“A total of $1.5 billion has been spent on medical marijuana since the state’s first dispensary opened in May 2019.”

By Sonny Albarado, Arkansas Advocate

Arkansans spent $10 million more on medical marijuana so far this year than during the first eight months of 2024, putting the state on track to exceed a record set two years ago, according to the state finance department.

From January through August, Arkansans bought $193.1 million in medical marijuana products from the state’s dispensaries, compared with $182.5 million in the same period last year, according to a press release from the state Department of Finance and Administration.

“With daily sales averaging about $800,000 in 2025, we are on track to surpass the 2023 sales record of $283 million,” department spokesperson Scott Hardin said.

There has also been a significant year-to-year increase in the number of pounds of cannabis sold, Hardin said, with the 2025 total at 52,292 pounds.

The state collected $5.38 million in tax revenue from medical marijuana in July and August, bringing the total tax haul so far this year to $21.57 million.

Patients spent $24,262,201 in July, purchasing 6,721 pounds, and $24,647,170 in August, buying 6,778 pounds, according to the finance department.

Suite 443 in Hot Springs and Natural Relief Dispensary in Sherwood sold the most medical marijuana in both July and August, according to the press release. Suite 443 sold 1,419.6 pounds total for both months. Natural Relief sold 1,317.7 pounds over July and August.

“A total of $1.5 billion has been spent on medical marijuana since the state’s first dispensary opened in May 2019,” Hardin said.

The Arkansas Department of Health reports 109,060 active patient cards. The Medical Marijuana Commission has licensed 38 dispensaries but only 36 are operating, Hardin said. The license of one of the closed dispensaries was revoked by the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board last year, and its owner’s appeal of the revocation remains before the courts.

This story was first published by Arkansas Advocate.

TL;DR: Cannabis is meant to be enjoyable for adults. But when products start looking like candy or cartoons, the line gets blurry. Tobacco’s history shows that even the appearance of marketing to kids can trigger harsh regulations. If cannabis wants a sustainable future, it has to prove it can draw that line for itself.

Cannabis has always been fun. It is part of what makes it powerful, what makes it stick in culture. But fun becomes a problem when it starts creeping into the territory of kid-friendly. That is the line the industry needs to pay attention to, now more than ever.

History has already shown what happens when that line gets crossed. Big Tobacco learned it the hard way: even the appearance of marketing to children is enough to trigger a backlash that can reshape an entire industry.

The Ghost of Joe Camel

Once upon a time, tobacco companies leaned hard into youth culture. Joe Camel, candy cigarettes, neon packaging, and bubblegum-flavored smokes were all part of the playbook. By the early 1990s, research showed that six-year-olds recognized Joe Camel almost as easily as Mickey Mouse. Camel’s share among underage smokers soared.

The public response was swift. By 1998, the Master Settlement Agreement banned cartoons in tobacco ads, restricted sponsorships, and wiped Joe Camel off the map. The lesson was clear: once the public believes you are targeting kids, you do not just lose credibility, you lose control over your own marketing future.

Cannabis’ Candy Problem

Today, echoes of that playbook are showing up again. In 2023, the FTC and FDA issued joint warning letters after finding THC edibles packaged to mimic Skittles, Oreos, Nerds Rope, Doritos, and Cheetos. Regulators deemed the practice reckless and illegal, since children could easily mistake these products for ordinary snacks.

In California, a 2025 state audit found that more than half of the reviewed cannabis products had packaging “likely attractive to children.” Designs included colorful fonts, cartoon mascots, and labels that mimicked cereals and cookies.

These incidents are not about strangers handing out weed candy on Halloween. That myth has been debunked year after year. The real risk, one that does occur from time to time, is more ordinary: a toddler at home finding a bag of gummies that looks exactly like the treats they already know and love.

Flavors, Fonts, and Lifestyle Crossovers

Packaging is only part of the story. Visit a legal dispensary and you will see products with candy-like flavors and bright, playful labels. As Columbia University epidemiologist Katherine Keyes noted, “If you go through a cannabis dispensary right now, it’s almost absurd how youth-oriented a lot of the packaging and the products are.”

On the other hand, the lifestyle layer adds another wrinkle. Some cannabis brands have leaned into culture so thoroughly that their logos appear on streetwear, music videos, and even kids’ clothing lines. Whatever the intent, the optics are tricky. When children wear cannabis-branded merch, even innocently, it normalizes adult practices in youth culture.

On social media, the risks multiply. A 2022 study of dispensary posts found that six percent featured cartoon characters like SpongeBob or Rick and Morty, while more than a third advertised steep discounts. These are old marketing tricks recycled from alcohol and tobacco, and for a reason: they still work.

The Regulatory Lens

In the US, states are already tightening their grip. Colorado banned edibles shaped like animals or fruit, and requires a universal THC symbol on every piece of candy. New York’s cannabis regulations forbid packaging or ads “designed in any way to appeal to children.” California has barred cartoons, neon fonts, and fruit imagery on labels.

At the federal level, agencies are also stepping in. The FTC and FDA crackdown on copycat edibles showed regulators do not need cannabis to be federally legal to act. And in Congress, the issue is already in debate. In 2025, Senate leaders cited hemp-derived gummies marketed like Oreos and cereals as justification for closing the intoxicating hemp loophole. Senator Mitch McConnell called it “deceptive and predatory marketing towards children.”

If cannabis continues down this path, federal legalization could arrive paired with harsh restrictions: plain packaging mandates, advertising bans modeled on tobacco, or a blanket prohibition on flavors. As things stand, the industry risks trading creativity for a regulatory straightjacket.

Walking the Line

The situation may seem dire, but let’s remember: cannabis is not Big Tobacco. It does not need to be. Nevertheless, perception is powerful: if the industry does not draw a clear line between adult fun and kid-friendly branding, others will draw it for us.

The choice is simple: either the industry proves it can self-regulate, or Congress and regulators will do so with a heavy hand.

Cannabis has a chance to write a different story. A responsible story. One that keeps products creative and culture-rich without turning them into candy-colored billboards for kids. That is how the industry earns trust, protects its future, and avoids being treated like the enemy it never wanted to be.

Disclosure: This article is for informational and educational purposes only. Cannabis products are intended for adults in jurisdictions where legal. Nothing here is intended to encourage use by minors.

Cover image made with AI.

“Today is a significant day for the commission and Rhode Island. This milestone represents the culmination of years of work and collaboration.”

By Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Currant

For nearly three years, prospective business owners have eagerly waited for the date they could join Rhode Island’s budding retail cannabis market. That day is now here.

At the start of the Cannabis Control Commission’s monthly meeting Friday afternoon, chairperson Kimberly Ahern announced regulators are now accepting online applications for two dozen new retail licenses through late December.

Under the 2022 act that legalized recreational cannabis, the commission can offer 24 new licenses to retailers, with six reserved for social equity applicants and another six reserved for worker-owned cooperatives.

The commission opened the initial screening process for social equity applicants on August 29. Social equity applicants are defined as those who were adversely affected by the War on Drugs, including residents in census tracts of five Rhode Island municipalities identified as “disproportionately impacted” areas from past cannabis prohibition.

As of Friday, Rhode Island Cannabis Administrator Michelle Reddish said 89 prospective social equity applicants have already applied for screening. Certification is expected to be complete some time in November.

All recreational licenses will be spread throughout six geographic zones, with a maximum of four stores per zone.

Regulators will accept submissions through 4 p.m. on Monday, December 29. Ahern said Commission and Cannabis Office staff will provide technical assistance resources guidance for prospective applicants.

“Today is a significant day for the commission and Rhode Island,” Ahern said. “This milestone represents the culmination of years of work and collaboration.”

It’s certainly been a slow road for the state to establish its recreational cannabis market. Over a year passed before the three-member commission was impaneled, which then needed to hire staff to draft proposals and conduct a review of rules adopted in other states.

That left sales to the state’s seven pre-existing medical dispensaries, which have been allowed to sell recreational cannabis under hybrid licenses.

Those seven stores sold a combined $118 million worth of cannabis products last year, according to state data. Through the end of August 2025, existing hybrid retailers have made nearly $80 million in sales.

Regulations were finally approved by the commission in April, taking effect in May.

The inaugural rules require applicants to first be screened to ensure they meet qualifications before being placed in a lottery held in each of six designated geographic zones.

All prospective retailers are required to pay an application fee of $7,500 and a yearly $30,000 licensing fee. But the application fee will be waived for the first year for approved social equity applicants—whose qualifications for the speciality license  through the end of September.

This story was first published by Rhode Island Currant.