Some people with qualifying conditions to receive a medical marijuana card have put off applying because there were no dispensaries open in Northwest Arkansas. Why pay $50 for a card that only lasts one year until there is actually somewhere to use the card?
Now that the first medical marijuana dispensary in Northwest Arkansas may be open this week, people who have been waited to apply from the medical marijuana patient card may want to follow through with an application. Locally, physicians at the Eureka Springs Family Clinic are providing a Physician’s Letter of Certification for a medical marijuana card to patients who have a qualifying condition supported by medical records.
Patients need to make an appointment.
“Currently, all of our physicians are willing to do this,” Dr. John House said. “I also have a clinic in Springdale dedicated solely to medical marijuana certifications.”
House said many patients have complained to him about the delay in the entire process of medical cannabis and more than a few are expressing dismay that there will not be a dispensary locally. “As for none in our area being open at all, yes, I hear complaints about that pretty much every day,” he said.
A number of doctors and other investors applied to open a medical marijuana facility in Eureka Springs. But that application was graded fifth in the region. So, Bentonville gets two marijuana dispensaries, and Fayetteville gets two. Eureka Springs gets none. People in Carroll County will have to travel more than an hour in each direction to obtain medical marijuana.
House’s clinic in Springdale is: Medical Canna Clinic, (479) 927-1100, 2257 Old Wire Rd., Springdale. Appointments can be booked by calling or going online to www.medcannabisar.com.
No insurance companies yet offer coverage for medical marijuana office visits or products.
Information from Arkansas Health Department regarding medical marijuana cards
- Number of medical marijuana cards issues by July 26: 17,577
- The Arkansas Department of Health issues medical marijuana registry cards for qualified patients and caregivers.
- Apply online and when approved, you may print your own card.
- Visiting patients must apply online.
- Registry ID card application fees are non refundable.
- The fee for a patient or caregiver medical marijuana card application is $50 (non refundable).
- The Arkansas Department of Health is available to answer questions about your Arkansas Medical Marijuana ID card or about applications for a medical marijuana testing lab.
- The Arkansas Department of Health is not able to provide information regarding: physicians who provide certifications, your legal matters, your personal decisions regarding your work and or traveling with medical marijuana, information about other states and their medical marijuana programs, information about your personal health and health care decision making.
- For questions about applying for a medical marijuana ID card or to have an application mailed to you, call 1 (833) 214-8619 or (501) 682-4982. In addition to applying online patients can also come into the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH), Little Rock, 4815 W. Markham St., Little Rock AR 72005. Or people can visit their local county health department. Applications can also be mailed to the address above. Include $50, the patient application form, the form filled out by the doctor, and a copy of an Arkansas-issued ID. Office hours are from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
- ADH is not providing information about which dispensaries are open.
- List of Qualifying Conditions: cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Tourette’s syndrome, Crohn’s disease, Ulcerative colitis, severe arthritis, fibromyalgia, Alzheimer’s disease, and a chronic or debilitating disease that produces: intractable pain, cachexia or wasting syndrome, peripheral neuropathy, severe nausea, seizures, severe or persistent muscle spasms.