Eureka Springs will get its first medical marijuana dispensary after state regulators signed off Thursday on allowing a Fayetteville dispensary to move its business to the artsy Ozark resort town.
The state Medical Marijuana Commission unanimously approved the change of location request by Osage Creek Dispensary, which is located at 3970 Martin Luther King Boulevard in Fayetteville.
The dispensary will be located at 101 E. Van Buren Road in Eureka Springs.
Osage Creek promotes itself on its website as “Northwest Arkansas’ largest medical dispensary,” but the large retail space won’t go empty for long. After approving Osage Creek’s move to Eureka Springs, commissioners approved a change of location request for Purspirit Cannabis Company to the space being vacated by Osage Creek.
Doralee Chandler, director of the state Alcohol Beverage Control Administration, said Purspirit’s move was driven by a “desire to expand” and that the Osage Creek space offered room for such an expansion.
Osage Creek and Purspirit are located half a mile apart in Fayetteville.
Osage Creek is completely owned by Jay Trulove, who also owns a 5% stake in Osage Creek Cultivation in Berryville, about 13 miles east of Eureka Springs. The remainder of Osage Creek Cultivation is owned by Mary Trulove (55%), Matthew Trulove (20%) and Bradley Trulove (20%).
In other business, the commissioners unanimously approved license renewals for all of the state’s 38 dispensaries, eight cultivators and four processors.
New owner in Texarkana
Big changes are coming to the marijuana scene on the Texas border after commissioners agreed to changes at both of Texarkana’s dispensaries.
The commission unanimously approved the purchase of Bloom Medicinals by Scott Lancaster, General Counsel of Bad Boy Mowers.
Bloom Medicinals had been owned by Sharon Vire (50%), Nicole van Rensburg (25%) and William Hollander (25%).
Lancaster made news in 2014 when he responded to a political attack involving the daughter of Democratic state house candidate Lackey Moody. Kate Moody, then 10, made an ad jingle for her father’s campaign. The Independence County Tea Party Republicans called it “idiotic.”
Lancaster responded with an ad supporting Kate and hitting back at the positions of the Tea Party group. “Kate, you can write a jingle for me anytime,” Lancaster said in the ad.
During the license renewal portion of the meeting, commissioners were notified that Red River Remedy dispensary will be renamed Good Day Farm Texarkana.
Last month, Red River Remedy was purchased by Jennifer Cate of Pulaski County. According to her LinkedIn profile, Cate worked for LaFrance Holdings from 2008-2012. Stephen LaFrance and his wife Wendy own stakes in Good Day Farm cultivation. Wendy LaFrance owns 6.38% of Berner’s by Good Day Farm dispensary in Little Rock.
Good Day Farm Texarkana will be managed by Good Day Farm Retail Management, according to the renewal documents approved on Thursday. Good Day Farm Retail Management will also manage Berner’s and Good Day Farm Van Buren.
