Arkansas’s medical marijuana patients aren’t just blowing smoke: Many are using the wide variety of edible products created by the state’s cultivators and made available at the state’s 31 open dispensaries. From gummies to chocolates to hard candies, edible products provide an alternative for patients who don’t want to smoke.
While dispensaries say marijuana flower is still the product in highest demand, one dispensary reports edibles account for as much as 15% of sales. Another dispensary says edibles are about 10% of overall sales and gummies account for three-quarters of those sales.
The gummy candies don’t resemble the brightly colored bears and worms on convenience store shelves because of a state law prohibiting products that would appeal to children, such as candies in the shape of an “animal, vehicle, person or character.” Instead, gummies come in muted colors, like brown and black, that don’t match their fruit flavors, like strawberry and lemon.
Another benefit: They offer a low-cost alternative to flower. “The gummies are the most cost-effective [product] as a general rule,” said David Lawson, general manager of The Source in Bentonville. “They were also the first [medical marijuana forms] available [in Arkansas]. They are the most widely available. The gummies are definitely the winner.”
The state also prohibits the sale of cookies and…
