Arkansas' election officials have determined that a movement to put a medical marijuana expansion effort on the state's November ballot lacks enough signatures to qualify. But even with only weeks left until the election, the campaign plans to fight back in court.
About a month after Arkansans for Patient Access (APA) filed its final batch of anti-marijuana petitions that garnered more than 150,000 signatures from all 75 counties in the state, John Secretary of State Thurston (R) advised the campaign that only 88,040 people signed the anti-marijuana measure. Valid, but required 90,704.
Since the printing deadline has passed, the measure will still appear on the ballot, but votes for the measure will not be counted after Election Day for now.
After activists filed their first petition in early August, state officials recommended that the petition total was “insufficient” at the time and gave the movement a 30-day grace period to make up the difference. Established. That goal was not met, Thurston's office said.
The Secretary of State's message to the campaign is:
“Our office has completed its review of the signatures collected during the 30-day retention period for the above petition. Our office has determined that 10,521 signatures submitted during the treatment period are valid. This number, combined with the number of signatures previously deemed valid for the first submission, brings the total number of signatures to 88,040. For the proposed constitutional amendment, the total number of signatures needed in 2024 is 90,704. I am therefore obliged to consider your petition insufficient.
The campaign pushed back against the state's action, with supporters “submitting more than 150,000 signatures from all 75 counties to propose an amendment that would remove barriers to access and reduce the cost of obtaining and maintaining medical marijuana patient cards.” “We have shown clear support for this,” he said. ”
“Unfortunately, excluding the 20,000 valid signatures collected during the healing period due to an arbitrary and last-minute change in administrative rules is unfair and contrary to the democratic process.
At issue for medical marijuana activists is the policy that blocked another amendment to legalize abortion from ballot access. The proposed amendment would require documentation regarding the training of paid solicitors to be signed by the bill's sponsor, rather than by a representative of the company that employs the petition gatherer. .
“Because the solicitor registration applications during that period were submitted by campaign agents, those signatures were invalid in the (Secretary of State's) eyes,” said Little Rock Public Relations spokesperson Bill Pascal. told the radio. “We contend that filing canvassing registration is a delegable duty. The Special Judge in the Casino case also took a similar legal view.”
Despite the setback, APA spokeswoman Melissa Fultz told Marijuana Moment on Monday that the campaign plans to file a legal challenge with the Secretary of State's Office on Tuesday.
“We feel like we're being treated unfairly,” she said. “I think we had a very good case because the states just made last-minute rules to suit their own policies. So we're going to file a case tomorrow, but God bless us for failing.” If it is prohibited, I will file another lawsuit.”
The proposal was primarily intended to build on the state's existing medical marijuana program, which was created based on a previous voter-approved measure. That could have been achieved by allowing medical professionals to issue recommendations for any condition they think would be suitable for a patient, and by allowing patients to grow their own marijuana at home.
Nurses, physician assistant pharmacists, and osteopathic physicians would also have been added to the list of professionals who can make such recommendations. Patients would also no longer have to renew their medical marijuana cards for up to three years, compared to one year under current law.
Additionally, the bill included a trigger provision that would completely end cannabis prohibition in Arkansas if the federal government enacted legalization.
The initiative would also have allowed pharmacies to begin selling pre-rolled joints.
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Medical marijuana in the state has been popular since it took effect in 2019, with officials announcing in May that at least 102,000 residents had signed up for patient cards, more than expected.
Meanwhile, last August, a law went into effect in the state clarifying that medical marijuana patients can obtain concealed carry permits.
Voters in Arkansas rejected a ballot initiative that would have more broadly legalized adult-use marijuana in 2022.
Read the Arkansas Secretary of State's letter regarding medical marijuana expansion measures below.
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Photo by Philip Stephan.
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