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The governor of Arkansas is rallying state law enforcement to \u201cstand firm\u201d in opposition to a marijuana legalization ballot initiative that may appear on the November ballot, depending of the outcome of a forthcoming legal challenge.<\/p>\n
Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R), who previously headed the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), spoke about the reform proposal at the Arkansas Municipal Police Association Convention on Wednesday. He said officers should prepare themselves for the cannabis policy debate and become an active part of the resistance to the legalization push.<\/p>\n
Hutchinson\u2019s comments made it seem like it was a given that the initiative from Responsible Growth Arkansas would appear on the state ballot. But while the secretary of state recently verified that activists had turned in enough signatures to qualify, an elections board voted against certifying the ballot title on Wednesday, with commissioners arguing that certain language was misleading.<\/p>\n
Stephen Lancaster, a spokesperson for the campaign, told Marijuana Moment on Thursday that the campaign will be filing a challenge against the board\u2019s decision<\/a> in the state Supreme Court imminently, possibly as early as Thursday afternoon. Advocates are hopeful that the court will find the measure sufficient for certification.<\/p>\n But while the campaign is confident that support for the legalization measure is strong among voters, pointing out that they managed to collect and submit more than twice as many signatures<\/a> as required for ballot qualification, Hutchinson is gearing up for a fight.<\/p>\n \u201cI just glanced at the actual wording of the initiative, and the marijuana initiative, of course, is not medical marijuana, which we have, but is basically recreational use of marijuana,\u201d the governor said at the police convention, as The Sentinel-Record reported<\/a>. (The text of the proposed constitutional amendment makes clear that the intent of the reform is legalization for adult use, leaving little room for confusion.)<\/p>\n During his time as DEA administrator under President George W. Bush, Hutchinson made no such distinction between medical or recreational cannabis, overseeing raids against medical marijuana dispensaries in legal states that sparked protests and litigation.<\/p>\n The governor told police convention attendees on Wednesday that Responsible Growth Arkansas is \u201cgoing to sell this as something that\u2019s going to help law enforcement,\u201d in part because the initiative calls for certain percentages of tax revenue from marijuana sales to support police departments and drug courts. \u201cAnd so, once again, they\u2019re selling a harmful drug to the citizens of Arkansas based upon promises that looks good.\u201d<\/p>\n Those promises \u201cmight be a reality,\u201d Hutchinson acknowledged, \u201cbut I think you\u2019ve got to be prepared for this debate.\u201d He told the officers to \u201cstand firm\u201d against the reform proposal.<\/p>\n Confusingly, the governor said that Alaska is an example of how cannabis policy changes backfire, referencing the fact that voters in 1990 approved a ballot measure overturning the state Supreme Court\u2019s 1975 ruling that found the prohibition on personal possession and cultivation of marijuana to be unconstitutional.<\/p>\n He said that marijuana use increased following the Alaska court\u2019s decision, and the subsequent vote showed that Alaskans \u201clearned their lesson from that.\u201d Missing from the governor\u2019s recounting, however, is the fact that Alaska voters subsequently approved ballot initiatives to more broadly legalize medical cannabis in 1998 and commercial sales of recreational marijuana in 2014.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, it\u2019s a different mood in our country from the 70s and where we are now, but this is a significant debate that\u2019s going to happen,\u201d Hutchinson said, noting that polls show majority support for adult-use legalization<\/a> in Arkansas. \u201cIt\u2019s going to take a lot of education in order to change that climate and to be able to show voters that this would be, in fact, harmful.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Jones, who is running to replace the term-limited Hutchinson in this November\u2019s election, endorsed<\/a> the legalization ballot measure this week.<\/p>\n 1\/4 More: https:\/\/t.co\/SBsMB1Tzmw<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Chris Jones (@JonesForAR) August 4, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n \u201cRegardless of what one thinks personally about the prospect of legal recreational marijuana, the revenue created by this ballot initiative would support general fund investments that can unlock the potential of Arkansas\u2014in areas like education starting with preschool, infrastructure starting with broadband, and economic development starting with jobs\u2014while supporting the state drug court program, UAMS and law enforcement,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Jones\u2019s Republican opponent, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, does not appear to have spoken publicly about the initiative.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what the campaign\u2019s marijuana legalization\u00a0initiative<\/a>\u00a0would accomplish:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n -Adults 21 and older could purchase and possess up to one ounce of cannabis from licensed retailers.<\/p>\n -Home cultivation would not be allowed.<\/p>\n -The measure would make a series of changes to the state\u2019s existing medical cannabis program that was approved by voters in 2016, including a repeal of residency requirements to qualify as a patient in the state.<\/p>\n -The state Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Division of the Department of Finance and Administration would be responsible for regulating the program and issuing cannabis business licenses.<\/p>\n -Regulators would need to license existing medical cannabis dispensaries to also serve adult consumers, and also permit them to open another retail location for recreational marijuana sales only. A lottery system would award licenses for 40 additional adult-use retailers.<\/p>\n -There are no provisions to expunge or seal past criminal records for marijuana or to provide specific social equity licensing opportunities for people from communities harmed by the war on drugs.<\/p>\n -The state could impose up to a 10 percent supplemental tax on recreational cannabis sales, in addition to the existing state and local sales tax.<\/p>\n -Tax revenue would be divided up between law enforcement (15 percent), the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (10 percent) and the state drug court program (five percent). The remaining revenue would go to the state general fund.<\/p>\n -People who own less than five percent of a marijuana businesses would no longer be subject to background checks.<\/p>\n -The legislature could not repeal of amend the state\u2019s medical marijuana statutes without voter approval.<\/p>\n -Local governments could hold elections to prohibit adult-use retailers in their jurisdiction if voters approve the decision.<\/p>\n -Individuals could now own stake in more than 18 dispensaries.<\/p>\n -There would be advertising and packaging restrictions, including a requirement that marijuana products must be sold in tamper-resistant packages.<\/p>\n -Dispensaries would be able to cultivate and store up to 100 seedings, instead of 50 as prescribed under the current medical cannabis law.<\/p>\n A former Arkansas Democratic House minority leader, Eddie Armstrong, is behind the Responsible Growth Arkansas constitutional amendment,\u00a0which he filed in January<\/a>.<\/p>\n The group is\u00a0just one of several campaigns<\/a>\u00a0that have\u00a0pursued cannabis reform through the ballot<\/a>\u00a0this year, though backers of competing initiatives have since acknowledged they wouldn\u2019t be able to collect enough signatures to qualify this year.<\/p>\n \u2014 Supporters of the separate campaigns, Arkansas True Grass and Arkansans for Marijuana Reform, have raised concerns with the provisions of the Responsible Growth Arkansas initiative, suggesting it would favor big businesses in the existing medical cannabis industry. Some have said they may look to 2024 to try again with their own approaches.<\/p>\n Lancaster previously told Marijuana Moment that the campaign hopes that won\u2019t be necessary. His campaign feels that the constitutional amendment provides a sound infrastructure for reform that prioritizes regulations\u2014and the plan is to push for further reforms in the legislature if voters approve legalization at the polls. That would include efforts to promote expungements, which isn\u2019t addressed by the initiative.<\/p>\n Arkansas is also not the only state where voters may see drug policy reform measures on their November ballots:<\/strong><\/p>\n Colorado voters will have the chance to\u00a0decide on a historic ballot initiative<\/a>\u00a0this November to legalize psychedelics and create licensed psilocybin \u201chealing centers\u201d where people can use the substance for therapeutic purposes.<\/p>\n In May, South Dakota officials certified that activists\u00a0turned in a sufficient number of signatures<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0qualify a marijuana legalization measure for the November ballot<\/a>.<\/p>\n Maryland lawmakers passed legislation this year, which the governor allowed to go into effect without his signature, that will\u00a0put the issue of cannabis legalization before voters<\/a>\u00a0this November.<\/p>\n North Dakota activists turned in what they believe to be enough signatures to\u00a0place a marijuana legalization initiative before voters<\/a>.<\/p>\n Oklahoma activists also said they\u2019ve submitted what they believe to be more than enough signatures to\u00a0qualify a marijuana legalization initiative<\/a>\u00a0for the November ballot.<\/p>\n Nebraska advocates recently submitted signatures for a\u00a0pair of medical cannabis legalization initiatives<\/a>. The campaign has faced several challenges along the way, including the loss of critical funding after a key donor passed away and a\u00a0court battle of the state\u2019s geographic requirements<\/a>\u00a0for ballot petitions.<\/p>\n A campaign to put cannabis legalization on the Missouri ballot may be in jeopardy, as early reporting shows that activists are\u00a0coming up short on the required signatures<\/a>\u00a0in key districts.<\/p>\n An initiative to legalize marijuana\u00a0will not appear on Ohio\u2019s November ballot<\/a>, the campaign behind the measure announced in May. But activists did reach a settlement with state officials in a legal challenge that will give them a chance to hit the ground running in 2023.<\/p>\n Michigan activists announced in June that they will no longer be pursuing\u00a0a statewide psychedelics legalization ballot initiative<\/a>\u00a0for this year\u2019s election and will instead focus on qualifying the measure to go before voters in 2024.<\/p>\n The campaign behind an effort to decriminalize drugs and expand treatment and recovery services in Washington State said in June that it has\u00a0halted its push to qualify an initiative<\/a>\u00a0for November\u2019s ballot.<\/p>\n While Wyoming activists said earlier this year that\u00a0they made solid progress in collecting signatures<\/a>\u00a0for a pair of ballot initiatives to decriminalize marijuana possession and legalize medical cannabis,\u00a0they didn\u2019t get enough to make the 2022 ballot deadline<\/a>\u00a0and will be aiming for 2024 while simultaneously pushing the legislature to advance reform even sooner.<\/p>\n In March, California activists announced that they\u00a0came up short on collecting enough signatures<\/a>\u00a0to qualify a measure to legalize psilocybin mushrooms for the state\u2019s November ballot, though they aren\u2019t giving up on a future election cycle bid.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, there are various local reforms that activists want to see voters decide on this November\u2014including local marijuana decriminalization ordinances in\u00a0Ohio<\/a>,\u00a0West Virginia<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Texas<\/a>.<\/p>\n Advocates Demand Biden Take Marijuana Action After Brittney Griner Sentenced To Nine Years In Russian Prison For Vapes<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Arkansas Governor Tells Police To \u2018Stand Firm\u2019 Against Marijuana Legalization Ballot Initiative That\u2019s Heading To Court<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The governor of Arkansas is rallying state law enforcement to \u201cstand firm\u201d in opposition to a marijuana legalization ballot initiative that may appear on the November ballot, depending of the outcome of a forthcoming legal challenge. Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R), who previously headed the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), spokeContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":56369,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56368"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56368"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56368\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56370,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56368\/revisions\/56370"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
My stance on cannabis? Same as it has been \u2014 Legalize and decriminalize it. Democratize access for a wide and diverse set of entrepreneurs. Leverage the revenue opportunity to invest in an Arkansas where everyone can thrive. <\/p>\n
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\nRead More: Arkansas Governor Tells Police To \u2018Stand Firm\u2019 Against Marijuana Legalization Ballot Initiative That\u2019s Heading To Court<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"