A mix-up caused by incorrect dates entered into the state’s medical marijuana software system left many of Arkansas’s 38 dispensaries no choice but to close for parts of the holiday weekend.
Data for renewed annual dispensary permits was incorrectly entered into BioTrack, the state’s cannabis software program. Last month, all 38 dispensaries’ permits were renewed for the next fiscal year, which begins on July 1. The data entered into BioTrack did not reflect that the permits were still valid for the rest of this fiscal year, which extends through the end of this month.
As a result, the computer system did not recognize the dispensaries as having valid permits and would not allow them to access the system, which is necessary to carry out sales.
Scott Hardin, spokesman for the state Alcoholic Beverage Control division, said the problem occurred at some point over the weekend and was resolved by about 10:30 a.m. today.
Robbin Rahman, executive director of Harvest dispensary in Conway, said his store began experiencing problems on Thursday but was able to access BioTrack. On Saturday, each transaction was taking two to five minutes and sometimes would time out, which creates a discrepancy in the system and must later be fixed. Eventually, the problem was too much to handle, forcing his store to close at 2 p.m. Saturday with a full lobby and a line out the door, he said.
The state’s dispensaries sell about $780,000 worth of products every day, Hardin said.
Hardin said there wasn’t any recourse for dispensaries that were forced to close other than for the state to apologize and say the problem wouldn’t happen again.
Rahman, who is also the regulatory chair of the Arkansas Cannabis Industry Association, said dispensaries and cultivators are held to the “highest standards” when it comes to following regulations and get fines when they violate a rule.
“That’s the standard dispensaries and cultivators are held to,” he said. “I don’t think that’s the standard the state is held to.”