Arkansas medical marijuana laws come from Amendment 98 to the state constitution, approved by voters in 2016. If you have a qualifying condition, get a physician certification, and hold a valid Arkansas Department of Health registry card, you can buy up to 2.5 ounces every 14 days from a licensed dispensary. Home cultivation is banned, out-of-state cards don’t work at Arkansas dispensaries, and stepping outside the program’s limits exposes you to misdemeanor or felony charges under state drug law. Your card also does nothing against federal law, workplace drug policies, or a DUI stop.
Who Qualifies
Amendment 98 lists qualifying conditions in two groups. The first is named diseases: cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, ALS, Tourette’s syndrome, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, PTSD, severe arthritis, fibromyalgia, and Alzheimer’s disease.1Arkansas Department of Health. Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment 98 Sections 1-8 Treatment for any of them qualifies on its own.
The second group is symptoms produced by a chronic or debilitating disease: cachexia, peripheral neuropathy, intractable pain that hasn’t responded to treatment for at least six months, severe nausea, seizures, or severe and persistent muscle spasms.1Arkansas Department of Health. Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment 98 Sections 1-8 Chronic pain patients most often rely on this route, and the six-month treatment history is what holds up many applications. General wellness or minor complaints do not qualify. You need a documented diagnosis from a licensed Arkansas physician registered with the program.
Getting a Registry Card
You must be at least 18, an Arkansas resident, and able to show a current Arkansas driver’s license or state ID.2Arkansas Department of Health. Qualified Patient Requirements Minors can participate through a parent or legal guardian who applies as their designated caregiver.
Your application needs an official physician written certification. It expires 30 days after the doctor signs it, so submit quickly or you’ll need a new one.3Arkansas Department of Health. Medical Marijuana FAQs The fee is $50 and non-refundable.4Arkansas Department of Health. Medical Marijuana
Approved cards are valid for up to one year from issuance, though a physician can set a shorter period. Renewal requires the same documents and another $50.3Arkansas Department of Health. Medical Marijuana FAQs
Visiting Patients
Arkansas dispensaries will not honor an out-of-state medical card. If you’re visiting and hold a valid recommendation from your home state, you can apply for a visiting patient card for $50, good for 90 days.3Arkansas Department of Health. Medical Marijuana FAQs Arkansas residents can’t use this route. There are no temporary cards for residents.
Purchase Limits, Home Grow, and Taxes
Registered patients can buy up to 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana in a 14-day period. Each purchase counts against your balance for 14 days from that purchase date, so the balance doesn’t reset on a fixed schedule.3Arkansas Department of Health. Medical Marijuana FAQs Dispensaries track this in real time.
Home cultivation is prohibited. All product must come from a licensed dispensary. Keep it in the original packaging, carry your registry card whenever you have cannabis on you, and don’t consume in public. Taking marijuana across state lines violates both state and federal law.
Purchases carry a 4% special privilege tax on top of the 6.5% state sales tax, plus local sales taxes. Total tax typically runs between 10.5% and roughly 16% depending on the jurisdiction. Nothing is reimbursable. Health insurance won’t cover it, HSAs and FSAs won’t pay for it, and IRS Publication 502 excludes marijuana from deductible medical expenses because it remains a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law.5Internal Revenue Service. Publication 502 (2025) Medical and Dental Expenses
Designated Caregivers
Not every patient can have a caregiver. Under ADH rules, you can designate one only if you are a minor or if your physician marks you as physically disabled on the certification form.6Arkansas Department of Health. Designated Caregiver Requirements
Caregivers must be Arkansas residents, at least 21, and must pass a criminal background check with no convictions for excluded felony offenses. The standard caregiver fee is $87 (application plus background check). Parents applying as caregiver for their minor child pay $50 and are not subject to the background check.7Arkansas Department of Health. Medical Marijuana Registry Caregiver Application
A caregiver can serve up to five qualifying patients. If every patient served is a family member (spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, or grandchild, including step and in-law relationships), the five-patient cap doesn’t apply.1Arkansas Department of Health. Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment 98 Sections 1-8 Caregivers carry their own card and can’t consume the marijuana unless they also hold a separate patient card.
Where Your Card Doesn’t Protect You
Most patients get into trouble not at the dispensary but somewhere else. The registry card is a state-law protection against criminal possession charges. It is not a shield in these situations.
At Work
Amendment 98 gives employers broad authority to discipline employees for marijuana use, possession, or impairment at the workplace or during work hours.1Arkansas Department of Health. Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment 98 Sections 1-8 Employers do not have to accommodate medical marijuana use. If you’re under the influence on the job, the card won’t stop a termination.
Employers can also designate positions as “safety-sensitive” in writing. If a lapse in attention while under the influence could cause injury, illness, or death, the job likely qualifies. Employees in those roles who are medical marijuana patients can be reassigned, placed on leave, or terminated based on patient status alone. The designation has to be documented somewhere, such as a job description, memo, or employee handbook.
Federal jobs and positions requiring a federal security clearance answer to federal drug law, where marijuana is still illegal. That covers military contractors, federal law enforcement, and many Department of Transportation-regulated transportation workers.
On Federal Property
Possession on federal land in Arkansas, including national forests, Army Corps of Engineers lakes, and national park sites, can produce federal charges. A first federal possession offense carries up to one year in jail, a minimum $1,000 fine, or both. Federal rangers and officers are not bound by Amendment 98.
In Federally Subsidized Housing
Public housing and federal housing voucher rules currently prohibit marijuana use in those units regardless of state law. Landlords in federally assisted housing, including Section 8 and HUD-subsidized programs, can deny applications or pursue evictions based on marijuana use even when you hold a valid patient card.
Behind the Wheel
The card gives you no protection from a DUI. Driving while intoxicated by any substance, marijuana included, is illegal.8Justia. Arkansas Code 5-65-103 – Driving or Boating While Intoxicated Arkansas has no THC blood-concentration limit equivalent to the alcohol standard. Officers rely on observation, field sobriety tests, and drug recognition evaluations, and you can be charged on the presence of THC metabolites even if you last used cannabis days earlier.
A first DUI is an unclassified misdemeanor with a minimum 24 hours and up to one year of imprisonment, plus a six-month license suspension.9Justia. Arkansas Code 5-65-111 – Sentencing10Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. DUI DWI BUI BWI Offenses Courts can substitute community service for jail. Repeat offenses raise the minimums and suspension lengths.
Refusing a chemical test triggers implied-consent penalties: a 180-day suspension for a first refusal, two years for a second within five years, and a three-year revocation for a third within five years.11Justia. Arkansas Code 5-65-205 – Refusal to Submit to a Chemical Test THC metabolites linger for weeks, so patients face real DUI exposure even when not actively impaired. The statute contains no safe harbor for registered patients.
Penalties for Falling Outside the Program
Once you exceed the possession cap, skip the card, or grow at home, the state-law protection is gone and standard drug penalties apply. Marijuana is a Schedule VI controlled substance in Arkansas, and possession scales with quantity:
- Less than 4 ounces: Class A misdemeanor, up to one year in jail and a fine up to $2,500.12Justia. Arkansas Code 5-64-419 – Possession of a Controlled Substance13Justia. Arkansas Code 5-4-201 – Fines Limitations on Amount
- 1 ounce to less than 4 ounces with four or more prior convictions: Class D felony.
- 4 ounces to less than 10 pounds: Class D felony.
- 10 pounds to less than 25 pounds: Class C felony.
- 25 pounds to less than 100 pounds: Class B felony.
- 100 pounds or more: Class A felony.12Justia. Arkansas Code 5-64-419 – Possession of a Controlled Substance
Fraud is treated separately. Misrepresenting a medical condition, falsifying a physician certification, or handing cannabis to someone who isn’t a registered patient can bring felony drug distribution charges. Violations can also permanently revoke your patient or caregiver registration.