Arkansas governor rejects medical marijuana expansion bill

Claiming it “would expand access to usable marijuana,” Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders vetoed a bill that would have legalized drive-thru windows at MMJ dispensaries in the state.

House Bill 1889 also would have legalized dispensary tours and eased MMJ deliveries by reducing the number of employees state law requires to be in a transport vehicle from two to one, the Arkansas Times reported.

Sponsored by the Arkansas Cannabis Industry Association, the bill passed the 100-member state House on April 2 with the minimum 51 votes in favor.

Sanders, a Republican, then vetoed the bill on Wednesday, the part-time Legislature’s last day of normal business for 2025, according to the Times.

That means it might be too late for lawmakers to schedule a vote to override the governor’s veto.

Sanders’ veto message to state legislative leaders was brief:

“Pursuant to my authority under Ark. Const. Art. 6, § 15, I am returning without my approval House Bill 1889, entitled ‘An Act to Amend the Limitations on Access to a Dispensary or Cultivation Facility; To Authorize a Dispensary to Deliver Orders via a Delivery Vehicle or via a Drive-Through Window.’

“This legislation would expand access to usable marijuana, therefore I am vetoing this legislation.”

Sanders’ veto is the latest example of Arkansas officials thwarting potential expansion of the state’s medical cannabis industry.

Last fall, the Arkansas Supreme Court invalidated a ballot initiative that would have expanded patient access to medical cannabis and legalized home grows.

Sales at Arkansas’s MMJ dispensaries reached $275.9 million in 2024, according to Fayetteville TV station KNWA, down slightly from $283 million in 2023.