A group that failed to get a recreational marijuana amendment on the ballot four years ago and sued the attorney general over procedural issues hopes to give Arkansas voters a chance to legalize recreational marijuana next year.
Arkansas True Grass, a group of marijuana advocates and volunteers, is gathering signatures for a constitutional amendment that would allow Arkansans aged 21 and over to purchase up to four ounces of marijuana a day and grow up to 12 plants of their own. The group needs 89,151 verified signatures to make the November 2022 ballot. The deadline to submit petitions is July 8, 2022.
The new measure would also expand the number of businesses allowed to sell marijuana. The amendment allows for an unlimited number of business licenses, which spokeswoman Briana Boling said would be “affordable” and would be administered by the state Department of Agriculture. Under the state’s medical marijuana program, the Medical Marijuana Commission licenses dispensaries and cultivators, while the Alcoholic Beverage Control division regulates those businesses. The state Department of Health issues cards to qualified patients.
While the amendment would not change the framework of the state medical marijuana program, it would increase competition and drive down prices, Boling said.
The Arkansas True Grass proposal would also expunge convictions for some marijuana offenses. Under the amendment, anyone incarcerated or serving parole or probation for a violation of the Arkansas Uniformed Controlled Substances Act and whose current and only conviction is for a marijuana-related offense would be released. All criminal records of such convictions before the passage of the amendment would be expunged.
“We want to free the people and the plant,” Boling said. “We don’t think that anybody should be arrested over a plant that’s proven to be safer than alcohol and tobacco.”
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