The political campaign trying to get a ballot measure before Arkansas voters to expand the state’s medical marijuana program filed a lawsuit against officials this week after its initiative was ruled ineligible for the November election, alleging that the secretary of state used a subjective interpretation of law to disqualify their measure.
Arkansans for Patient Access, the campaign behind the measure, argued in its lawsuit that Secretary of State John Thurston used a narrow definition of state legal requirements that the “sponsor” of a given ballot measure must be responsible for all official filings, as opposed to workers or volunteers with the campaign, KUAR reported.
That, the suit claims, is “nonsensical,” the Arkansas NPR affiliate reported, and the campaign is requesting that the state Supreme Court reverse the findings by Thurston.
Arkansans for Patient Access submitted more than 150,000 voter signatures, far beyond the roughly 90,000 needed to qualify for the upcoming November ballot, but Thurston’s office found that the campaign had still fallen short, with only about 88,000 signatures deemed valid.
The suit also claims that both Thurston and Attorney General Tim Griffin violated laws related to the ballot measure certification by delegating various tasks related to signature verification instead of performing those tasks directly themselves, KUAR reported.
The campaign is asking a state court for an “expedited review” of its lawsuit given the coming election next month.
Although the ballot question is now technically not before voters, it will still appear on actual ballots since they have already been printed, KUAR reported. The lawsuit will decide whether votes cast on the question will actually be counted, or the law implemented if it wins.
The measure would expand Arkansas’ medical cannabis industry by increasing the number of medical professionals allowed to write patient recommendations, legalize home cultivation for medical cannabis patients, and increase the number of medical ailments that make patients eligible to purchase marijuana.
A ballot measure that would have legalized recreational marijuana failed in 2022.
As it stands, recreational cannabis legalization ballot questions will appear before voters in Florida, North Dakota and South Dakota. Nebraska voters will also get to decide whether to legalize medical marijuana.
[[{“value”:”The secretary of state deemed that only 88,000 of the submitted signatures were valid, short of the required 90,000.
The post Arkansas cannabis campaign sues state over ballot measure rejection appeared first on Green Market Report.”}]] Read More