Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston has announced that a petition to put a medical marijuana initiative on the ballot has fallen short of the required number of signatures. The petition needed 90,704 valid signatures to qualify for the November ballot, but Thurston’s office found that only 88,040 signatures met the criteria.
Arkansans for Patient Access, the group behind the petition, had previously submitted 150,335 signatures, but the secretary of state’s office invalidated many of them due to issues with the certification process. The group had hired a canvassing company to collect signatures, but the secretary of state’s office ruled that the certifications should have been signed by the group itself.
The group has announced plans to file a lawsuit in response to the decision, claiming that the state is trying to suppress the will of the people. “Our state and our state government are doing everything in their power to make sure that the people’s voice is not heard,” said Melissa Fults, a volunteer with Arkansans for Patient Access.
The proposed medical marijuana initiative would have expanded the state’s existing medical marijuana program, allowing more medical professionals to certify patients, allowing patients to grow and process their own marijuana, and reducing patient costs. The initiative would have also made it legal for patients to obtain medical marijuana certifications through telehealth appointments.
The decision is a setback for proponents of medical marijuana in Arkansas, who had hoped to put the issue to a vote in November. However, the group may still have options to try to get the initiative on the ballot, including appealing the decision to the Arkansas Supreme Court or gathering additional signatures.
