will find that others have snared names such as Down South Dispensary, Arkansas Green Cross, Delta Cannabis Co. and Emerald's Medical Marijuana Dispensary.
More marijuana-related business names were registered in Little Rock than anywhere else in the state. But similar businesses also popped up in small towns such as Glenwood and Hardy, and in college cities such as Fayetteville, Jonesboro and Arkadelphia.
One business, by the name of Cannaco Dispensary Inc., was registered in Hot Springs National Park. Marijuana remains illegal under federal law.
Other localities in Arkansas have passed temporary prohibitions to block dispensaries or cultivators, including the cities of Benton, Hot Springs and Siloam Springs. The Medical Marijuana Commission is leaving it up to applicants to sort out local laws.
Applicants applied for one of two types of licenses -- for a dispensary or cultivation center -- that will be scored by the five-member commission. Arkansas will grant 32 licenses for dispensaries and five for cultivation centers. Their products will be sold to patients with qualifying medical conditions who have obtained a card from the state Department of Health.
While there is no geographic limitation on the distribution of the cultivation centers, also known as the growers, the commissioners decided earlier this year to spread the dispensaries evenly across eight zones of the state.
Their rule ensures that no more than four dispensaries can open in Little Rock, even if other areas are short on qualified applicants.
If there is a zone that is short on dispensary applicants, Hardin said, the commissioners can reopen the application period in that zone, but they cannot grant additional licenses to another zone.
While dispensary business applications were made in each zone, it won't be known for some time whether each received at least four qualified applications. But the sheer number of applicants -- 224 for a dispensary and 98 for a cultivation center -- seem to indicate widespread interest, one industry backer said.
"It's all over the state," said David Couch, the principal backer of Amendment 98, which voters approved last November to legalize medical marijuana. "There's no area of the state that doesn't have interest."
Couch he said applied for a cultivation facility in Jackson County and a dispensary in Pulaski County. He said four dispensaries may not be enough for some heavily populated areas, such as Little Rock.
Meanwhile the Family Council, a conservative political organization, said on its website Tuesday that it would continue to aid cities and counties aiming to keep marijuana businesses out.
At a news conference Tuesday, Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who publicly opposed Amendment 98 on the ballot, said local authorities have authority when it comes to zoning and "that's their role to play" under the law. He added that the volume of applications gave the commission "plenty of choices" to pick the best businesses.
Asked how he would feel about living down the road from a dispensary, Hutchinson told reporters gathered in his office he was "not wild about" the idea.
"I actually hadn't thought about it," Hutchinson said. "I'm not wild about a dispensary on Main Street, but there might be one there, here in Little Rock."
"Cultivation centers, I think that's an entirely different matter. It's a farming operation, and that will be strictly regulated," added the governor, a Rogers resident.
In that Northwest Arkansas city, state records show Ozark Organic Dispensary Inc. incorporated in May. Meanwhile, the Governor's Mansion in Little Rock is just across the street from the registered address of Green Remedies Dispensary LLC.
In Leslie, an Ozark Mountain town of about 421 on the road to the Buffalo National River, two businesses have incorporated with the word "cannabis" in their name.
The mayor, Talithia Hardin, said by phone she was not surprised.
While none of the people behind the businesses had reached out to her, Hardin said, she had heard murmurs in town, before quickly noting that she was not likely to be a customer, as she doesn't have a qualifying condition.
"They're going to go somewhere," Hardin said. "I think it's past the point of wanting it or liking it."
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A Section on 09/20/2017