Arkansas ABC revokes Hot Springs medical marijuana dispensary’s license

Arkansas’ Alcoholic Beverage Control Division revoked a Hot Springs medical marijuana dispensary’s license Thursday, the first revocation of its kind in the five years medical cannabis sales have been legal in the state.

Dragan Vicentic, owner of Green Springs Medical Marijuana Dispensary, said in an interview that he will appeal ABC’s decision to its board. The appeal will allow the business to remain operational until the issue is resolved, according to a Department of Finance and Administration news release.

“The revocation is the result of ongoing violations, most recently for selling more than 1,800 expired products,” the news release states. “ABC enforcement agents conducted an undercover purchase of expired products in October 2023 following a verbal warning regarding these products.”

ABC issued the dispensary a fine after two inspections last year, Vicentic said, and he made a case for reducing the fine. He said the issues at hand were “fully explainable” and he was surprised at ABC’s response.

“I thought the fine amount would be reduced because of my satisfactory explanation, and the next thing I knew, the director asked for a revocation of the license, which I thought was very extreme,” Vicentic said.

Trent Minner, leader of the finance department’s regulatory division, said in the news release that Green Springs has had “over 50 violations and warnings over the last four years.”

“A license to operate in the medical marijuana industry in Arkansas is a privilege not to be taken lightly,” Minner said. “When state law is consistently disregarded, ABC has a duty to revoke the license.”

Green Springs’ previous violations of medical marijuana regulations include:

• Failure to maintain sanitary processing areas
• Failure to meet required standards for inventory information
• Failure to maintain accurate personnel records
• Failure to maintain video surveillance on the property
• Lack of commercial grade locks at the facilities
• Improper signage

ABC Director Christy Bjornson said in the news release that the division anticipates Vicentic’s appeal. The ABC board will hear both Vicentic’s and the division’s case and decide whether to revoke or maintain the license.

Arkansas voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2016 to legalize marijuana for medicinal use. The state has 37 dispensaries besides Green Springs, which was the second to open in 2019 upon being licensed.

Purchases at the state’s dispensaries total $1.1 billion so far in five years, according to the finance department.