NEWS
Arkansas Medical Marijuana Initiative Asks Supreme Court to Reconsider
AD
Arkansas for Compassionate Care fights for the future of grassroots campaigns.
Published on November 1, 2016

Supporters of the medical marijuana initiative that was snuffed out last week by the Arkansas Supreme Court are asking that the ballot measure be reinstated, according to a report from the Associated Press.

Arkansans for Compassionate Care petitioned the state’s highest court on Monday in hopes of getting the justices to reconsider its decision to disqualify the group’s medical marijuana proposal, Issue 7.

Last week, in a ruling of 5-to-2, the court said Issue 7 would not be allowed to go before the voters because the group violated some rules during its signature collecting campaign.

However, Arkansans for Compassionate Care says the law that was used against them in this decision is not only unfair, but that it is set up to prevent other initiatives, those without substantial cash coffers, from getting important ballot issue in front of the voters.

The complaint suggests the State Legislature has “created a trap” that will prevent grassroots campaigns from seeing the light of day simply because of a “lack of money.”

“We are filing for a rehearing today because we believe sick and dying patients in Arkansas deserve to have an option to vote for a medical cannabis program that was designed for protecting patients,” said Melissa Fults, Director, Arkansans for Compassionate Care, “The AMCA is patterned from a model similar to those already active within 25 other states; therefore, we are confident this will be a viable, flourishing program for communities in our state.”

It is not very common for the Supreme Court to give consideration to a petition calling for a rehearing, so the likelihood of it being heard is a long shot, at best.

There is less than a week to go before the voters are set to decide on the remaining medical marijuana initiative, Issue 6, which is designed to give patients the freedom to purchase medicinal cannabis from dispensaries. It does not come with a home cultivation provision.

NEWS
MEDICINE
POLITICS
LEGALIZATION
MORE...
Mike Adams
FOLLOW
Mike Adams is a contributing writer for MERRY JANE. He also writes for High Times Magazine and Cannabis Now. You can follow him on Twitter @adamssoup and on Facebook.com/mikeadams73
Share this article with your friends!
AD
By using our site you agree to our use of cookies to deliver a better experience.
Accept
Decline
MORE FROM MERRY JANE