Arkansas voters won’t get to vote on a ballot initiative to expand medical marijuana after the state Supreme Court ruled the measure didn’t fully explain what it would do, tossing out the initiative just two weeks before the election. It’s too late to remove the measure from the ballot — early voting began Monday — so the court ordered election officials not to count votes cast on it, reports the Associated Press. The proposed constitutional amendment 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. In Monday’s 4-3 decision, the court ruled the measure did not fully inform voters that it would have stripped the legislature’s ability to change the 2016 constitutional amendment that legalized medical marijuana in the state.
The court said the measure did not inform voters that, if approved, the amendment would legalize up to an ounce of marijuana possession for any purpose if marijuana becomes legal under federal law. In a dissent, Justice Cody Hiland said the court was ignoring decades-long precedent by ruling the measure’s wording was misleading. “Long ago, this court established definitive standards for evaluating the sufficiency of popular names and ballot titles,” Hiland wrote. “This court has not deviated from those standards until today.”
The issue over the ballot measure’s wording was raised by Protect Arkansas Kids, a group opposed to the measure.
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