Marijuana Moment
Just one day after Arkansas’s top elections official deemed that a medical marijuana legalization expansion initiative has “insufficient” signatures, the campaign behind that reform proposal has filed a lawsuit with the state Supreme Court contesting that determination.
Last month, Arkansans for Patient Access (APA) turned in a final batch of petitions for the cannabis measure, with over 150,000 signatures from all of the state’s 75 counties. But Secretary of State John Thurston (R) advised the campaign on Monday that only 88,040 were valid, whereas they needed 90,704.
Now advocates are fighting back, with a suit filed in the Arkansas Supreme Court on Tuesday that seeks an expedited hearing as Election Day approaches.
4076c51e-5ff3-4afd-bc81-99ed05ef496c-c2d1d60250dc4300a1341c63e653d393MedicalMarijuanaLetter9302024 (1)“The Court should enter a preliminary injunction to require the Secretary of State to count and verify all signatures turned in to the Secretary and to then certify the Amendment to appear on the ballot pending resolution of this action,” the filing says.
“The Court should find that APA has submitted sufficient signatures to qualify the Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2024 for the general election ballot and should compel the Secretary to certify the initiative for the ballot,” it says.
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Arkansas Supreme Court ordered disputed signatures be verified and an expedited hearing be held for the medical marijuana question that supporters hope to place on the November ballot.
Several groups have filed with the court since Monday when Secretary of State John Thurston advised the medical marijuana ballot law change sponsors Arkansans for Patient Access (APA) that it had insufficient signatures for its question to be placed on the ballot.
Multiple filings for & against medical marijuana access ballot question reach Arkansas Supreme Court
The Wednesday afternoon decision reflected filings by Arkansans for Patient Access (APA) and Protect Arkansas Kids (PAK), the latter a group asking to intervene in the case to keep the question off the ballot.
The court ordered in response to the filing by Arkansans for Patient Access (APA) the following actions take place:
- A preliminary injunction is granted, mandating Secretary of State John Thurston to verify the disputed signatures.
- The group’s requested hearing on Thurston’s decision will be expedited.
- A special master will not be appointed to the case, in opposition to APA’s request.
If voters accept the ballot question sponsored by APA, it would loosen current controls on access to medical marijuana in the state
Arkansas medical marijuana group submits triple the required signatures for cure period
The filing by Protect Arkansas Kids (PAK) received the following rulings by the court:
- PAK is allowed to intervene in the case.
- Its motion for an expedited hearing is granted.
- The group’s request for a separate briefing from APA is denied
- PAK being able to respond to APAs recent motion.
PAK maintains the language of the ballot question is misleading for voters.
Secretary of state disqualifies Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment over signature questions
The court also ordered the subsequent actions:
- Thurston must complete the verification of the disputed signatures by Friday at noon and report to the court if the required 90,704 signature threshold has been met.
- APA, PAK and the attorney general on behalf of the secretary of state, must have briefings in light of this ruling in by Friday at 4 p.m. Responses to those briefings must be filed by Monday at noon.
Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office had previously filed to support Thurston’s position and agreed that APA’s expedited hearing request was appropriate. It did not support APA’s request for a special master.
Additionally, a group based out of D.C. has now filed an opposition questioning the wording of the amendment saying it’s misleading.
“For a number of reasons, they are fooling voters,” Luke Niforatos with Smart Approaches to Marijuana said. “We don’t want that to be the case. We don’t think they should get away with that, so this should be stricken from the ballot.”
APA spokesperson Melissa Fults argued that the amendment was created to protect patients, and she has cited her opposition to the 2022 recreational marijuana amendment that failed on the November ballot in Arkansas.
“I sat down and helped write this because I wanted to make sure patients got everything they needed and that’s what this amendment is about is helping patients,” Fults told KARK 4 News.
