Arkansas Legislature Unanimously Passes Marijuana Rescheduling Bill
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Legislation to allow the Arkansas Department of Health to reschedule marijuana once there’s a change in federal law has passed the state’s full legislature.
House Bill 1402, which has no immediate impact on Arkansas marijuana laws, was passed by the Senate with unanimous 31 to 0 vote. The vote in the House of Representatives was also unanimous, 85 to 0. The measure now goes to Governor Asa Hutchinson (R), who can sign it into law, allowing it to become law without his signature or veto it (if he does veto it the legislature can override it with a 2/3rds vote).
Under the proposed law, Arkansas Code § 5-64-201(d), “concerning the duties of the Director of the Department of Health concerning the scheduling of a controlled substance”, would be amended to add a new subdivision to read as follows:
(d)(4) If notice has been given to the director that the United States Food and Drug Administration has designated, rescheduled, or descheduled a marijuana-derived substance under federal law and approved for marketing the marijuana-derived substance as a prescription medication, the director shall consider the designation, rescheduling, or descheduling of the marijuana-derived substance under this chapter.
Click here for the full text of House Bill 1402.