Set down and shut up you bigots LMAO. At least we have 1 judge that has an open mind.
K
KSP
That's good news. I didn't know Arkansas had state initiative and referenda provisions, I think it's the only southern state that does. Participatory government, what a concept.
If this does make the ballot, and it looks like it will, I think it's VERY important, then the rest of the southern states will see that it ain't bad at all, can actually make the state money in these austere times while really doing something positive for sick people. Once one southern state goes, the rest will follow. And AR can take pride in being the first. I think NORML and MPP should put some resources toward this. It's VERY important!
K
KSP
A bill has been introduced in the KY legislature for 2013. I haven't gone through it entirely yet. One problem is that southern states don't have ballot initiative and referendum provisions, and because of that measures have to be introduced by members of the legislature. In the south, Arkansas is an exception to this. Seems like a huge problem to me, and one reason I want to move west.
S
SeaMaiden
Initiatives and propositions, referendums, can be both a good and a bad thing. I give you the entire state of California and our budget woes as my best example. Our legislature, often derided for being unable to balance our budget, has control of somewhere around a whopping 7% of the total budget. Everything else is voter-mandated. Now, do we voters do a good job of balancing the state budget? Nope.
No they do not want you to form collectives. They are busting them right and left out here in the med states.
They do not want you to be able to make any money at all from it, though the Arkansas bill would at least allow 'reasonable labor costs.'
They want it to be produced in a little closet grow or by a 'caregiver' who can only provide for his patients and no one else, or for it to come from a dispensary. With no profit for them either of course.
What's the latest news on this? How are things going, is this gaining steam at all?
O
OrganicOzarks
I think it will pass. It won't be a land slide, but it will pass. Then it will get challenged in court by the conservatives. The supreme court has still not ruled if it should be voted on, but there is precedent that it should go to vote.
Arkansas court upholds first-in-the-South medical marijuana proposal
Published September 27, 2012
Associated Press
The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a proposed ballot measure that, if successful, would make the state the first in the South to legalize medical marijuana.
Justices rejected a challenge by a coalition of conservative groups who had asked the court to block the proposed initiated act from the November ballot or order the state to not count any votes cast on the issue.
The measure would allow patients with qualifying conditions to buy marijuana from nonprofit dispensaries with a doctor's recommendation. The proposal acknowledges that marijuana is still illegal under federal law, but the Coalition to Preserve Arkansas Values argued that it doesn't adequately explain that approved users could still face federal prosecution.
"We hold that it is an adequate and fair representation without misleading tendencies or partisan coloring," the court wrote. "Therefore, the act is proper for inclusion on the ballot at the general election on Nov. 6, 2012, and the petition is therefore denied."
Arkansas will be the first Southern state to put the medical marijuana question to voters. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have legalized it in some fashion. Massachusetts voters are also expected to vote on the issue this fall, while the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled a medical marijuana initiative can't appear on that state's ballot.
Jerry Cox, the head of the Arkansas Family Council and a member of the coalition, declined to comment immediately on the ruling and said opponents planned a news conference later Thursday morning. The conservative coalition argued that Arkansas' 384-word ballot question doesn't accurately describe other consequences of passing the 8,700-word law, including a provision that would allow minors to use medical marijuana with parental consent.
Justices disagreed and said the proposed law is fairly summarized in the question that will appear on the ballot.
"Here, after reviewing the ballot title of 384 words, we conclude that the title informs the voters in an intelligible, honest and impartial manner of the substantive matter of the act," the ruling said.
The group behind the measure, Arkansans for Compassionate Care, told the court it believes the measure is sufficiently fair to go before voters. David Couch, an attorney for the group, said he was pleased with the ruling and said it allowed them to shift gears to building support for the measure's passage.
"Now that we've passed muster with the Supreme Court we'll begin our campaign to show the people of the state of Arkansas that this is truly a compassionate measure," Couch said.
Under the proposal, qualifying health conditions would include cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS and Alzheimer's disease. The proposal also would allow qualifying patients or a designated caregiver to grow marijuana if the patient lives more than 5 miles from a dispensary.
The conservative coalition's members include leaders of the Arkansas Faith and Ethics Council, the Family Council Action Committee and the Families First Foundation.
Past efforts to put medical marijuana on the ballot in Arkansas have faltered, though voters in two cities in the state have approved referendums that encourage police to regard arrests for small amounts of marijuana as a low priority.
Supporters of the current proposal mounted an organized and well-funded campaign that surprised many political observers. Arkansans for Compassionate Care, the group advocating for the measure, won ballot access after submitting far more than the required 62,500 signatures.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012...#ixzz27i8Y4eSr
Published September 27, 2012
Associated Press
The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a proposed ballot measure that, if successful, would make the state the first in the South to legalize medical marijuana.
Justices rejected a challenge by a coalition of conservative groups who had asked the court to block the proposed initiated act from the November ballot or order the state to not count any votes cast on the issue.
The measure would allow patients with qualifying conditions to buy marijuana from nonprofit dispensaries with a doctor's recommendation. The proposal acknowledges that marijuana is still illegal under federal law, but the Coalition to Preserve Arkansas Values argued that it doesn't adequately explain that approved users could still face federal prosecution.
"We hold that it is an adequate and fair representation without misleading tendencies or partisan coloring," the court wrote. "Therefore, the act is proper for inclusion on the ballot at the general election on Nov. 6, 2012, and the petition is therefore denied."
Arkansas will be the first Southern state to put the medical marijuana question to voters. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have legalized it in some fashion. Massachusetts voters are also expected to vote on the issue this fall, while the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled a medical marijuana initiative can't appear on that state's ballot.
Jerry Cox, the head of the Arkansas Family Council and a member of the coalition, declined to comment immediately on the ruling and said opponents planned a news conference later Thursday morning. The conservative coalition argued that Arkansas' 384-word ballot question doesn't accurately describe other consequences of passing the 8,700-word law, including a provision that would allow minors to use medical marijuana with parental consent.
Justices disagreed and said the proposed law is fairly summarized in the question that will appear on the ballot.
"Here, after reviewing the ballot title of 384 words, we conclude that the title informs the voters in an intelligible, honest and impartial manner of the substantive matter of the act," the ruling said.
The group behind the measure, Arkansans for Compassionate Care, told the court it believes the measure is sufficiently fair to go before voters. David Couch, an attorney for the group, said he was pleased with the ruling and said it allowed them to shift gears to building support for the measure's passage.
"Now that we've passed muster with the Supreme Court we'll begin our campaign to show the people of the state of Arkansas that this is truly a compassionate measure," Couch said.
Under the proposal, qualifying health conditions would include cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS and Alzheimer's disease. The proposal also would allow qualifying patients or a designated caregiver to grow marijuana if the patient lives more than 5 miles from a dispensary.
The conservative coalition's members include leaders of the Arkansas Faith and Ethics Council, the Family Council Action Committee and the Families First Foundation.
Past efforts to put medical marijuana on the ballot in Arkansas have faltered, though voters in two cities in the state have approved referendums that encourage police to regard arrests for small amounts of marijuana as a low priority.
Supporters of the current proposal mounted an organized and well-funded campaign that surprised many political observers. Arkansans for Compassionate Care, the group advocating for the measure, won ballot access after submitting far more than the required 62,500 signatures.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012...#ixzz27i8Y4eSr
Well we didn't make it. DAMNIT!!!!!!!!!!!!
The south would rather thump their bibles, then make any real progress
I think it will take jesus appearing in person and saying, "I smoke weed, and so should you" before these guys actually vote for something like this.
I think it will take jesus appearing in person and saying, "I smoke weed, and so should you" before these guys actually vote for something like this.
