Arkansas’s medical marijuana program just had its best year on record. Patients across the state spent $291.1 million at licensed dispensaries in 2025, beating the previous record of $283 million set in 2023. That works out to roughly $800,000 in daily sales spread across the state’s 36 active dispensaries. Cumulative sales since the program launched in May 2019 have now passed $1.6 billion.
If you live in Arkansas and have been curious about how the state’s medical cannabis program actually works in practice, the program has come a long way since launch. Here is where things stand in 2026.
The State of the Program
The program traces back to November 2016, when 53 percent of Arkansas voters approved Issue 6, also known as the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment. Issue 6 amended the state constitution to legalize medical marijuana for patients with qualifying conditions, created the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission, and authorized a regulated supply chain of cultivators and dispensaries.
Sales did not begin immediately. The first dispensary, originally called Doctor’s Orders RX (now operating as Suite 443) in Hot Springs, opened on May 10, 2019, almost three years after the vote. Once the supply chain came online, growth was steady. The Arkansas Department of Health reports 115,105 active patient cards as of late April 2026, up roughly 4,800 cards (about 4.4 percent) from the 110,259 active cards on file in March 2025.
Patients bought 79,223 pounds of medical marijuana in 2025, up from 75,598 pounds the year before. That is the highest annual volume in the program’s history.
The state collected $32.3 million in tax revenue on those sales in 2025, generated by a 6.5 percent state sales tax on patient purchases and a 4 percent privilege tax that applies at both the wholesale and retail levels. Cumulative tax revenue from the program since 2019 has exceeded $218 million. State legislators have directed recent program tax revenue toward fighting food insecurity, including funding free breakfast for students who request it (under Senate Bill 59, signed in 2025).
Who Qualifies
Arkansas recognizes a defined list of serious medical conditions that qualify a patient for a medical marijuana card. The list, which has grown slightly since 2016, currently includes:
Cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), Tourette syndrome, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, PTSD, severe arthritis, fibromyalgia, Alzheimer’s disease, cachexia or wasting syndrome, peripheral neuropathy, intractable pain (defined as pain unresponsive to ordinary medications, treatment, or surgical measures for more than six months), severe nausea, seizures (including those caused by epilepsy), and severe or persistent muscle spasms (including those associated with multiple sclerosis).
To apply, a patient must be at least 18 years old (minors apply through a parent or legal guardian who serves as their caregiver). Members of the U.S. military stationed in Arkansas and members of the Arkansas National Guard are not eligible to register as qualifying patients under state law. Out-of-state patients visiting Arkansas can apply for a 90-day visiting patient card if they hold a valid medical marijuana card or equivalent documentation from their home state.
How the Process Works
Getting a card involves three steps. First, a patient sees an Arkansas-licensed physician (MD or DO) who has the authority to issue medical marijuana certifications. The physician completes a written certification confirming the patient has a qualifying condition. Second, the patient submits the certification along with the application and fees to the Arkansas Department of Health. Third, the Department processes the application (typically within 14 days) and mails the card to the patient.
There are two practical things to keep in mind. First, the physician certification is only valid for 30 days from the date the doctor signs it. Patients who let that window lapse before submitting their application have to start over with a new certification. Second, while the initial certification typically requires an in-person physician visit, recertifications can be completed via telehealth under Arkansas Medical Board rules, which has made annual renewals significantly easier for patients in rural parts of the state. Telemedicine clinics that focus on cannabis certifications now make applying for an Arkansas cannabis card substantially less time-consuming than it was when the program first launched.
The card is valid for one year and must be renewed annually to maintain access. Renewal involves a new physician certification and a renewed state application. Patients who let their card lapse lose the legal protections of the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment until the renewal is approved, so most established patients start the renewal process well before expiration. The Arkansas Department of Health allows patients to begin renewing up to 60 days before their card’s expiration date. Anyone whose card is approaching expiration can find an Arkansas MMJ doctor and complete the renewal evaluation by video, which typically takes about 15 minutes.
What Patients Can Actually Buy
Arkansas card holders can purchase up to 2.5 ounces (about 71 grams) of usable marijuana from a licensed dispensary every 14 days. That cap is a constitutional limit, written into Issue 6, which means it cannot be changed by ordinary legislation. The state allows the full range of cannabis product types: flower, pre-rolls, vaporizer cartridges, edibles, concentrates, tinctures, and topical creams. Edibles are subject to potency caps and labeling rules, and state regulations prohibit edible designs and packaging that might appeal to children.
Home cultivation is not permitted under any circumstances. All medical marijuana sold to patients must be purchased from one of the state’s licensed dispensaries.
On the dispensary side, the program is capped at 40 licensed dispensaries by state law. As of early 2026, 38 dispensary licenses have been issued and 36 are operating actively, including locations in Hot Springs, Sherwood, Bentonville, Fayetteville, Conway, Pine Bluff, Heber Springs, Jonesboro, Rogers, Morrilton, Alexander, and several other communities. The state has held back on issuing the final two licenses, which means the dispensary count is unlikely to grow much further unless that posture changes.
What’s Coming Next
The political picture around cannabis in Arkansas remains complicated. Issue 4, which would have legalized recreational adult use, was defeated by voters in November 2022 by a margin of about 56 to 44 percent. A 2024 expansion initiative (which would have expanded the qualifying conditions list and accepted out-of-state cards) did not make the ballot. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders vetoed House Bill 1889 in 2025, which would have permitted dispensary drive-through windows and loosened delivery rules.
In December 2025, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that the state legislature has the authority to amend or repeal voter-approved constitutional amendments by a two-thirds vote of both chambers. The medical marijuana program was the immediate context for that ruling, since the legislature has enacted 28 amendments to Issue 6 since 2016 without sending any of them back to voters for approval.
For now, the medical program continues to operate. Patient counts are growing, sales hit a record in 2025, and the infrastructure of dispensaries, cultivators, and certified physicians has settled into something like a stable rhythm. For Arkansans with a qualifying condition who have not yet looked into whether they are eligible, the process is more straightforward in 2026 than it was when the program launched, and the network of providers and dispensaries is the largest it has ever been.
Six years in, Arkansas’s medical marijuana program is firmly established. Whatever direction state policy takes next, the program serving more than 115,000 active patients today is part of how the state cares for people living with chronic conditions.