Arkansas Marijuana Activists File Lawsuit After Top Official Says Medical Access Expansion Measure Has ‘Insufficient’ Signatures

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.

“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.

A supplementary motion to expedite the case states that the “relief is necessary because early voting commences October 15, and petitioners will suffer irreparable harm unless the Court expedites this action” and orders” Thurston to certify the initiative.

The measure will be on the ballot in any case, as a printing deadline has already passed. The question now is whether the results of the vote will actually be counted after Election Day.

After activists submitted an initial batch of petitions in early August, the state official advised they did not have enough valid signaturs at that time, kicking off a 30-day curing period for the campaign to make up the difference. According to Thurston’s office, they didn’t reach that goal.

The campaign pushed back against the state’s action, emphasizing that advocates “submitted over 150,000 signatures from all seventy-five counties, demonstrating clear support for an amendment that will remove barriers to access and reduce the cost of obtaining and maintaining a medical marijuana patient card.”

“Unfortunately, excluding 20,000 valid signatures collected during the cure period—due to an arbitrary, last-minute clerical rule change—is unfair and contrary to the democratic process,” a campaign spokesperson said in a statement after the secretary of state determined that signatures were insufficient.

The problem for medical cannabis activists is a policy that blocked a separate proposed amendment to legalize abortion from ballot access which says that documents on training for paid canvassers need to be signed by the measure’s sponsor instead of a representative of the company that hired the petition collectors.

The marijuana proposal is principally aimed at building upon the state’s existing medical cannabis program, which was created under an earlier voter-approved measure. It would achieve that by making it so healthcare professionals could issue recommendations to patients for any condition they see fit and letting patients grow their own marijuana at home.

Nurse practitioners, physician’s assistants pharmacists and osteopathic doctors would be added to the list of professionals who could make those recommendations. Also, patients wouldn’t need to renew their medical marijuana cards until three years, versus one year under the current law.

Further, the measure includes a trigger provision that would end cannabis prohibition altogether in Arkansas if the federal government enacts legalization.

The initiative would also permit dispensaries to start selling pre-rolled joints.

A recent survey found that a majority of likely voters in Arkansas are in favor of the initiative to significantly expand the state’s medical marijuana program.

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The state’s medical marijuana has proved popular since its implementation in 2019, with officials announcing in May that at least 102,000 residents have registered for patient cards, exceeding expectations.

Meanwhile, last August a law took effect in the state clarifying that medical marijuana patients can obtain concealed carry licenses for firearms.

Arkansas voters defeated a ballot initiative to more broadly legalize marijuana for adults in 2022.

Read the text of the campaign’s court filings on the medical marijuana expansion ballot initiative below: 

Top Congressional Democrats Push DEA To ‘Swiftly’ Reschedule Marijuana And ‘Continue To Assess’ Full Legalization

Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen.