UPDATE: Purspirt Cannabis has been formally approved to open by the Arkansas Beveraage Control (ABC) Board. The opening date is now at the discreation of the owners, according to Scott Hardin, Medical Marijuana Commission Spokesperson.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KFSM) — Fayetteville will soon be home to a second medical marijuana dispensary.
The dispensary is located on Martin Luther King Blvd and Old Farmington Road.
Gates McKnight, director of dispensary operations, says he feels good about their inspection.
McKnight says the only thing they are missing is an extra camera and that should be taken care of quickly.
Safety and security is a primary requirement for any dispensary.
“They’re making sure every square foot is under surveillance and that each camera works. They’re making sure that the locks work, they’re making sure that really most importantly that the tracking system, that system that feeds every transaction back to the state that works," said Scott Hardin, Medical Marijuana Commission Spokesperson.
32 dispensaries got the go-ahead to open across eight zones with four for each zone.
When Purspirit Cannabis gets its stamp of approval, Northwest Arkansas will become the first region in the state to have all four dispensaries in operation.
So far this year around 2,700 pounds of medical marijuana has been sold. That’s about $19 million in sales and a lot of that is coming out of Northwest Arkansas.
“Those three dispensaries in Northwest Arkansas are seeing extremely strong sales numbers. They’re hitting some pretty impressive numbers in a short amount of time," Hardin said.
The Releaf Center which opened in August has already sold more than 400 pounds of marijuana and the other two dispensaries, The Source and Acanza, have exceeded 200 pounds.
Purspirit Cannabis is looking forward to being part of that industry.
“We’re just excited to be here and service the people of Northwest Arkansas. We’ll be the first region in the state to have all four of them open," McKnight said.
21 medical marijuana dispensaries still need to open across the state.
Hardin says the Purspirit Cannabis is expected to be approved by ABC on Monday (Nov. 18).