A slew of bills modifying the state’s nascent medical marijuana program have been signed into law by Gov. Asa Hutchinson over the past two weeks.
One dozen marijuana-related bills recently saw the governor’s pen, and five more currently await his signature. Any bill modifying the voter-approved Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment must be approved two-thirds majority in both the Senate and the House of the Representatives before it can be signed into law by the governor.
House Bill 1400, now signed into law as Act 740 of the 91st General Assembly, prohibits the smoking of marijuana anywhere smoking tobacco is also prohibited. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Robin Lundstrum of Elm Springs, originally called for a statewide ban on smoking medical marijuana before being amended into its current form to receive House approval.
Act 640 also prohibits patients from smoking marijuana in the presence of someone younger than 14, inside of a motor vehicle, in the presence of a pregnant woman and in the presence of another person if the marijuana smoke might cause the second person to be under the influence of marijuana.
Photo at top: Jeephade | Dreamstime.com - Map of Little Rock Arkansas
