CLINTON, Ark — A morning computer glitch delayed, but didn’t deter, customers from lining up for the third medical marijuana dispensary grand opening in Arkansas.
The crowd outside Arkansas Natural Products made the first legal purchases outside Hot Springs, where two shops opened in May.
“I'm very excited. We've been waiting two and a half years for this,” said Carmelita McMurray of Mountain View after emerging from the dispensary with the first purchase.
“I'm disabled and it hurts to drive all the way down there, so this really amazing that they got it here,” said David Flores, also of Mountain View, who had made the two-hour trip to Hot Springs, but can now enjoy the convenience of a dispensary closer to home. “That was a long trip. This is 30 minutes away.”
Curious onlookers joined the customers, including county judge Dale James.
“Any time a new business opens up in Van Buren County, it’s a reason to celebrate,” he said. “It is a little interesting because Van Buren County is a dry county. We can't sell liquor, but we're selling, now we're selling medical marijuana.”
“The whole process of opening a medical cannabis dispensaries has been a great thing,” said owner David Beard, who bought pizza and put out fans for customers as they waited several hours for a computer glitch to resolve itself.
“There's a need for it. There's a need to replace the horrible opiates that are being used for things like pain management with something more natural,” he said.
All three dispensaries had to work through computer problems before they opened up. Alcohol Beverage Control board director Doralee Chandler said that the system worked when they tested them last week. Technicians from the ABC helped get everything connected, allowing Beard to look toward the future.
“What we want to do is make our customer service is such that people don't mind making a little extra drive to come here to Clinton, even if there's a dispensary closer,” Beard said.