Committee advances bill to extend Arkansas temporary medical marijuana cards for out-of-state patients from 30 to 90 days

The Senate Agriculture, Forestry & Economic Development Committee voted to advance Senate Bill 654 after the sponsor described the measure as a way to reduce monthly renewal burdens on out-of-state medical marijuana patients and to keep associated retail purchases in Arkansas dispensaries.

The sponsor told the committee that under current Arkansas law a temporary medical marijuana card for an out-of-state patient is valid for 30 days and that the bill would extend that period to 90 days. The sponsor said the change is intended to ease the financial and administrative burden on visitors who are qualifying patients, noting that renewing the temporary authorization currently requires paying a roughly $50 fee every 30 days. "We're just gonna give them a little bit more time before they have to pay that $50 fee to further renewal," the sponsor said.

Committee members asked for program data about how many renewals are processed and whether renewals represent repeat requests by the same individuals. The sponsor estimated about 400 renewals per month; industry witness Bill Paschal, executive director of the Arkansas Cannabis Industry Association, said Department of Health figures show about 400 renewals and roughly 700 newly issued cards each month—about 1,100 monthly transactions total—over the recent fiscal-year average. Paschal emphasized that 400 of those were renewals and about 700 were newly issued cards.

A senator pressed on whether the 400 renewals represented duplicate requests from the same people; the sponsor said he did not know and deferred to staff or witnesses for a breakdown. The committee nonetheless moved the bill forward: the sponsor closed, moved a do-pass recommendation, a second was recorded, and the committee approved the do-pass recommendation by voice vote. The committee did not record a roll-call tally on the hearing record.

The bill text requires that out-of-state applicants come from states with legalized medical marijuana programs and that applicants hold a current valid card in their home state to qualify for the temporary Arkansas card; the committee discussion emphasized the bill is intended to encourage in-state dispensary purchases rather than monthly out-of-state renewals.