By Antoinette Grajeda, Arkansas Advocate
Supporters of a proposed ballot measure that would make changes to the state’s medical marijuana industry vowed to pursue legal action Monday after Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston deemed their petition insufficient.
Ballot question committee Arkansans for Patient Access in July submitted more than 108,000 signatures in support of the proposal, 77,000 of which were deemed valid. Proposed constitutional amendments require 90,704 signatures from 50 counties to qualify for the ballot.
Because Arkansans for Patient Access collected more than 75% of the required minimum by the July 5 deadline, the group qualified for a cure period and had until Aug. 30 to collect additional signatures. Supporters submitted nearly 39,000 more signatures last month, and Monday was the deadline for Thurston to certify or reject the proposal for the ballot.
In a letter issued Monday, Thurston said his office had completed its review of the signatures collected during the 30-day cure period and determined 10,521 signatures were valid, bringing the total number of signatures to 88,040.
“For a proposed constitutional amendment, the required number of overall signatures in 2024 is 90,704,” Thurston wrote. “Therefore I am obligated to deem your petition insufficient.”
Arkansans for Patient Access argued in a press release Monday that it submitted more than 150,000 signatures from all 75 counties, “demonstrating clear support” for the proposal. The group said excluding 20,000 signatures collected during the cure period “due to an arbitrary, last-minute clerical rule change is unfair and contrary to the democratic process.”
“It appears that the certification of the Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2024 has been blocked for reasons unrelated to the proposal’s merits, with political motives influencing the decision,” the statement reads. “We are deeply disappointed by this outcome and will pursue legal action tomorrow against the Secretary of State to ensure the voices of Arkansans are heard.”
“The overwhelming support shown through the petition process proves that Arkansans want the opportunity to vote on expanded medical marijuana access. Arkansans for Patient Access will continue to fight for their right to make that decision at the ballot box this November.”
‘Out-of-the-ether’
Thurston told the committee on Aug. 8 that his office would not count signatures collected during the cure period by paid canvassers because a company that hired paid canvassers had signed legally required paperwork instead of the sponsor of the amendment. Thurston used this same argument against a proposed constitutional amendment that would have created a limited right to abortion.
Supporters of the abortion amendment challenged Thurston’s decision, but the Arkansas Supreme Court agreed with his decision to reject the proposal. On Aug. 22, the court ruled that supporters of the amendment did not submit the correct paperwork to Thurston’s office at the right time. The high court’s decision kept the abortion measure off this year’s ballot.
APA intervened in the case and criticized Thurston in court documents for “making the same eleventh-hour about-face” with an “erroneous and out-of-the-ether” interpretation of the law regarding paid canvassers.
“APA strongly disputes that it failed to comply with this statute and, if necessary, will challenge your position in the appropriate forum,” wrote attorney Stephen Lancaster of the Wright Lindsey Jennings law firm in a letter to Thurston submitted with the additional signatures on Aug. 30.
The Family Council Action Committee, a ballot question committee opposing the proposed measure, issued a statement Monday praising Thurston’s decision and vowing to continue fighting against the measure if it’s appealed to the Arkansas Supreme Court.
“Every effort to amend the state’s most important governing document, our constitution, must go through a rigorous and thorough process,” executive director Jerry Cox said. “The bar should be high, and any effort that doesn’t meet it shouldn’t make the ballot. Secretary of State Thurston made the right call.”
Easing cannabis access
Arkansans voted to legalize cannabis for medical use in 2016. The first products were sold in 2019 and the state now has 37 licensed dispensaries and a billion-dollar medical cannabis industry.
If approved, the proposed amendment would include physician assistants, nurse practitioners and pharmacists as medical professionals who can certify patients for medical marijuana cards. Health care providers also would be allowed to conduct patient assessment via telemedicine, and providers would be permitted to qualify patients based on medical need, rather than the existing 18 qualifying conditions outlined by the state.
The amendment would also allow patients and designated caregivers older than 21 to grow up to seven mature marijuana plants and seven young plants. The measure also would eliminate application fees for patient cards and extend the term of the card to three years.
Supporters have said the proposed amendment would be particularly helpful for low-income Arkansans and people living in rural areas where access to primary care physicians is limited.
Regardless of legal action, the medical marijuana measure will appear on the ballot as Issue 3 because the signature verification process was still ongoing on Aug. 22, the deadline for when all candidates and sufficient ballot issues had to be certified to the counties for the ballot.
If Thurston’s decision stands, votes for and against the measure won’t be counted. If his decision is overturned by the court, the votes would be counted.
The Arkansas Advocate is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to tough, fair daily reporting and investigative journalism that holds public officials accountable and focuses on the relationship between the lives of Arkansans and public policy.
Have a news tip or event to promote? Email White River Now at news@whiterivernow.com. Be sure to like and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. And don’t forget to download the White River Now mobile app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.
Get up-to-date local and regional news/weather every weekday morning and afternoon from the First Community Bank Newsroom on Arkansas 103.3 KWOZ. White River Now updates are also aired weekday mornings on 93 KZLE, Outlaw 106.5, and Your FM 99.5.
