GARLAND COUNTY, Ark. — Garland County Circuit Court Judge Kara Petro denied Green Spring Medical's request to temporarily reopen on Thursday, saying the business "willfully committed violations."
The ruling comes after the Hot Springs dispensary had its medical marijuana license revoked by the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control Division (ABC) due to selling over 1,800 expired products, missing inventory and having unclean processing areas.
"Green Springs Medical, LLC has shown a complete disregard for the rules and regulations of the Department of Health as well as continuous noncompliance with the ABC Commission," Petro said. "This court cannot issue a stay when the appellant continues to willfully sell expired products and the wrong products to the public with total disregard of the regulations."
Green Springs Medical Owner Dragan Vicentic appeared in court Wednesday, hoping to get a temporary operations order while he appeals ABC's decision to revoke the license. In that hearing, Vicentic's attorneys said the expired medical marijuana products did not harm patients and he did not endanger them. The only damage is to Vicentic's livelihood.
Petro denied Vicentic's petition for stay because of the repeated violations. The judge said Green Springs Medical was provided a list of expired quality assurance tests and was "explicitly" told by the ABC Board not to sell these products.
However, Vicentic and Green Springs Medical "proceeded to sell the products anyways."
"There was substantial evidence of failure to comply with a valid directive of the ABC Commission and noncompliance with ABC agents and this noncompliance has continued to this day," Petro said. "Green Springs Medical, LLC has sold products that were represented to be a wholly different product... has missing product... has repeatedly sold expired products despite sanctions."
According to reports, ABC sent an undercover agent to Green Springs Medical in October 2023 and learned that the sales were still being made.
"The appellant has provided no evidence to rebut that the products had expired [quality assurance] tests and were sold anyway," Petro said.
Vicentic and Green Springs Medical are in the appeals process with the ABC regarding the license revocation, which is the first issued by the commission since the Arkansas medical marijuana industry launched in mid-2019.
The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board will meet on June 25, where they are expected to rule on Vicentic's request for a temporary license and business owner transfer.
In the meantime, Vicentic said he would sell the dispensary for $3 million.