Behind the cards: Three counties account for more than a third of Arkansas patients June 28, 2022 By Griffin Coop Arkansas’s three most populous counties account for more than a third of the state’s medical marijuana patients, according to cardholder data from the Arkansas Department of Health. Pulaski County, Benton County and Washington County account for 33,501 of the state’s 92,172 state-issued ID cards. The three counties account for about 31% of the state population and 36% of the state’s cardholders. The data comes from the Arkansas Department of Health’s Medical Marijuana report for Fiscal Year 2021, which ran from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021. The department expects to publish a report for Fiscal Year 2022 by end of this calendar year, according to spokeswoman Meg Mirivel. In addition to being the most populous counties, Pulaski, Benton and Washington counties are also among the state’s wealthiest. Each of the three counties is in the state’s top seven for median household income, according to a ranking by Aspire Arkansas, a project of the Arkansas Community Foundation. Lee County, which ranks 64th in population among the state’s 75 counties, has the fewest number of patients with just 61. Lee County is also the state’s second-poorest county by median household income, according to Aspire Arkansas. Arkansas medical marijuana ID cards require a $50 application fee, a doctor’s certification of a qualifying condition and a state-issued ID. If a patient doesn’t have a doctor, they can use a service that specializes in certifications such as Ozark MMJ Cards, which charges $125 for certifications in Arkansas. There is a steep drop-off in the number of patients after the top three.   Garland County, the state’s eighth largest county, has the fourth-most medical marijuana patients with 4,735. The county is home to two dispensaries and potentially a third, depending on the outcome of a lawsuit. Faulkner County rounds out the top five with 3,862 patients. Jefferson County, home to three dispensaries in Pine Bluff, ranks 15th with 1,249 patients. Jefferson County ranks 11th in population. Miller County ranks 25th with 815 patients. The county is home to two dispensaries in Texarkana and potentially a third depending on the outcome of a lawsuit. Miller County ranks 16th in population. According to the Department of Health, 245 patients did not provide county information.
