Measure to expand medical marijuana in Arkansas won’t qualify for the ballot

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — An effort to expand Arkansas’ medical marijuana program fell short of the required signatures and won’t qualify for the November ballot, Secretary of State John Thurston said Monday.

Arkansans for Patient Access, the group behind the measure, said it planned to take legal action to appeal Thurston’s decision.

Thurston said in a letter to the measure’s sponsor that his office determined that only 88,040 of the signatures submitted by the group were valid, falling short of the 90,704 needed from registered voters to qualify for the ballot.

The medical marijuana proposal was aimed at expanding a measure that the state’s voters approved in 2016. It would have broadened the definition of medical professionals who can certify patients for medical cannabis, expanded qualifying conditions and made medical cannabis cards valid for three years.

Arkansans for Patient Access submitted more than 150,000 signatures in favor of the proposed amendment. The state told the group in July it had fallen short of the required number, but had qualified for an additional 30 days to circulate petitions.

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