Arkansas
Arkansas Initiative Would Ease MMJ Program Restrictions, Introduce Rec Trigger Law | High Times
While Arkansas approved its medical cannabis initiative back in 2016, there are still a number of limitations when compared to other states that have made similar moves.
For example, patients can only purchase up to 2.5 ounces of medical cannabis in a 14-day period, patients under 21 cannot consume herbal forms of cannabis, dispensaries cannot provide cannabis-infused foods or drinks with more than 10mg of THC and home cultivation is not allowed, among other limitations.
With a newly proposed constitutional amendment, a cannabis industry group is looking to loosen some of the state’s current limitations. On Friday, Arkansans for Patient Access said it was submitting the ballot language for the Arkansas Medical Cannabis Amendment of 2024 to Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, as reported by the Arkansas Advocate.
Potential Changes to the Arkansas Medical Cannabis Program
“The goal of this ballot proposal is to reaffirm and build upon Amendment 98 to better serve patients,” said Amy Martin, owner of The Greenery dispensary in Fort Smith. “This amendment reflects a commitment to the principles established by the state’s voters. It reduces barriers and streamlines processes so qualifying patients can access the medicines and treatment options that best serve them.”
The ballot initiative introduces a number of changes to the current medical cannabis program.
If passed, it would allow patients and designated caregivers over the age of 21 to grow up to seven mature plants and seven younger plants. Currently, only doctors can grant patients medical cannabis cards, though the amendment would also allow physician assistants, nurse practitioners and pharmacists to do so.
It would also allow providers to grant medical cannabis cards based on any medical need, instead of being limited to the state’s current 18 qualifying conditions. Healthcare providers would also be allowed to conduct patient assessments via telemedicine.
Additionally, the amendment would expand access to out-of-state residents and recognize patient cards from other states, along with allowing non-residents to obtain Arkansas medical cannabis cards. The initiative would also remove application fees for prospective patients seeking medical cannabis cards and increase the expiration dates for new patient cards from one to three years.
Creating an Adult-Use Cannabis Trigger Law
Along with the proposed changes to the state’s current medical cannabis program, the proposal would also create a recreational cannabis trigger law. This comes in the midst of the Biden Administration’s ongoing consideration to reschedule cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
The trigger law would permit Arkansas adults to possess up to an ounce of cannabis should the federal government remove cannabis from the CSA or if cannabis possession is no longer considered a federal crime. The trigger provision would limit commercial growth and distribution to cultivation facilities and dispensaries currently licensed under the state’s medical cannabis law.
Arkansas previously attempted to legalize recreational cannabis in 2022 through Issue 4, which still came with a number of strict limitations, though it was ultimately rejected by voters.
Attorney David Couch drafted the state’s original Amendment 98 to legalize medical cannabis, and while he opposed the 2022 effort, he’s shown public support for this new initiative. Similarly, patient advocate Melissa Fults was against the 2022 measure but stands behind the new effort on behalf of Arkansans for Patient Access.
The attorney general will have 10 business days to review the measure and ballot language before indicating whether or not it is fit to appear on the upcoming Arkansas ballot for voters this November. Should it be approved, canvassers have until July 5 to gather 90,704 signatures from registered voters, which would effectively qualify the initiative for the ballot.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Arkansas basketball is sticking around in the Pacific Northwest.
In order to clinch a berth in the Sweet 16 for a second consecutive season, the Hogs must take down an underdog brimming with confidence.
The No. 4 Razorbacks (27-8) knocked off No. 13 Hawaii 97-78 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, March 19. Arkansas began the game with an 11-0 run and never looked back, leading for 39:38 of a 40-minute contest.
Their next opponent is No. 12 High Point (30-4), who kickstarted the beautiful disruption of March Madness with an 83-82 victory over No. 5 Wisconsin just before the Hogs took the floor inside the Moda Center. Razorbacks coach John Calipari knows his team is in for a stiff test against a talented mid-major opponent.
“I’ll be walking the streets of Portland tonight enjoying this, but I’ve got three tapes that I got to watch of High Point,” Calipari said. “They’re good. Wisconsin found out they are good, and they’re not afraid.”
There might not be a hotter team in the country than the Panthers. They’re riding a 15-game winning streak into Saturday’s matchup, and coach Flynn Clayman delivered a fiery, confident statement after High Point stunned the Badgers.
“Looks pretty obvious to me that high-majors need to play mid-majors early in the season. Because they said we didn’t play nobody. We played somebody now,” Clayman told CBS Sports.
Calipari admitted he does have some familiarity with the High Point roster. Fifth-year senior Cam’Ron Fletcher began his career at Kentucky for the 2020-21 season before transferring to Florida State. There was a pit stop at Xavier, and now Fletcher is averaging 12.7 points and 6.9 rebounds with the Panthers.
The Panthers are led by a a pair of seniors in explosive wing Terry Anderson and veteran point guard Rob Martin. Anderson (16 ppg) has nine games this season with at least 20 points, while Martin (15.3 ppg) boasts an assist-to-turnover ratio better than 2-to-1.
After the Arkansas win, freshman point guard Darius Acuff Jr. said he didn’t pay attention to High Point’s upset against Wisconsin.
The SEC Player of the Year was following instructions from his Hall of Fame coach.
“I’ve been telling these guys, ‘You’re going to look and you’re worried about somebody in front of you, and they get beat. Then you’re playing somebody else,’” Calipari said. “That’s why you don’t even need to watch games. Just stay in the moment. Let’s stay in the five-minute segments. Let’s stay locked in.”
Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jfuller@usatodayco.com or follow him @jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.
March Madness is underway and today’s college stars have a chance to cement themselves in this summer’s NBA draft class. The 2026 draft is expected to take place in late June. In USA TODAY’s latest mock draft, Arkansas’s Darius Acuff Jr. is expected to go in the first round.
Here’s how USA TODAY currently projects the guard’s draft night will play out.
Darius Acuff Jr. 2026 NBA Draft prediction: Pick No. 6 overall, Dallas Mavericks
All picks based on Tankathon lottery projection
Kalbrosky’s Analysis:
Now led by Cooper Flagg, the Mavericks need to find players who can help Dallas stay competitive on offense and Arkansas freshman Darius Acuff Jr. can do exactly that. The SEC Player of the Year is excellently efficient at operating ball screens or in isolation. He leads freshmen for points created per 40 minutes (43.1) either by himself or through an assist, per CBB Analytics. He can score well from either side of the court and is among the freshmen leaders in both alley-oop assists (15) and field goals made in transition (62) this season. There is a reason rival coach Sean Miller thinks this generational guard should have his name in the mix at No. 1 overall.
See USA TODAY’s full mock draft here
Darius Acuff Jr. player profile
(all stats as of March 15)
- Position: Guard
- Current Team: Arkansas
- 22.9 points per game
- 3.2 rebounds per game
- 6.5 assists per game
- 48.6% field goal percentage
- 44.5% three-point field goal percentage
Dallas Mavericks 2026 projected draft picks
- No. 6, No. 30 (via OKC) and No. 50 (via PHX)
All picks based on Tankathon lottery projection
Who: #14/15 (#4 seed) Arkansas Razorbacks (26-8) vs (#13 seed) Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors (24-8)
What: Arkansas is 20-8 all-time in NCAA opening-round games.
When: Thursday – Mar. 19 – approximately 1:25 pm (PT) / 3:25 pm (CT)
Where: Portland, Ore. • Moda Center (19,393)
How (to follow):
– TV/Stream: TBS / NCAA Stream (Brad Nessler, Wally Szczerbiak and Jared Greenberg)
– Radio: Learfield Razorback Sports Network (Chuck Barrett and Matt Zimmerman)
– Westwood One (Ryan Radtke & Austin Croshere)
– Westwood One on Sirius/XM: 211 or 204 || SXM App/Online Channel 966
– Arkansas-Hawai’I Game Information
– Arkansas Game Notes
– Vanderbilt Game Notes
– SEC Men’s Basketball Release/Stats
PORTLAND, Ore. – Arkansas, the #4 seed in the West Regional, will face #13 seed Hawai’i in the opening round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament on Thursday (Mar. 19) in Portland, Ore. (Moda Center). The game is scheduled to start at approximately 1:25 pm (PT) / 3:25 pm (CT) – following the Wisconsin-High Point game – and will be televised on TBS.
Arkansas earned its 38th all-time NCAA berth and is playing in its fifth Tournament in a six-year span. The Razorbacks are coming off a three-game run to win the 2026 SEC Championship.
Arkansas is 52-36 (.591) in its 37th appearance (*also earned bid in 1944 but could not play) and is 20-8 all-time in first-round matchups. Razorback head coach John Calipari is 59-23 (.720) in his 25th NCAA Tournament appearance. He is 21-3 all-time in NCAA first-round games. He is 5-2 all-time as a #4 seed and 4-0 all-time versus a #13 seed.
The Arkansas-Hawai’I winner will face the winner of #5 seed Wisconsin and #12 seed High Point on Saturday. Time and TV to be announced.
NOTES:
- Arkansas is 2-0 all-time versus Hawai’i. The team met twice in the 1977-78 season, playing on back-to-back days on Dec. 1 and 2. The Hogs won game one, 78-53, and game two, 79-60.
- Arkansas is 2-1 all-time in Portland (and the Moda Center). The Razorbacks played in the 2017 PK80 Phil Knight Invitational in November of 2017. Arkansas beat Oklahoma, lost to North Carolina and beat UConn.
- Arkansas has won five straight, 10 of its last 12 and 13 of its last 15.
^ After a 6-3 January, Arkansas was 5-2 in February and is 5-0 in March.
^ In Cal’s two years at Arkansas, the Hogs are 20-8 in February and March. - Getting hot in March is nothing new for Coach Cal’s teams during his career.
^ 62 Wins in Conference Tourneys (62-17 — 78.5%)
^ 59 Wins in the NCAA Tourney (59-23 — 72.0%)
^ 136 Postseason Wins (136-46 — 74.7%) — Including Conf Tourneys, NIT & NCAA
^ 182 Wins (all games) in March and April (182-63 — 74.2%)
For more information on Arkansas Men’s Basketball, follow @RazorbackMBB on X, Instagram and Facebook.
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