By: Michael Adkison
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A new medical marijuana dispensary opened its doors on Saturday, and it’s the first ever in Fayetteville.
Acanza held its grand opening over the weekend, after nearly three years since Arkansas voters approved of medical marijuana legalization
“We’re very eager to hopefully get involved in research with the university,” Acanza CEO Randi Hernandez said. “We’re trying to educate the community and the patients.”
The University of Arkansas remains a smoke-free campus and prevents medical marijuana consumption of any kind. But, U of A faculty cannot prevent someone from legally obtaining a medical marijuana card from their doctor.
“It doesn’t matter whether it’s marijuana, e-cigarettes, or general cigarettes, or even smokeless tobacco,” Pat Walker Health Center communications director Zac Brown said. “We’re smoke free and tobacco free and that’s because we really want to make sure we have an environment on campus that’s welcoming for everybody.”
But college students might not even be interested in obtaining a medical marijuana card. One of the co-owners at another dispensary, The Source, said he has not seen many young adult cardholders.
“It’s predominantly been older people, older females, and a lot of people who are obviously very ill,” co-owner of The Source Erik Danielson said. “We had one gentleman who came over straight from the hospital.”
Acanza is the third dispensary to open in Northwest Arkansas, after The Source and the Re-Leaf Center opened in Bentonville earlier this summer.
While Hernandez said the grand opening of Acanza was “fantastic,” she said it was too early to look at customer demographics, particularly that of college students.
Acanza is located off the Garland exit of I-49.