{"id":72665,"date":"2024-02-21T10:23:11","date_gmt":"2024-02-21T18:23:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2024\/02\/21\/arkansas-attorney-general-approves-revised-medical-marijuana-expansion-initiative\/"},"modified":"2024-02-21T19:46:42","modified_gmt":"2024-02-22T03:46:42","slug":"arkansas-attorney-general-approves-revised-medical-marijuana-expansion-initiative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2024\/02\/21\/arkansas-attorney-general-approves-revised-medical-marijuana-expansion-initiative\/","title":{"rendered":"Arkansas Attorney General Approves Revised Medical Marijuana Expansion Initiative"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are confident that Arkansans will respond positively and ultimately vote for the proposed amendment.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

By Hunter Field, Arkansas Advocate<\/strong><\/p>\n

Arkansas\u2019s cannabis industry and patient advocates can begin collecting signatures to qualify a constitutional amendment for the November ballot that would make medical marijuana more accessible<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Attorney General Tim Griffin (R) late Tuesday approved ballot language for the measure with several revisions.<\/p>\n

Supporters have until July 5 to gather 90,704 signatures from registered voters to put the amendment to a statewide vote in the November 5 general election.<\/p>\n

Bill Paschall, executive director of the Arkansas Cannabis Industry Association and a member of Arkansans for Patient Access, the ballot question committee behind the proposal, said patient advocates and people working in the industry are ready to make the case for the amendment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are confident that Arkansans will respond positively and ultimately vote for the proposed amendment because it will reduce barriers to obtaining a medical marijuana card, eliminate the annual renewal hassle and give patients more product choices,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The proposal would allow patients to grow their own plants at home, expand who qualifies for patient ID cards, remove retail prohibitions on certain smokeable products\u2014like pre-rolled joints\u2014and trigger the legalization of recreational marijuana in Arkansas if the drug is federally legalized among other changes.<\/p>\n

The AG\u2019s changes to the ballot title and popular name Arkansans for Patient Access submitted February 5<\/a> were mostly minor, technical tweaks. The most impactful change was replacing the term \u201ccannabis\u201d in the name of the title with \u201cmedical marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n

The proposed amendment<\/a>\u00a0will be known as the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cCannabis generally can refer to what is being regulated here\u2014 \u2018usable marijuana\u2019 or marijuana\u2014or to what is not being regulated here\u2014 hemp\u2026,\u201d Griffin wrote<\/a>. \u201cIn my opinion, the phrase \u2018medical marijuana\u2019 is a better reflection of your proposed measure. Therefore, I am substituting and certifying a \u2018more suitable\u2019 popular name.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paschall said the ballot group\u2019s attorneys were concerned about the length of the substitute ballot title certified by the attorney general, but after deliberating, the group has decided to accept the proposal. In past election cycles, opponents of ballot initiative efforts have targeted ballot title length in legal challenges.<\/p>\n

The initiative seeks to build on\u00a0Amendment 98 to the Arkansas Constitution, which Arkansans approved in 2016 to legalize cannabis for medicinal use.<\/p>\n

The major changes being proposed are:<\/p>\n