Arkansas voters will get to decide on a medical marijuana expansion initiative at the ballot next month—but those votes will no longer count following a new state Supreme Court ruling.
Prohibitionists who challenged the cannabis measure from Arkansans for Patient Access (APA) successfully convinced the court that the ballot title was affirmatively misleading, and justices ruled on Monday that votes will not be processed after Election Day.
The state’s highest court said it was siding the anti-marijuana group Protect Arkansas Kids (PAK), agreeing that the measure’s title is misleading because it fails to adequately explain that—beyond expanding the state’s medical marijuana program—it would also more broadly legalize possession of cannabis if a federal policy change is made and would also restrict the legislature from revising the voter-approved law if enacted.
“For these reasons, we hold that the proposed amendment is misleading,” Justice Shawn Womack wrote in the majoity opinion. “Accordingly, we grant the Intervenors’ request for relief and order that the Secretary be enjoined from canvassing or certifying any ballots cast for the proposed amendment at the November 5, 2024, general election.”
“To ensure that the will of the people is respected and implemented, proposed amendments must be clear—not misleading. In
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