LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An amendment looking to expand medical marijuana in Arkansas has been approved to collect more signatures while a casino proposal became the first of many proposals to be approved for the November ballot.
Secretary of State John Thurston sent out the letters on Wednesday, July 31 to both groups who have proposed constitutional amendments.
In a letter to the group behind the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment, Thurston noted that while over 108,000 signatures were turned in his office "determined that there are no less than 77,000 valid signatures."
While that means the petition fell short of the 90,704 signatures needed to get the amendment on the ballot, under state law the group has qualified for a 30 day "cure period" to collect more signatures in hopes of meeting the required threshold.
The medical marijuana group will now have until Friday, August 30 to collect the remaining signatures if it hopes to make the ballot for the 2024 elections.
That proposed amendment would expand medical marijuana in Arkansas by allowing more conditions that a "health care practitioner considers debilitating to the patient" that could be helped with the use of marijuana. It would also allow patients ages 21 or older to grow plants at home.
The proposed casino amendment, which turned in 162,181 signatures, made the ballot after Thurston's office approved 116,200 signatures.
That casino amendment will appear on the ballot as "An Amendment Requiring Local Voter Approval in a Countywide Special Election for Certain New Casino Licenses and Repealing Authority to Issue a Casino License in Pope County, Arkansas."
"In record numbers, Arkansas voters have stated the obvious – casinos should not be forced into communities that do not want them,” said Local Voters in Charge spokesman Hans Stiritz. “Our state’s motto ‘Regnat Populus’ – ‘The People Rule’ – is a promise that that we can fulfill by supporting Local Voter Control of Casino Gambling in November.”
If voters pass the proposal, it would require a special election in that county before any new casinos can be built there or issued any licenses by the state. The proposed amendment would also remove the requirement under Amendment 100 of the state constitution to have a casino in Pope County.
The Pope County casino issue has caused years of drama with no end in sight as groups continue to battle each other over the ability to approve or deny certain casino licenses.