GARLAND COUNTY, Ark. — On Tuesday, a Hot Springs dispensary officially had its license revoked, marking the first time a medical marijuana business had its license taken away since the Arkansas medical marijuana industry launched in mid-2019.
Green Springs Medical can no longer operate as a medical marijuana business after the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission (MMC) passed a motion to "take no action" in the Hot Springs dispensary's appeal to reinstate its license.
MMC's decision comes after weeks of back and forth between Green Springs Medical and the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control Division (ABC), who revoked the dispensary's license after learning the business sold over 1,800 expired products and had missing inventory and unclean processing areas.
The meeting with the MMC lasted less than five minutes, and the commission said Green Springs Medical couldn't ask for its license back.
Green Springs Medical Owner Dragan Vicentic appeared in a Garland County courtroom on June 20, hoping to get a temporary operations order while he appeals ABC's decision to revoke the license.
However, Garland County Circuit Court Judge Kara Petro denied Vicentic's petition for stay because of the repeated violations. The judge said Green Springs Medical was provided a list of expired quality assurance tests and was "explicitly" told by the ABC Board not to sell the products.
In response, Vicentic and Green Springs Medical "proceeded to sell the products anyways," as ABC sent an undercover agent to Green Springs Medical in October 2023.
