Arkansas News
Attorney General Dustin McDaniel today declined to certify a proposed ballot initiative calling for a study of hemp agriculture and medical marijuana. McDaniel rejected the popular name and ballot title of the proposed initiative by the group Cannabis-Hemp Study Advocates, citing ambiguous language.
The sponsor of an Arkansas ballot proposal cannot file a friendly challenge to his or her own measure, the state Supreme Court ruled today in a case involving a Fort Smith group’s proposal for a statewide flat tax. The court dismissed a challenge by the Arkansas Progressive Group to the group’s proposed constitutional amendment to repeal all existing state taxes and replace them with a flat-rate sales tax.
The state attorney general today rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize marijuana for medical use. Attorney General Dustin McDaniel cited numerous problems with the proposal submitted by Little Rock attorney John Wesley Hall, Jr., including that federal law would supersede a state drug amendment. “I note as an initial matter that this description fails to acknowledge that your proposed measure cannot completely legalize marijuana in Arkansas for medical purposes because the drug remains illegal under federal law,” the opinion said.