Responsible Growth Arkansas submitted more than 192,000 signatures to the secretary of state on Friday, the most significant step to-date to legalize recreational marijuana in Arkansas.
Steve Lancaster, co-counsel for the industry-backed group, submitted the group’s paperwork at 11:10 a.m. at the secretary of state’s satellite office in a nondescript office park in Little Rock’s Riverdale neighborhood.
Known as the Arkansas Adult Use Cannabis Amendment, Responsible Growth’s proposed measure would legalize marijuana for adults 21 and over but would not allow consumers to grow their own plants. The measure would increase the number of cultivators from 8 to 20 and the number of dispensaries from 40 to 120.
Recreational marijuana would be regulated by the state in much the same way as the current medical marijuana program, which was legalized when voters approved it with 53% in a 2016 statewide referendum. Under the adult-use proposal, the tax on medical marijuana will be eliminated and recreational marijuana will be taxed at the current medical marijuana tax rates.
The tax revenue would go to support the state’s general revenues as well as health care research, drug courts and a stipend for law enforcement.
Here’s a summary of the developments that led up to today’s petition drop-off.
Lancaster, who drafted the amendment along with fellow attorney Erika Gee, said he is confident the group will have enough signatures to get on the ballot. [Read more at Arkansas Times]
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