Arkansas medical marijuana laws let a patient with a qualifying condition buy and possess cannabis once the Arkansas Department of Health issues a Medical Marijuana Registry Identification Card, with a hard cap of 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana purchased from a licensed dispensary in any 14-day period. The authority comes from Amendment 98 to the Arkansas Constitution, approved by voters in 2016. Follow the rules and you have a defense against state possession charges. Step outside them and you face misdemeanor or felony penalties like anyone else.
Who Qualifies as a Patient
Amendment 98 recognizes two paths to eligibility. The first is a named diagnosis: cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Tourette’s syndrome, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, PTSD, severe arthritis, fibromyalgia, or Alzheimer’s disease.1Arkansas Department of Health. Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment 98 Sections 1-8 Treatment for any of those also qualifies on its own.
The second path is symptom-based. A chronic or debilitating disease that produces cachexia, peripheral neuropathy, intractable pain untreated or unrelieved by standard treatment for at least six months, severe nausea, seizures, or severe and persistent muscle spasms can qualify you even if the underlying diagnosis isn’t on the named list.1Arkansas Department of Health. Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment 98 Sections 1-8 Most chronic pain patients come in through this door, and the six-month treatment history is where many applications stall.
Only a licensed Arkansas physician registered with the program can issue the written certification you’ll need. General wellness complaints don’t qualify.
Getting the Registry Card
You have to be at least 18, an Arkansas resident, and able to prove it with a current Arkansas driver’s license or state-issued ID.2Arkansas Department of Health. Qualified Patient Requirements Minors can participate through a parent or legal guardian acting as caregiver.
Timing matters. The physician’s written certification is only valid for 30 days after it’s signed, so submit your application quickly or you’ll be paying for a fresh certification.3Arkansas Department of Health. Medical Marijuana FAQs The application fee is $50 and non-refundable.4Arkansas Department of Health. Medical Marijuana
Once approved, the card is good for up to a year from issuance, though the physician can set a shorter term. Renewal takes the same documentation and another $50.3Arkansas Department of Health. Medical Marijuana FAQs
If you’re visiting from a state with its own medical program, you can apply for a visiting patient card for $50 that’s valid for 90 days.3Arkansas Department of Health. Medical Marijuana FAQs Arkansas does not honor out-of-state cards at the dispensary counter without that step, and residents cannot get a temporary card instead of going through the standard process.
How Much You Can Buy and Carry
The ceiling is 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana from a licensed dispensary within any 14-day period. Each purchase counts against your balance for 14 days from that purchase date, so the balance rolls rather than resetting on a calendar.3Arkansas Department of Health. Medical Marijuana FAQs
Home cultivation is prohibited. Every legal gram has to come from a state-licensed dispensary. Keep product in its original dispensary 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.
What You’ll Pay
A 4% special privilege tax applies to medical marijuana on top of the 6.5% state sales tax, plus whatever local sales tax applies where you buy. Depending on the city and county, the total runs roughly 10.5% to 16%. None of it is reimbursable through insurance, HSAs, or FSAs, and IRS Publication 502 excludes marijuana from deductible medical expenses because it remains a Schedule I controlled substance federally.5Internal Revenue Service. Publication 502 (2025) Medical and Dental Expenses You pay out of pocket.
Caregivers
Not every patient can designate one. Under the ADH’s current rules, a caregiver is available 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 clear a criminal background check with no excluded felony convictions. The standard caregiver fee is $87, which covers processing and the background check. A parent applying as caregiver for their own minor child pays $50 and skips the background check.7Arkansas Department of Health. Medical Marijuana Registry Caregiver Application
A caregiver can serve up to five qualifying patients. The cap doesn’t apply when every patient served is a family member (spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, or grandchild, including step and in-law relationships).1Arkansas Department of Health. Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment 98 Sections 1-8 Caregivers carry their own registry card and cannot consume the medicine unless they hold a separate patient card.
Your Rights at Work Are Narrow
This is where patients get the biggest surprise. Amendment 98 gives employers broad authority to discipline employees for marijuana use, possession, or impairment at work or during work hours.1Arkansas Department of Health. Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment 98 Sections 1-8 Employers are not required to accommodate medical marijuana use anywhere on the job, and a registry card doesn’t protect you from termination for being under the influence at work.
Arkansas also lets employers designate particular jobs as safety-sensitive in writing. If a lapse in attention while impaired could cause injury, illness, or death, the role likely qualifies. An employee in a safety-sensitive role who holds a patient card can be reassigned, placed on leave, or terminated based on patient status alone, provided the designation is documented in a job description, memo, or handbook.
Federal positions and jobs requiring federal security clearances follow federal drug law, where marijuana remains illegal regardless of your Arkansas card. That reaches military contractors, federal law enforcement, and many transportation workers regulated by the Department of Transportation.
Where State Protection Ends
Your registry card is a state defense. It doesn’t cross certain lines.
Possession on federal land in Arkansas (national forests, Army Corps of Engineers lakes, national park sites) can bring federal charges. A first federal possession offense carries up to one year in jail, a minimum $1,000 fine, or both, with mandatory minimums climbing on later offenses. Federal rangers and officers aren’t bound by Amendment 98.
Federally subsidized housing is another hard edge. HUD rules prohibit marijuana use in public housing and in units supported by federal vouchers regardless of state law, and landlords in those programs can deny applications or pursue evictions on that basis. Section 8 participants and residents of HUD-subsidized complexes are covered.
Insurance and tax relief don’t exist. No health plan covers medical marijuana. HSA and FSA funds can’t pay for it. IRS Publication 502 explicitly bars controlled substances that are illegal federally from the medical expense deduction, state legality notwithstanding.5Internal Revenue Service. Publication 502 (2025) Medical and Dental Expenses
Driving Is a Real Trap for Patients
A registry card gives you no special protection behind the wheel. Driving while intoxicated by any substance, including marijuana, is illegal in Arkansas.8Justia. Arkansas Code 5-65-103 – Driving or Boating While Intoxicated There is no per-se blood-concentration limit for THC the way there is for alcohol. Officers rely on observation, field sobriety tests, and drug recognition evaluations, and a charge can rest on the presence of THC metabolites even if your last use was days earlier.
A first DUI is an unclassified misdemeanor carrying a minimum of 24 hours and up to one year of imprisonment, plus a six-month driver’s 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 time. Later offenses mean longer suspensions, higher fines, and longer mandatory minimums.
Arkansas’s implied consent law adds a second penalty track. Refusing a chemical test triggers a 180-day suspension on the first refusal, two years on a second within five years, and a three-year revocation on a third within five years.11Justia. Arkansas Code 5-65-205 – Refusal to Submit to a Chemical Test Because THC metabolites can linger for weeks, a registered patient can face a DUI charge even when not actively impaired. The law contains no safe harbor for cardholders.
What Happens if You Step Outside the Rules
Lose the registry card’s protection and you are prosecuted like anyone else. Marijuana is a Schedule VI controlled substance in Arkansas, and possession penalties scale with the amount:12Justia. Arkansas Code 5-64-419 – Possession of a Controlled Substance
- Less than 4 ounces: Class A misdemeanor, up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.13Justia. 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.
Fraud is treated separately. Misrepresenting a medical condition, falsifying a physician certification, or passing cannabis to someone who isn’t a registered patient can bring felony drug distribution charges. Dispensaries are required to report suspected abuse, and violations can lead to permanent revocation of your patient or caregiver registration.