GOP Lawmaker Wants To Legalize Weed in Arkansas With New Bill, Opponents Call Home Grow Invitation To Drug Cartels

Arkansans will have their chance to weigh in on recreational cannabis yet again under a new legalization push from a GOP lawmaker.

On Wednesday, state senator Joshua Bryant (R) filed a measure seeking to place a constitutional amendment on the 2024 general election ballot to legalize adult use of marijuana in the Bear State, reported Arkansas Times.

The bill, SJR13, seeks to legalize marijuana as well as home and craft cultivation.

“The purpose of this joint resolution is to amend the Arkansas Constitution to legalize marijuana for the purposes of craft or home growing and adult use by Arkansas residents of a certain age,” the bill stipulates.

The latest legalization effort is facing vigorous opposition from an anti-legalization activist group that fought to scuttle previous legalization efforts in Arkansas.

Smart Approaches to Marijuana Action’s (SAM Action) executive VP Luke Niforatos said in a statement that Arkansans made it clear last year that they don’t want the recreational use of marijuana to be legal in their state.

“They recognized that legalization is nothing more than a way for rich investors to profit off of an addiction-for-profit model targeted at our kids,” Niforatos said. “There is no appetite for yet another ballot measure trying to legalize marijuana in Arkansas.”

He called the home-to-grow provision of the bill “dangerous,” adding that its legalization ”only invites drug cartels into the state” since it allows them to “cut trafficking costs by producing marijuana in-state.”

2022 Legalization Efforts

In November, Arkansas voters defeated the recreational marijuana legalization ballot measure - Issue 4 - which came as a surprise given that prior surveys have shown a comfortable majority of likely voters had favored the initiative.

Interestingly, both marijuana opponents and advocates argued that the measure was not comprehensive enough.

The measure, sponsored by the group Responsible Growth Arkansas, would have legalized cannabis use for people 21 and older and would authorize the commercial sale of marijuana with 10% taxes. Moreover, adults would have been allowed to possess up to one ounce of cannabis. However, home growing would not have been allowed.

Legal Hurdle Around Election Process

After securing more than enough valid signatures, the initiative to legalize recreational marijuana was turned down by the State Board of Election Commissioners in August 2022. The commissioners dismissed the amendment citing the lack of certain guidelines as the reason. More precisely, the commissioner rejected the measure because the ballot title was not clear enough in terms of its impact, with the main issue being the level of THC allowed in cannabis edibles.

Several hours before the initiative was rejected, former Governor Asa Hutchinson encouraged law enforcement to “stand firm” against marijuana legalization, saying, “Marijuana is a harmful drug.”

Shortly after, Responsible Growth Arkansas filed an appeal with the Arkansas Supreme Court to overturn a decision by the Arkansas Board of Election Commissioners that banned a proposed amendment from reaching the November ballot.

The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled in September that voters can decide whether to legalize recreational cannabis, after all, overturning a decision by the Board of Election Commissioners.

Photo: Courtesy of underworld and Sean Pavone by Shutterstock