Cannabis in Arkansas: lounges, dispensaries & laws
In Arkansas, medical cannabis is legal. Medical possession: 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana (weight of any food or beverage the cannabis is combined with is not counted). Registered caregivers may possess 2.5 oz on behalf of each patient they serve. Edibles are capped at 10mg THC per product unit.
Can you legally consume on site in Arkansas?
Not permitted
No. Arkansas law does not authorize cannabis consumption lounges, cannabis cafes, hospitality/social-consumption licenses, or on-site consumption of any kind. Amendment 98 and Arkansas Department of Health rules confine legal use to private property and expressly prohibit consumption in public places; dispensaries are prohibited from allowing consumption on the licensed premises. MPP's national on-site-consumption survey lists 15 states permitting lounges or cannabis events and Arkansas is not among them. There is no municipal opt-in mechanism, no pending licensing category, and no legally operating lounge anywhere in the state, including Little Rock, Fayetteville, Hot Springs, or Eureka Springs. Any venue advertising itself as a 'lounge' in Arkansas is operating in the unregulated intoxicating-hemp space or outside the law — note that Act 629 (2023) and Act 934 (2025) placed delta-8 and other intoxicating hemp products on a total-THC basis into Schedule VI, so hemp-based 'lounges' are also on very thin legal ice.
Arkansas cannabis laws at a glance
- Legal status
- Medical Only
- Medical since
- 2016
- Medical possession
- 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana (weight of any food or beverage the cannabis is combined with is not counted). Registered caregivers may possess 2.5 oz on behalf of each patient they serve. Edibles are capped at 10mg THC per product unit.
- Purchase limit
- 2.5 ounces per registered patient per rolling 14-day period, tracked statewide across all licensed dispensaries through the state's seed-to-sale inventory tracking system (specific tracking vendor not confirmed — verify with state regulator).
- Home cultivation
- Prohibited entirely. Amendment 98 contains no home-cultivation provision — there is no legal home grow for anyone in Arkansas, including registered medical patients or caregivers. All product must be bought from a state-licensed dispensary.
- Public consumption
- Illegal for everyone. Amendment 98 bars patients from using medical marijuana in any public place, in a motor vehicle, aircraft or motorized watercraft, on school grounds, in childcare facilities, correctional facilities, healthcare facilities, or knowingly in close proximity to a minor or a pregnant woman. Non-patient possession of under 4 oz is a Class A misdemeanor (up to 1 year jail, up to $2,500 fine); 4 oz to 10 lbs is a Class D felony. Arkansas has not decriminalized simple possession statewide. Landlords may ban smoking on their property but may not ban non-smoked forms.
- Minimum age (medical)
- 18 for an independent patient card. Minors under 18 may qualify but cannot purchase themselves — a parent or legal guardian must register as a designated caregiver and obtain product on their behalf. Patients under 21 may not consume herbal (smokable/flower) cannabis at all and are limited to non-herbal forms.
- Out-of-state medical cards
- Partial — registration required. Arkansas does not honor an out-of-state card at the dispensary counter, but it does run a Visiting Qualifying Patient program: an out-of-state patient with a valid card from another state whose qualifying condition is also recognized in Arkansas can apply online through the Arkansas Department of Health for a 90-day visiting patient card ($50 nonrefundable, processing up to about 14 days). Once issued, the visitor can purchase and possess on the same 2.5 oz / 14-day terms as residents.
- Qualifying conditions
- Broad. Amendment 98 lists roughly 17-18 named conditions (cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, ALS, Tourette's, Crohn's, ulcerative colitis, PTSD, severe arthritis, fibromyalgia, Alzheimer's, MS, and others) plus catch-all categories for chronic or debilitating conditions producing cachexia/wasting, peripheral neuropathy, intractable pain unresponsive to treatment for 6+ months, severe nausea, seizures, or severe/persistent muscle spasms. The Department of Health may add conditions by rule.
No listings in Arkansas yet
We have not verified any cannabis businesses in Arkansas so far. If you run a lounge, dispensary or shop here, you can put your city on the map.
Cities in Arkansas
Visiting Arkansas
Arkansas is a medical-only state with zero social consumption infrastructure — there are no lounges, no cannabis-friendly bars, and no consumption-permitted events, so if you don't have a private residence you effectively have nowhere legal to consume. Hotel rooms are private property but nearly all Arkansas hotels ban smoking and can charge cleaning fees or call police; discreet edibles or tinctures in a private room are the realistic option, and consuming in your car — even parked — is explicitly illegal. If you hold a medical card from another state and want to buy legally, apply for the 90-day Visiting Qualifying Patient card through the Arkansas Department of Health well before your trip, since processing can take up to two weeks and there is no same-day option at the dispensary. Do not count on delta-8 or hemp-THC shops as a workaround: Arkansas has moved aggressively to ban intoxicating hemp products, and possession without a card of under 4 oz is still a Class A misdemeanor.
What changed recently
2024: Issue 3, a medical-expansion amendment, appeared on the November ballot but the Arkansas Supreme Court blocked it from taking effect on signature-gathering and ballot-title grounds (a 4-3 decision after two justices recused and were replaced by gubernatorial appointees), so nothing changed. 2025: Act 271 (HB1452) addresses medical marijuana use in certain places and prohibits possessing unsealed containers of certain marijuana forms in a motor vehicle. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders vetoed HB1889 on April 16, 2025, which would have loosened dispensary and cultivation facility access limits and authorized dispensary delivery vehicles and drive-through windows — the governor has repeatedly voiced opposition to any expansion of the program. Reports that Act 934 (2025) broadened the intoxicating-hemp ban to a total-THC basis, and that the 8th Circuit reversed the injunction blocking the earlier Act 629 hemp ban in June 2025, are Not confirmed — verify with state regulator. No cannabis bills were filed in the short 2026 fiscal session, and no adult-use or lounge measure is currently qualified for the 2026 ballot.
Arkansas cannabis questions
Is cannabis legal in Arkansas?
Medical cannabis is legal as of 2026-07-19.
Can you smoke in public in Arkansas?
Illegal for everyone. Amendment 98 bars patients from using medical marijuana in any public place, in a motor vehicle, aircraft or motorized watercraft, on school grounds, in childcare facilities, correctional facilities, healthcare facilities, or knowingly in close proximity to a minor or a pregnant woman. Non-patient possession of under 4 oz is a Class A misdemeanor (up to 1 year jail, up to $2,500 fine); 4 oz to 10 lbs is a Class D felony. Arkansas has not decriminalized simple possession statewide. Landlords may ban smoking on their property but may not ban non-smoked forms.
Are there cannabis lounges in Arkansas?
No. Arkansas law does not authorize cannabis consumption lounges, cannabis cafes, hospitality/social-consumption licenses, or on-site consumption of any kind. Amendment 98 and Arkansas Department of Health rules confine legal use to private property and expressly prohibit consumption in public places; dispensaries are prohibited from allowing consumption on the licensed premises. MPP's national on-site-consumption survey lists 15 states permitting lounges or cannabis events and Arkansas is not among them. There is no municipal opt-in mechanism, no pending licensing category, and no legally operating lounge anywhere in the state, including Little Rock, Fayetteville, Hot Springs, or Eureka Springs. Any venue advertising itself as a 'lounge' in Arkansas is operating in the unregulated intoxicating-hemp space or outside the law — note that Act 629 (2023) and Act 934 (2025) placed delta-8 and other intoxicating hemp products on a total-THC basis into Schedule VI, so hemp-based 'lounges' are also on very thin legal ice.
Can you grow cannabis at home in Arkansas?
Prohibited entirely. Amendment 98 contains no home-cultivation provision — there is no legal home grow for anyone in Arkansas, including registered medical patients or caregivers. All product must be bought from a state-licensed dispensary.
Does Arkansas accept out-of-state medical marijuana cards?
Partial — registration required. Arkansas does not honor an out-of-state card at the dispensary counter, but it does run a Visiting Qualifying Patient program: an out-of-state patient with a valid card from another state whose qualifying condition is also recognized in Arkansas can apply online through the Arkansas Department of Health for a 90-day visiting patient card ($50 nonrefundable, processing up to about 14 days). Once issued, the visitor can purchase and possess on the same 2.5 oz / 14-day terms as residents.