Arkansas medical marijuana businesses should prioritize the safety of employees and patients over fears of violating state regulations, one of the state’s top marijuana regulators told members of the state cannabis industry on Friday. 

Chip Leibovich, Alcoholic Beverage Control Division attorney for medical marijuana, said personal safety is paramount and more important than concerns about violations that might be handed down by the state’s enforcement agents. 

Leibovich said a dispensary employee had asked him if it would be allowable to let patients enter the dispensary’s vault during a tornado, since that’s the safest place to be. 

“Yes. Absolutely. Don’t make people die because you’re afraid of getting a violation for letting them in a very limited-access area,” Leibovich said while speaking to a group of people from the state cannabis industry at the Arkansas Times Cannabis and Wellness Expo at Simmons Bank Arena in North Little Rock. 

At least two disasters have struck Arkansas medical marijuana facilities in the past couple of years. Around January of last year, a BOLD Team cultivation center in Cotton Plant suffered a fire. BOLD Senior Director of Operations Annie Iselin told audience members Friday how she had to move the contents of the facility’s vault to a safer location. 

About a year ago, a tornado hit The Source dispensary in Rogers, leaving the facility without power for five days. A change in the facility’s lighting could have impacted the plants, causing them to flower and, potentially, leaving the facility with more flowering plants than allowed by law. The Alcoholic Beverage Control Division said at the time that it would not issue violations to the dispensary if that were to occur. 

Scott Hardin, spokesman for ABC, confirmed Friday that the agency did not issue violations to BOLD or The Source in relation to the disasters that struck the two businesses. 

During the discussion Friday, Leibovich and ABC Director Christy Bjornson stressed the agency’s willingness to work with the industry. 

Iselin, who moderated the discussion, jokingly described the panel as being like sitting on stage with the police. Iselin later said she felt uncomfortable when enforcement agents look like police officers and wear body cameras during visits to the state’s marijuana facilities. 

Bjornson explained that the body cameras are worn as part of ABC policy and are meant to help both the agency and the industry. If an agent behaved inappropriately, for instance, the agency could review the body camera footage to see what happened, Bjornson said. 

Before the panel discussion, Arkansas Cannabis Industry Association Executive Director Bill Paschall updated the audience on the group’s work during the recently concluded legislative session and what to look forward to. Paschall suggested members donate to the group’s political action committee, known as GROW PAC. The committee doled out $12,250 to a combination of Republican and Democratic state legislators last year, an exercise that Paschall said had helped the industry gain allies at the state Capitol. 

The industry passed a pair of bills related to dispensaries and product testing. The dispensary bill barely passed the House and Senate before being unexpectedly vetoed by Gov. Sarah Sanders. 

The panel discussion was part of the expo’s Industry Day on Friday. The event will continue Saturday and Sunday with events for consumers. A medical marijuana card is not required to attend.