Poll Prompts Medical Cannabis Patients to Invite For-Profit Marijuana Group to Join, Not Oppose Efforts
LITTLE ROCK, AR — Concerned patients and supporters of the Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act (AMCA), which has already been certified to appear on the November ballot, are calling on the for-profit group, Arkansans United for Medical Marijuana to forego turning in any remaining signatures on their initiated amendment, inviting them to join their team instead.
The results of the poll, released Thursday, indicate a clear advantage for the not-for-profit AMCA, but having two medical cannabis initiatives on the ballot could be more challenging.
The poll shows broad support for cannabis testing, hardship cultivation, low-income access, and Health Department oversight—and for the ability for rural Arkansas patients, who live far from a dispensary, to cultivate a limited number of plants of their own.
While the vast majority (80 percent) of Arkansans support medical cannabis, more voters support the Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act (67 percent) than the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment (59 percent).
The 2016 Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act establishes a statewide program for the licensed production, analytic testing, and distribution of medicinal cannabis. Under the program, patients diagnosed by a physician with one of over 50 qualifying conditions may obtain cannabis from one of up to 38 licensed non-profit care centers. Qualified patients who do not have a center operating in their vicinity will be permitted to obtain a ‘hardship certificate’ in order to cultivate their own medicine at home.
The competing campaign, led by Little Rock lawyer David Couch, would place a constitutional amendment on the November ballot also asking voters to decide on legalizing medical marijuana. Because Couch’s proposal is an amendment, not a statute like ACC’s, 84,859 valid signatures are required.
Supporters from ACC say their proposal is more comprehensive because Couch’s proposal does not allow for home cultivation under any circumstance. Uniting behind one measure will increase the odds of passage, says Melissa Fults, campaign director for Arkansans for Compassionate Care, adding that if competing initiatives are placed before voters, they are likely to be defeated at the polls.
“Placing another cannabis proposal on the ballot will absolutely cause both to fail, and the sick and dying patients of Arkansas cannot afford to lose this battle,” says Fults.
In the event that both measures are placed before voters in November and both are approved, then the proposal that earns the most “yes” votes on election day will become law, according to Ballotpedia.
Competing measures are risky and could once again doom Arkansas’ legalization efforts.
A similar attempt to legalize medical marijuana in Arkansas narrowly failed in 2012, garnering over 48 percent of the vote.
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