A felony conviction does not stop a person from getting a medical marijuana card in Arkansas as a patient. Amendment 98 sets only three requirements for a patient registry card: Arkansas residency with a valid state ID, age 18 or older (or a minor with a parent or guardian as caregiver), and a qualifying medical condition diagnosed by a licensed physician.1Arkansas Department of Health. Qualified Patient Requirements There is no criminal background check for patients. The felony restrictions in the law apply to designated caregivers and to dispensary or cultivation facility employees, not to patients themselves.
That is the direct answer. The fuller answer matters too, because a felony record can keep you from helping someone else as their caregiver, and because holding any medical marijuana card, felony or not, carries federal consequences for firearms, housing, and some jobs that anyone with a record should think through before applying.
What the State Actually Checks for a Patient Card
The Arkansas Department of Health application asks for proof of residency, proof of age, and a Physician Written Certification signed by an MD or DO holding an unrestricted Arkansas license. It does not ask about your criminal history. The constitutional definition of a “qualifying patient” is simply a person diagnosed by a physician with a qualifying condition who has registered with the Department of Health.2Arkansas Advocate. Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2016
People get confused on this point because Amendment 98 does contain detailed felony language, and many online summaries blur the roles together. The law draws a clear line. A person convicted of any felony, including a drug felony, can apply as a patient and be approved if the medical and residency requirements are met.
Where a Felony Does Disqualify You
The felony bar in Amendment 98 reaches two groups. The first is designated caregivers, meaning a person who assists a qualifying patient who is a minor or physically disabled. A caregiver must be at least 21 years old and cannot have been convicted of an “excluded felony offense,” and must submit to a criminal background check as part of the caregiver application.3Arkansas Department of Health. Medical Marijuana FAQs One exception sits inside this rule: a parent or legal guardian applying as caregiver for their own minor child does not have to complete the criminal history check.
The second group is anyone applying for a registry card as a dispensary or cultivation facility agent. A conviction for a “disqualifying felony offense” bars that person from receiving an agent card.4Arkansas Department of Health. Arkansas Constitution Amendment 98 – Sections 1-8 That is a licensing question for people trying to work in the industry, not a patient question.
What Counts as an Excluded Felony Offense
The caregiver definition splits into two tracks, and the distinction decides whether an older conviction still matters.5FindLaw. Arkansas Constitution Amendment 98 – Section 2
For non-drug felonies, any felony conviction is an excluded offense unless the record has been sealed by a court or the conviction has been pardoned by the governor. There is no waiting period. A twenty-year-old theft or assault conviction still counts if it has not been sealed or pardoned.
For controlled substance felonies, the rule is more forgiving. A drug felony is not an excluded offense if you completed the entire sentence, including probation, incarceration, and supervised release, ten or more years ago. It also does not count if the record was sealed or the conviction pardoned. That 10-year lookback gives people with older drug convictions a route to caregiver eligibility that is not open to someone with a non-drug felony on their record.
Sealing or Pardoning a Conviction
Because sealed and pardoned convictions are carved out of the excluded felony definition, cleaning up the record is often the practical path to caregiver eligibility. Arkansas allows sealing of many felonies once all terms of the sentence are complete, including probation and payment of fines. Several categories cannot be sealed:
- Class Y felonies, the most serious category under Arkansas law
- Class A or B felonies that are not drug offenses
- Violent felonies and manslaughter
- Unclassified felonies carrying a maximum sentence of more than 10 years
- Sexual offenses involving a victim under 18
If your conviction falls into one of these categories, a governor’s pardon is the only route. For a conviction that can be sealed, sealing lets you legally state that you have not been convicted, which also clears the Amendment 98 caregiver bar.
Firearm Rights Are a Separate Issue
Sealing a felony in Arkansas does not restore firearm rights unless the case was originally handled under Act 346, the state’s first-offender program. That matters for anyone with a record because the federal firearms issue below applies on top of whatever gun restrictions already attach to a felony conviction.
Federal law makes it illegal for any “unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance” to possess firearms or ammunition.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 Marijuana remains a controlled substance under federal law, so every cannabis user, including state-registered medical patients, is treated as a prohibited person for firearms purposes. ATF Form 4473, which you fill out when buying a firearm from a licensed dealer, asks about marijuana use, and lying on that form is a federal offense carrying up to 10 years in prison.
Nothing in the state medical card process will warn you about this at the counter. If you already have a felony-based firearm restriction, holding a medical card adds a second, independent federal basis for prosecution if you possess a gun or ammunition. If you have never been convicted and you own firearms lawfully, the card creates the federal problem on its own.
Federal Housing Consequences
If you live in Section 8 housing or any federally subsidized unit, using medical marijuana puts your tenancy at risk. Under the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998, owners of federally assisted properties must deny admission to anyone currently using a federally controlled substance. Property owners are required to have policies allowing termination of tenancy for marijuana use, though they retain some case-by-case discretion about when to act. A state medical marijuana card provides no shield.
Employment Protections and Their Limits
Arkansas law generally prohibits an employer from refusing to hire you or firing you solely because you hold a medical marijuana card. The protection has real exceptions.
Employers can discipline or terminate anyone who uses, possesses, or is impaired by marijuana on company property or during work hours. For safety-sensitive positions under Arkansas law, a positive drug test alone is enough to justify termination or a refusal to hire, even if the applicant has a card. For non-safety-sensitive positions, a positive marijuana screen by itself cannot be the sole basis for adverse action against a cardholder who shows no sign of impairment.
Federal employers and employers subject to federal drug-testing rules can enforce zero-tolerance policies no matter what your card says. The U.S. Department of Transportation has stated that marijuana is unacceptable for any safety-sensitive employee subject to DOT drug testing, and a state medical card does not qualify as a legitimate medical explanation.7U.S. Department of Transportation. DOT’s Notice on Testing for Marijuana That covers commercial truck drivers, pipeline workers, flight crew, and other DOT-regulated roles. People with felony records already navigating a narrow job market should weigh this honestly before applying.
How to Apply as a Patient
If the risks above do not apply to your situation, the process is straightforward. Start with a physician visit. The doctor completes the Physician Written Certification form from the Arkansas Department of Health website, and that certification must be submitted within 30 days of the physician’s signature.8Arkansas Department of Health. Arkansas Department of Health – Medical Marijuana Forms
You then apply through the ADH online portal. You create an account, upload the physician certification and a copy of your Arkansas driver’s license or state ID, and pay the $50 non-refundable application fee by credit or debit card.9Arkansas Department of Health. Medical Marijuana Paper applications can be mailed to the Department of Health if you cannot use the online system.10Arkansas Department of Health. Medical Marijuana Information for Physicians
The state reviews applications within 14 working days and verifies that the certifying physician holds a current, unrestricted license. If something is missing, the application is returned with instructions rather than denied. If approved, you log back into the portal to print your registry card. The card is good for up to one year and renewal can begin 60 days before expiration, with a fresh physician certification and another $50 fee.3Arkansas Department of Health. Medical Marijuana FAQs Nothing in that process asks about or depends on your criminal history.