Latest Arkansas Polls Show Vast Support For Medical Cannabis
Its only a matter of time before whole-plant medical cannabis becomes legal in the South. The Arkansas Secretary of States office has validated 77,516 signatures for the Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act of 2016 (AMCA). The initiative will be put before registered voters on Nov. 8, 2016. The initiative would legalize medical cannabis by a doctors recommendation for patients with 56 qualifying conditions, including Alzheimers, autism, cancer, autoimmune disorders like Crohns Disease, MS and fibromyalgia, as well as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The initiative includes personal at-home cultivation of no more than five flowering and five non-flowering plants.
If passed, Arkansas would officially become one of the first southern states with such a program and will join 25 other states and Washington D.C. in allowing doctors to write recommendations for cannabis. There are similar measures in Florida and Missouri that are both polling favorably and are likely to pass.
Support Still Strong Among Likely Voters
The final results from the latest Talk Business & Politics-Hendrix College Poll indicate strong support among Arkansas voters for medical marijuana. In the latest survey, conducted June 21, 2016 among 751 likely Arkansas voters, 58 percent of those polled supported medical marijuana sales through non-profit dispensaries.
Going back to the 2012 election cycle when medical marijuana first popped up on the policy agenda in Arkansas, we have polled the issue a number of times. Polling this week reiterates that Arkansans appear ready for the medical use of marijuana to become public policy in Arkansas as the survey shows a comfortable lead (58% to 34%) for such a measure, Dr. Jay Barth, professor of political science at Hendrix College who helped to create the poll, said.
Compassion is a Grassroots Bipartisan Issue
Volunteers with Arkansans for Compassionate Care collected signatures across the Natural State, despite the expected reefer-madness from groups such as the Arkansas Family Council. Jerry Cox, president of Family Council is currently fundraising $10,000 for a statewide anti-marijuana campaign.
Certain groups of voters are especially supportive ...
