Cannabis activists in Arkansas submitted more than 111,000 petition signatures by the July 5 deadline in order to place an initiative to expand medical marijuana access on the November 2024 ballot. However, Secretary of State John Thurston said advocates didn’t collect enough valid petitions, reported Arkansas Advocate.
In a Wednesday letter to Arkansans for Patient Access (APA), Thurston’s office said supporters submitted fewer than 77,000 valid signatures.
Even though the campaign fell short of the 90,704-signature requirement, advocates now have 30 more days, or until August 30, to reach that goal.
Here’s What The Initiative Seeks To Change
The initiative seeks to allow more healthcare professionals, including medical and osteopathic doctors, nurse practitioners, physician’s assistants and pharmacists to prescribe marijuana to patients.
Under the policy change, additional medical conditions for which medical cannabis can be prescribed will be added to the existing medical cannabis program in the state. More precisely, any condition that a “health care practitioner considers debilitating to a patient that might be alleviated by the use of usable marijuana.”
Non-Arkansas residents would also be eligible to get a medical cannabis card under the measure. The card’s expiration date would be extended from one to three years.
The measure’s trigger provision would put an end to cannabis prohibition statewide in the event of the plant’s legalization on the federal level.
Medical cannabis use was legalized in Arkansas in 2016. Product sales began in 2019.
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