A national parking service provider, ParkMobile, operating in several cities in Arkansas has removed cannabis products from its rewards program after being promoted by a third-party company named Nift. The rewards included products from Five CBD, prompting concerns from anti-marijuana group Smart Approaches to Marijuana. The group called it “ParkMobile’s free drugs campaign” and urged the company to make donations to safe driving campaigns and condemn psychoactive drug use. ParkMobile spokesperson Haley Haas stated that the company worked with Nift to remove the cannabis products to promote public health and safety.
Smart Approaches to Marijuana has been involved in Arkansas cannabis politics and has raised concerns about the commercialization and normalization of psychoactive drugs. The products in question contain hemp-derived THC, which is legal under the 2018 Farm Bill. ParkMobile is available in over 100 cities across the country, including Little Rock and Fayetteville, with a significant number of parking spaces equipped with the app.
Despite the removal of cannabis products from the rewards program, it remains unclear if ParkMobile will honor the requests made by the anti-marijuana group. The controversy surrounding the promotion of cannabis products reflects the ongoing debate over regulation and commercialization of cannabis products in different states. Arkansas lawmakers briefly banned such products last year, highlighting the challenges in regulating the industry.
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