Arkansas medical marijuana backers given more time after falling short on signatures
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. The group behind one of two efforts to legalize Arkansas medical marijuana won additional time to circulate petitions Thursday after falling short of the required signatures to put its proposal on the November ballot.
Secretary of State Mark Martins office told Arkansans United for Medical Marijuana it had verified that 72,309 signatures the group submitted came from registered voters, falling short of the 84,859 needed. But since the group had gathered at least 75 percent of the valid signatures required, it has until Aug. 29 to collect more, Martins office said.
David Couch, the sponsor of the marijuana proposal, said the group has been gathering signatures while the petitions were being reviewed and was confident it would make the ballot.
We have more than enough signatures in hand right now to qualify for the ballot, Couch said. He said the group would continue gathering signatures over the next two weeks.
The proposed constitutional amendment would allow patients with certain medical conditions and a doctors recommendation to buy marijuana from dispensaries. Arkansas voters narrowly rejected a medical marijuana proposal in 2012.
Martins office earlier this month approved a competing medical marijuana proposal for the ballot, saying the group behind it had turned in more than enough signatures. That group, Arkansans for Compassionate Care, has urged Couch to drop his proposal and warned that having both on the ballot increases the odds theyll both fail. Unlike Couchs proposal, the measure already approved would allow patients to grow their own marijuana if they dont live near a dispensary.
Both measures face opposition from the conservative Family ...
