Medicinal pot to get new Ark. test
Two legalization proposals on conservative state’s fall ballot
Republicans control all of Arkansas’ statewide offices, hold a majority in both chambers of the Legislature and are nearly assured of winning the state’s six electoral votes in the presidential election.
But this deeply red state could be on the verge of an unusually liberal move: legalizing marijuana for people who suffer from a host of medical ailments.
The fall ballot will feature two marijuana measures, and pro-pot advocates view them as an important opportunity to show that there is broad support for legalization even in conservative parts of the country, particularly the South.
The referendums also offer a chance at a symbolically powerful victory in a state with a Republican governor who once led the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.
“If a red conservative state like Arkansas in the Bible Belt can pass medical cannabis, then anybody can,” said Melissa Fults, who leads the campaign for one of the medical marijuana proposals going before voters. “People are depending on us. We can’t let them down.”
Arkansas voters narrowly rejected a medical marijuana proposal four years ago, despite national groups spending big in favor of legalization. Meanwhile, national support for medical marijuana has grown, and half of the states and the District of Columbia have legalized the drug in some fashion.
But pot remains mostly illegal across the South.
The fall campaign is “going to be a little tougher battle, but I think everyone’s views on medical marijuana are like their views on gay marriage,” said David Couch, the sponsor of a competing medical marijuana measure. “They’ve soft-
ened over the past couple years.”
Attitudes about marijuana have eased in Arkansas, where voters in two cities approved ballot initiatives that encouraged police to regard arrests for small amounts as a low priority.
Advocates hope the support for medical cannabis will cross party lines, and they are counting on voters like Barb Soell, a 77-year-old retiree who expects to support Republican Donald Trump for president.
Soell, who backed the legalization measure four years ago, said she doesn’t see any need to deny the drug to people suffering from cancer and other medical problems.
“I don’t think that medical marijuana is going to lead someone to use heroin or other drugs,” Soell said. “That’s nonsense.”
Both measures on the ballot would allow patients with certain conditions to buy from dispensaries, but the proposals have different restrictions and enforcement provisions. For example, Fults’ plan would allow patients who don’t live near a dispensary to grow their own marijuana. Couch’s initiative would not.
So far, support for medical marijuana among the states has not translated into much progress at the federal level. The Obama administration in August decided to keep marijuana on the list of most dangerous drugs but also planned to allow more research into its medical uses. Winning approval for medical cannabis in a state such as Arkansas could help elevate the drug to a federal issue.
The path to legalization still faces plenty of obstacles in Arkansas.
A coalition of the state’s most powerful lobbying forces, including the Arkansas Farm Bureau, the state Chamber of Commerce and social conservative groups have united to campaign against the measures and have sued to block votes for both of them.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who ran the DEA during President George W. Bush’s first term, has stepped up his criticism.
“I do not see any tax boon to the state. I see more of a tax drain to the state,” Hutchinson told county officials from around the state at a recent meeting. run over the deputies as he fled, Dunbar said.
At least one deputy opened fire at the fleeing suspect.
About 12 hours later, authorities were surrounding the Days Inn where Tenorio was located.
According to court records, Tenorio has a lengthy arrest record dating back to 2007 on charges ranging from theft of property and vandalism to possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of methamphetamine.
His last arrest was in June, when he was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, assault and resisting and evading arrest. A warrant was issued for his arrest on the charges in July.