Cannabiz

Brittney Griner, basketball star and wife of Little Rock native Cherelle Griner, has been released from Russian custody and is headed home.

The Arkansas medical marijuana industry has generated more than $29 million in tax collections this year after the state reported Wednesday that last month’s tax collections topped $2.7 million.

The plaintiffs have asked a federal judge to dismiss a case alleging fraud among three medical marijuana cultivators and a Little Rock lab. The plaintiffs' attorney said Wednesday he intends to refile the case.

Marijuana flower from Garland County cultivator Leafology has hit the shelves in about a dozen dispensaries across the state.

The Little Rock-based medical marijuana processor is amid a $1.5 million expansion.

A Fort Smith cultivator will continue operating until at least late December after the owner appealed a state regulator’s decision Monday to revoke the cultivation license in accordance with a circuit court ruling. 

The director of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control division revoked River Valley Relief’s cultivation license after a nearly hour-long hearing Monday. 

We caught up with Couch to get his thoughts on the election, why he thinks the amendment failed and the prospects for a recreational marijuana amendment in the future. 

Circuit Judge Herb Wright has denied the owner of an embattled Fort Smith cultivation facility from intervening in a case that could determine his business' fate and denied him a new trial in the matter in a pair of rulings issued Monday. 

Storm Nolan, owner of Fort Smith's embattled River Valley Relief cultivation facility, filed a motion in circuit court this week asking for a new trial. Nolan also argued he should be given a hearing by the Alcoholic Beverage Control division and that $6 million of marijuana could be wasted.

The plaintiff in a lawsuit that could determine the future of a Fort Smith cultivator filed a motion Tuesday asking a judge to step in to order state regulators to follow the judge’s orders and not hold a license revocation hearing later this month. 

When I arrived home from a pleasant walk to my local voting site earlier this week, I promptly celebrated the exercise of my civil liberty by rolling up a joint of The Spice, a strain from dispensary Native Green Wellness' in-house grow operation, known as GOLDEN. Toking up on my front porch with a ginger-lemon tea and some freshly cut strawberries was picturesque.

The director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control division will consider revoking the cultivation license of River Valley Relief in a hearing on November 28. Meanwhile, the state Medical Marijuana Commission approved ownership changes at one cultivation facility and two dispensaries at its meeting Thursday.

Two owners of a Heber Springs dispensary filed a lawsuit this week against Alex Gray and Nate Steel over allegations of fraud and legal malpractice. 

A proposed constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana went up in smoke Tuesday. Arkansas voters solidly rejected a plan to decriminalize cannabis six years after they voted for medical marijuana.

The state notified Circuit Judge Herb Wright in a letter Monday that it is moving forward with revoking the cultivation license of River Valley Relief Cultivation after the judge ruled last week that a state commission had issued the license in error. 

Rapper and cannabis connoisseur Snoop Dogg endorsed Issue 4 in a video Monday. The endorsement follows a video endorsement by Arkansas golfer John Daly on Saturday.

The Arkansas marijuana landscape will change significantly for cannabis businesses and consumers if Arkansas voters approve an amendment to legalize recreational marijuana on Nov. 8. 

A circuit judge in Little Rock ruled Thursday evening that state regulators erred when they awarded a cultivation license to a Fort Smith business in 2020 and said the state should “take all steps necessary to remedy these violations.” 

The Arkansas Poll, conducted by Janine Parry of the University of Arkansas, showed support for Issue 4 at 41% with 59% in opposition. Previous polls by Talk Business & Politics and Hendrix College found support at 58.5% in September and 50.5% last month.