Proposed medical marijuana, anti-casino amendments submitted for Secretary of State approval

From left: J.P. Tribell, Tom Bartole and Steve Grappe deliver petitions for a ballot initiative to exempt feminine hygiene products and diapers from the state sales tax to the Secretary of State at the Arkansas Capitol on Friday, July 5, 2024. (Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate)

Supporters of four proposed Arkansas ballot measures delivered petitions to the Secretary of State at the Capitol on Friday in hopes they will be certified for November’s statewide ballot.

A proposed constitutional amendment to expand abortion access in Arkansas received the most attention Friday, with supporters and opponents gathering at the Capitol as boxes of petitions were delivered. Supporters collected over 100,000 signatures from 53 counties, more than the required 90,704 signatures from 50 counties.

The other three proposals would alter the constitutional amendment that legalized medical marijuana, repeal the long-debated Pope County casino license, and exempt feminine hygiene products and diapers from the state’s sales tax.

Of the three, the feminine hygiene product tax exemption was the only measure not to meet the required minimum number of signatures.

Medical marijuana

The Arkansas for Patient Access campaign said Friday it submitted 111,402 signatures from 62 counties to qualify the Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2024 for the November ballot.

The group was the first to submit petitions to the Secretary of State on Friday morning.

“Our canvassers found voters eager to place an amendment on the ballot that will eliminate barriers to access and make it less expensive to acquire and keep a medical marijuana card,” Bill Paschall, APA campaign committee member, said in a statement.

The Arkansas Medical Cannabis Amendment of 2024 aims to improve patient access, especially for those with lower incomes and people living in rural areas where access to primary care physicians is limited, Paschall said.

Physician assistants, nurse practitioners and pharmacists would be included as professionals who can certify patients for medical marijuana cards under the initiative, which Paschall said would break down a barrier for those in rural communities.

Health care providers would be able to conduct patient assessment via telemedicine, and providers would be permitted to qualify patients based on medical need, rather than the existing 18 qualifying conditions outlined by the state .

If approved, the ballot initiative would also allow patients and designated caregivers older than 21 to grow up to seven mature marijuana plants and seven young plants. The measure also would eliminate application fees for patient cards and extend the term of the card to three years.

Industry professionals reflect on five years of medical marijuana in Arkansas

“As we move into the fall, we look forward to educating Arkansans all across the state about this amendment and the medicinal benefits of marijuana,” Paschall said.

The proposed measure is opposed by Stronger Arkansas and the Family Council Action Committee, the latter of which promised Friday to support legal challenges if the initiative qualifies for the ballot. Executive Director Jerry Cox said he’s against the medical marijuana amendment because it would “drastically expand marijuana in Arkansas.”

“The amendment’s ballot title is so complicated that it fails to explain to the voter exactly how the amendment changes Arkansas’ medical marijuana laws and what effect those changes will have on our state,” Cox said.

Arkansans voted to legalize cannabis for medical use in 2016, though the first products were not sold until 2019. Five years later, medical marijuana has grown to be a billion-dollar industry in Arkansas.

Casino control

Local Voters in Charge blew past minimum petition requirements, submitting more than 162,000 signatures from all 75 counties. The group’s proposed constitutional amendment would repeal the Pope County casino license and require that any new casino built in the state be approved in a countywide special election before a license can be issued.

“In record numbers, the people of Arkansas have supported our campaign to give local voters the final say on whether a casino should be built in their town or not,” said Local Voters in Charge spokesperson Hans Stiritz said. “Some communities might want casinos, others might not, but nearly everyone agrees that it should be up to local voters to determine the character of the communities in which they live.”

Arkansas voters approved casino gaming in 2018 in four Arkansas counties — Crittenden, Garland, Jefferson and Pope. While that constitutional amendment received a majority vote in the other three counties, Pope County rejected the proposal and faces “having a casino forced on their community,” but the proposed ballot measure would fix that, according to a press release.

Investing in Arkansas opposes the proposal, which chair Natalie Ghidotti said is backed by Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, “a rejected out-of-state casino operator” that has lied “about the true intent” of the initiative. It’s not about local control, Ghidotti said, but rather revoking the Pope County casino license that was awarded to Cherokee Nation Entertainment last week .

“Arkansas voters approved Amendment 100 in 2018, and a majority of Pope County voters still stand by that decision,” Ghidotti said. “This small group, funded by the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, is trying to rob Arkansans of thousands of jobs and shut down what will be historic economic growth for the community, region and state.”

Local Voters in Charge has received $2.45 million from the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma while Cherokee Nation Businesses has donated $775,000 to Investing in Arkansas, according to financial disclosure documents.

Tampon tax

The Arkansas Period Poverty Project led a ballot initiative to exempt feminine hygiene products and diapers from the state’s sales tax.

The proposed act would also define feminine hygiene products as “tampons, panty liners, menstrual cups, sanitary napkins, and other similar tangible personal property designed for feminine hygiene in connection with the human menstrual cycle.” It was modeled after a bill introduced by a pair of Republican state lawmakers in 2021.

The measure was the last one to be delivered to the Secretary of State Friday afternoon with minutes to spare before 5 p.m.

The proposal received roughly 43,831 of the required 72,563 signatures, Shannie Jackson, leader of the Arkansas Period Poverty Project and chair of the initiative’s ballot question committee, wrote in an affidavit filed with the Secretary of State. Jackson later told reporters that the signatures came from 19 of the required 50 counties.

“We ran out of time, unfortunately,” she said. “I didn’t have enough volunteers. We got a late start — we were supposed to have this done in May, [but] we didn’t get started until November.”

The ballot question committee did not use paid canvassers, according to Jackson’s affidavit.

Jackson said earlier this week that she’s hopeful for additional time to collect signatures and will not stop after Friday’s deadline.

Arkansas remains one of 21 states that continue to tax period products, despite exempting other health-related products.

The post Proposed medical marijuana, anti-casino amendments submitted for Secretary of State approval appeared first on Arkansas Advocate .