Arkansas to vote for (or against) cannabis legalization in November

The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled Thursday that voters can decide whether or not to legalize marijuana for recreational use, thereby overturning a state panel’s decision to block the measure from appearing on the November ballot.

The judges granted the request of Responsible Growth Arkansas, the group behind the proposal, to certify the measure for the November election.

«The people will decide whether or not to approve the proposed amendment in November,» Judge Robin Wynne wrote in the court's ruling.

The group behind the proposal filed an appeal after the state board of election commissioners blocked the initiative in August. Supporters submitted more than the required number of valid signatures from registered voters to qualify, but the proposal still needed the board’s approval to appear on the ballot.

«We are extremely grateful to the Supreme Court for agreeing with us and for viewing this as a complete endorsement of everything we’ve done,» said Steve Lancaster, an attorney for Responsible Growth Arkansas. «We’re excited and looking forward to November.».

Because the deadline for certifying the initiative ballots had passed, the court had authorized the measure to appear on the general election ballot while it decided whether the votes would be counted.

Arkansas voters approved an amendment in 2016 constitutional amendment legalizing cannabis for medical use. The proposed amendment allows people 21 and older to possess up to one ounce of cannabis (28 grams) and authorizes state-approved dispensaries to sell cannabis for medical use.

The Board of Election Commissioners rejected the measure after the commissioners stated that they did not believe the ballot title fully explained the impact of the amendment to voters. Supporters of the measure argued that the board’s criticism went beyond what is required for ballot initiatives.

The judges rejected the council’s arguments for denying the measure, but the court also struck down the 2019 law that authorized the council to certify ballot measures. Prior to that law, ballot measures had to be reviewed by the attorney general before petitions could be circulated.

Two conservative judges agreed that the committee did not have the authority to reject the proposal, but stated that the Republican secretary of state of Arkansas had also correctly determined that the proposal was insufficient for the state’s ballot.

«The title of the proposed ballot measure is not comprehensive enough to reveal the scope of the proposed amendment, nor is it free of misleading omissions regarding child protection issues,» wrote Judge Shawn Womack in a separate opinion.

A spokesperson said that Secretary of State John Thurston, who chairs the Board of Election Commissioners, had no comment on the decision.

Cannabis is already legal in 19 U.S. states, and proposals for legalization will be put to a vote this fall in South Dakota, North Dakota, the Missouri and the Maryland. The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a ballot measure in that state will not appear on the November ballot.

Responsible Growth Arkansas has raised more than $4 million to support the Arkansas initiative, primarily from medical cannabis companies. Safe and Secure Communities, a group formed to oppose the measure, raised more than $2 million from a poultry industry executive in Arkansas and a shipping industry executive in Illinois who supported Republican candidates.

The Family Council, another group campaigning against the measure, called the legalization proposal a «recipe for disaster» on Thursday.

Arkansas' Republican governor, Asa Hutchinson, former head of the Drug Enforcement Administration The federal government, which opposed the proposal, did not immediately comment on the decision.