Arkansas: High Court Approves Marijuana Legalization Measure for the November Ballot
BY NORML
SEPTEMBER 22, 2022
The Arkansas Supreme Court issued a decision today ensuring that a statewide measure seeking to legalize the adult-use marijuana market in Arkansas, will appear on the November ballot.
After state officials verified that proponents had gathered the requisite number of signatures from registered voters, the Board of Elections Commissioners voted to deny the measure’s proposed ballot title — opining that it did not accurately reflect the true scope of the initiative and that some elements of the proposal might be confusing to voters. The group Responsible Growth Arkansas, led by former Arkansas Democratic House minority leader Eddie Armstrong, filed a lawsuit with the state Supreme Court challenging that decision.
Today justices ruled in their favor, deciding, “Respondents and Intervenors have not met their burden of proving that the ballot title is insufficient. … It is for the people — not this court — to exercise the right to amend the constitution, and our court must continue to preserve this first power of the people of Arkansas by not supplanting their decisions with ours.”
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Voters in Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota, and South Dakota will also decide on election day on similar adult-use legalization measures.
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