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Arkansas’ Alcoholic Beverage Control Division revoked a Hot Springs medical marijuana dispensary’s license Thursday, the first revocation of its kind in the five years medical cannabis sales have been legal in the state.
Dragan Vicentic, owner of Green Springs Medical Marijuana Dispensary, said in an interview that he will appeal ABC’s decision to its board. The appeal will allow the business to remain operational until the issue is resolved, according to a Department of Finance and Administration news release.
“The revocation is the result of ongoing violations, most recently for selling more than 1,800 expired products,” the news release states. “ABC enforcement agents conducted an undercover purchase of expired products in October 2023 following a verbal warning regarding these products.”
ABC issued the dispensary a fine after two inspections last year, Vicentic said, and he made a case for reducing the fine. He said the issues at hand were “fully explainable” and he was surprised at ABC’s response.
“I thought the fine amount would be reduced because of my satisfactory explanation, and the next thing I knew, the director asked for a revocation of the license, which I thought was very extreme,” Vicentic said.
Trent Minner, leader of the finance department’s regulatory division, said in the news release that Green Springs has had “over 50 violations and warnings over the last four years.”
“A license to operate in the medical marijuana industry in Arkansas is a privilege not to be taken lightly,” Minner said. “When state law is consistently disregarded, ABC has a duty to revoke the license.”
Green Springs’ previous violations of medical marijuana regulations include:
ABC Director Christy Bjornson said in the news release that the division anticipates Vicentic’s appeal. The ABC board will hear both Vicentic’s and the division’s case and decide whether to revoke or maintain the license.
Arkansas voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2016 to legalize marijuana for medicinal use. The state has 37 dispensaries besides Green Springs, which was the second to open in 2019 upon being licensed.
Purchases at the state’s dispensaries total $1.1 billion so far in five years, according to the finance department.
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by Tess Vrbin, Arkansas Advocate
May 2, 2024
by Tess Vrbin, Arkansas Advocate
May 2, 2024
Arkansas’ Alcoholic Beverage Control Division revoked a Hot Springs medical marijuana dispensary’s license Thursday, the first revocation of its kind in the five years medical cannabis sales have been legal in the state.
Dragan Vicentic, owner of Green Springs Medical Marijuana Dispensary, said in an interview that he will appeal ABC’s decision to its board. The appeal will allow the business to remain operational until the issue is resolved, according to a Department of Finance and Administration news release.
“The revocation is the result of ongoing violations, most recently for selling more than 1,800 expired products,” the news release states. “ABC enforcement agents conducted an undercover purchase of expired products in October 2023 following a verbal warning regarding these products.”
ABC issued the dispensary a fine after two inspections last year, Vicentic said, and he made a case for reducing the fine. He said the issues at hand were “fully explainable” and he was surprised at ABC’s response.
“I thought the fine amount would be reduced because of my satisfactory explanation, and the next thing I knew, the director asked for a revocation of the license, which I thought was very extreme,” Vicentic said.
Trent Minner, leader of the finance department’s regulatory division, said in the news release that Green Springs has had “over 50 violations and warnings over the last four years.”
“A license to operate in the medical marijuana industry in Arkansas is a privilege not to be taken lightly,” Minner said. “When state law is consistently disregarded, ABC has a duty to revoke the license.”
Green Springs’ previous violations of medical marijuana regulations include:
ABC Director Christy Bjornson said in the news release that the division anticipates Vicentic’s appeal. The ABC board will hear both Vicentic’s and the division’s case and decide whether to revoke or maintain the license.
Arkansas voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2016 to legalize marijuana for medicinal use. The state has 37 dispensaries besides Green Springs, which was the second to open in 2019 upon being licensed.
Purchases at the state’s dispensaries total $1.1 billion so far in five years, according to the finance department.
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Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com. Follow Arkansas Advocate on Facebook and X.
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Tess Vrbin came to the Advocate from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, where she reported on low-income housing and tenants’ rights, and won awards for her coverage of 2021 flooding and tornado damage in rural Arkansas. She previously covered local government for The Commercial Dispatch in Mississippi and state government for the Columbia Daily Tribune in Missouri.
Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
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© Arkansas Advocate, 2024
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The Arkansas Advocate is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to tough, fair daily reporting and investigative journalism that holds public officials accountable and focuses on the relationship between the lives of Arkansans and public policy. This service is free to readers and other news outlets.
We’re part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. (See full republishing guidelines.)
© Arkansas Advocate, 2024
Arkansas ABC revokes Hot Springs medical marijuana dispensary’s license – Arkansas Advocate
