A local group is planning to submit an application for a medical cannabis cultivation facility and dispensary to be located in El Dorado.
According to a press release, South Arkansas Cannabis Solutions LLC, “a diverse group made up of local business leaders,” plans to bid on the old ThermaFlite property at 2524 Champagnolle Road at a court-ordered real estate auction at 10 a.m. Sept. 15.
Mattison Thomas, an attorney representing the group and listed as the registered agent for the LLC on the Arkansas Secretary of State’s website, declined to provide specifics on who is in the group but said it is made up of people who “are vested in the community already.”
According to the Secretary of State’s listing for the LLC on its website, the incorporator/organizer for the group is Beege Bilo, owner of Gene’s Liquor Mart.
According to the release, the group has submitted “what it believes to be the high bid on the property and intends to purchase it,” noting that “there is another group of local business leaders, which includes one elected official, who are also interested in purchasing the property, although they have no plans for the same.”
Thomas said the other group includes four business owners who have previously tried to bid on the property. When asked how he knew the other group did not have a plan for the property, Thomas said he has been in a meeting with the group at the El Dorado-Union County Chamber of Commerce where they did not disclose any particular plans.
The group will not submit an application with the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission until after the auction, though the deadline for application submissions is Sept. 18. When asked what would happen if the group is successful in purchasing the property but does not get an application approved with the state, Thomas said the group would have to figure out what to do with the property.
Arkansas voters legalized medical marijuana last year and the state is now working to implement the program. The state is accepting applications until Sept. 18 for five cultivator permits and 32 dispensary permits.
According to the release, if the group’s application is approved and the property on Champagnolle Road is purchased, “they intend to use the facility to cultivate medical marijuana and dispense the same to qualified medical patients, as well as wholesaling product to other dispensaries and cultivation facilities throughout the state.” The release noted the facility would employ 100 people in areas of cultivation, concentrate extraction, retail and wholesale sales with wages between $13-$25 per hour.
When asked what he would say to those who would oppose such a facility in El Dorado, Thomas said the location is within the parameters set out in the law and added that the group will add 100 jobs wherever they locate, whether it’s in El Dorado or elsewhere.
“We are looking to bring 100 jobs to the area that do not exist,” Thomas said.
If the Champagnolle Road property is purchased by another person or group, the release notes South Arkansas Cannabis Solutions LLC is also considering locations in Smackover.
There are regulations that limit where greenhouses and distributors can operate. While setting up rules for licensing, legislators said growers must be at least 3,000 feet from churches, schools or day cares, while dispensaries must be 1,500 feet away.
Cultivation facility and dispensary license applications will be scored and officials will award the permits based on merit.
According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, half of the 100 total points that are available to potential growers and sellers were in a section devoted to operating marijuana facilities in compliance with laws and rules. It deals with everything from the ability to grow marijuana to security planning.
Other sections are devoted to applicant qualifications, financial disclosure and an operations plan. Applicants also can get up to 10 bonus points for meeting certain optional standards set by the state, including minority-group member ownership, association with a medical doctor or pharmacist, or providing programs beneficial to the community.
The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission is using the same standards to score both dispensary and cultivation facility licenses.
According to the Associated Press, as of Friday, the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration said two businesses have applied for licenses to grow medical marijuana and five have applied for licenses to sell it. Hundreds of applicants are expected to apply for the slots, though the state doesn’t plan to release applications until the Sept. 18 deadline.
Hundreds also have applied to use medical marijuana. In mid-August, the Associated Press reported that more than 670 applications had been completed and approved by the Arkansas Department of Health. ID cards will be issued about 30 days before medical marijuana is available for legal purchase in the state. The qualifying conditions for those who want to obtain a user ID card include cancer and severe nausea.
Madeleine Leroux can be reached at 870-862-6611 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @mleroux821.