The Arkansas Supreme Court on Monday blocked votes on a ballot initiative to expand medical marijuana after it ruled the measure didn’t fully explain what it would do, calling it “misleading.”
The proposed constitutional amendment would have expanded the definition of medical professionals who can certify patients for medical cannabis, extended the validity of medical cannabis cards to three years and introduced additional qualifying conditions for use.
However, in a 4-3 ruling, the court found that the measure did not adequately inform voters about significant implications, including its restriction on the state legislature’s power to amend the 2016 legalization of medical marijuana. The ruling also noted that the amendment failed to highlight that, if approved, it would have permitted possession of up to an ounce of marijuana if federal law legalized its use.
“This decision doomed the proposed ballot title, and it is plainly misleading,” Justice Shawn Womack wrote in the majority opinion.
As a result of the ruling, voters will no longer have the chance to decide on the proposed amendment.
Boxes of petitions signed for a proposed ballot measure expanding Arkansas’ medical marijuana program sit in a committee room at the Arkansas Capitol in Little Rock, Arkansas, on July 5, 2024. The Arkansas Supreme Court has blocked votes on a ballot initiative to expand medical marijuana after it ruled the measure didn’t fully explain what it would do, calling it “misleading.”
Andrew DeMillo/AP
While it’s too late to remove the measure from the ballot as early voting has already started on Monday, the court’s ruling means that no votes on the initiative will be counted.
However, in court filings, organizers noted the ballot measure had cited the number of the provision that would be repealed. The group argued that past court rulings said measures did not need to summarize the current law being changed.
In addition, in a dissent, Justice Cody Hiland said the court was ignoring decades-long precedent by ruling the measure’s wording was misleading.
“Long ago, this court established definitive standards for evaluating the sufficiency of popular names and ballot titles,” Hiland wrote. “This court has not deviated from those standards until today.”
Meanwhile, in the same ruling, justices rejected election officials’ reasons for ruling the measure’s organizers fell short of the signatures required for it to be put on the ballot.
Supporters of the initiative, represented by Arkansans for Patient Access, voiced frustration over the court’s decision and said it would keep pushing to expand the medical marijuana program and that the signatures it gathered showed widespread support.
“We are deeply disappointed in the Court’s decision,” the group said in a statement. “It seems politics has triumphed over legal precedent.”
Opposition to the measure had been gaining momentum before Monday’s court decision. Protect Arkansas Kids, an advocacy group that intervened in the case, argued that the ballot’s language failed to clarify essential details about its consequences. Additionally, the Family Council Action Committee was preparing a statewide campaign to oppose the initiative.
The ruling comes amid a larger national conversation on marijuana policy. While Arkansas grapples with the future of its medical cannabis program, states like Florida, North Dakota and South Dakota will be putting whether to legalize recreational marijuana for adults to a vote this November.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
