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The Arkansas agency that regulates the distribution of controlled substances arrested eight former employees of a medical marijuana dispensary in the Delta, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division’s enforcement arm announced Monday in a news release.
“Upon the conclusion of a lengthy ABC Enforcement investigation, it was determined employees of the dispensary used patient allotments for persons who were elderly, deceased, out of area, or incarcerated to create fraudulent transactions and illegally obtain medical marijuana,” the release from the Department of Finance and Administration states. “Employees also allowed individuals not holding a patient card to access the dispensary and purchase marijuana products under legitimate patient allotments.”
ABC charged all eight former employees of Greenlight Dispensary in Helena-West Helena with obtaining drugs by fraud, which is a class D felony. One of the former employees, Greg McDaniel, is also charged with felony use of a communication device and misdemeanor delivery of a controlled substance.
McDaniel had stopped working for the dispensary and become a Helena-West Helena police officer at the time of the ABC investigation, the news release states, and he has resigned from the police department as a result of the charges.
The seven other employees were April Jones, Shameka Wright, Gerald W. Jennings, Lauren Delk, Austen Delk, Taylor Perkins, and Demario Rose, the news release states.
“ABC enforcement is committed to compliance in our medical marijuana program through licensee education and data driven enforcement policy,” ABC Enforcement Director David Potter said in the release. “However, instances of diversion, fraud, and theft will be proactively investigated and criminal charges will be sought to remove bad actors, regardless of their position or influence.”
ABC “could see additional arrests related to this investigation,” finance department spokesperson Scott Hardin said in an email.
Additionally, ABC has sent dispensary license holder Sean Clarkson a settlement offer for “violations of ABC’s administrative regulations,” Hardin said. The agency’s board has the authority to sanction dispensaries for violating the rules for medical marijuana handling and sales.
The state Medical Marijuana Commission approved Clarkson as the Helena-West Helena dispensary’s new owner last week. The three previous owners were William Christine, Richard Gray and John Mueller, according to a document Hardin provided to the Advocate.
In June, a Hot Springs dispensary became the first in the state to have its license revoked. The ABC board upheld Director Christy Bjornson’s earlier decision to discipline Green Springs Medical Marijuana Dispensary for selling expired products repeatedly. Owner Dragan Vicentic appealed the board’s decision, but a Garland County circuit court judge sided with the board.
Arkansas voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2016 to legalize marijuana for medicinal use, though the first dispensaries did not open until 2019. The amendment allows for 40 licensed dispensaries, but only 37 are currently in operation since one has been revoked and the remaining two have been delayed by a lawsuit.
Greenlight Dispensary has locations in Little Rock and West Memphis in addition to Helena-West Helena. The dispensary chain also operates in Illinois, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, South Dakota and West Virginia, according to its website.