Opponents of recreational marijuana believe the best way to keep Arkansas a state allowing only medical use of the drug is to keep the question off the ballot.

"Just don't sign the petition," Sen. Cecile Bledsoe, R-Rogers, implored a group gathered at the state Capitol on Thursday.

Flanked by her son, Arkansas Surgeon General Gregory Bledsoe, as well as state Drug Director Kirk Lane and several leaders of faith-based groups, Bledsoe led the second such rally in Arkansas. The first was in Northwest Arkansas a few months ago with remarks from Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who also opposes marijuana legalization.

Marijuana opponents and those pushing for legalization filled the Old Supreme Court room.

Melissa Fults, the sponsor of the Arkansas Adult Use Cannabis Amendment, watched from the audience. She said she was grateful for the event because it would draw more attention to her group's efforts.

"Their only option is 'just don't sign' because they know it will pass if it gets on the ballot," Fults said.

In addition to Fults' group, organizers behind the competing Arkansas Recreational Marijuana Amendment of 2020 also are trying to gather enough signatures for their proposal to appear on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Both measures would do basically the same thing -- legalize the possession, cultivation and use of marijuana for people over the age of 21. However, the Arkansas Recreational Marijuana Amendment would create a more lax framework and expunge past marijuana convictions.

Fults' group had been pushing a second amendment focused on expungement, but she said Thursday that her group had dropped that effort to focus resources on the Adult Use Cannabis Amendment. Additionally, she said an expungement process already exists in state law.

To get on the ballot, each group must gather 89,151 registered voters' signatures. They must submit the petitions by July 3. Next, the state Board of Election Commissioners must certify that a proposal's ballot title and popular name are sufficient, under Act 376 of 2019. If they qualify for the ballot and survive legal challenges, the proposals would go on the ballot.

Fults said her group has gathered about 10,000 signatures, so far.

Mary Lou Berry, one of the lead organizers of the Arkansas Recreational Marijuana Amendment, said signature gathering had been "slow but steady," and she wasn't sure exactly how many signatures the group has so far.

This is the first election cycle that the ballot title and popular name certification will not be done by the state attorney general. It's also the first time that the certification will come after signatures are gathered, which has caused some concern for amendment sponsors.

Those discouraging voters from signing the marijuana petitions said there is no business interest to oppose cannabis legalization, while there are many who stand to profit from the recreational marijuana market.

"We're already behind the eight ball on this just like in 2016," said Larry Page, executive director of the Arkansas Faith and Ethics Council, referring to the 2016 campaign that legalized marijuana for medicinal use in Arkansas. "We don't have obscene resources."

Gregory Bledsoe decried the negative public health effects of marijuana. He said states where recreational marijuana has been legalized have seen upticks in marijuana-impaired driving. He also said cannabis use can trigger psychiatric illnesses.

But he said his biggest concern is that legalizing the drug would increase teenage exposure to it. Consistent marijuana use under age 25 disrupts cognitive development in the brain, he said.

"It does something to rewire your brain," Gregory Bledsoe said. "It's permanently altered."

Jared Moffat, campaign coordinator for the Marijuana Policy Project, said teens already buy cannabis on the black market, but a properly regulated and taxed marijuana market can reduce youth exposure to the drug. The Marijuana Policy Project, a national advocacy group, is supporting Fults' Arkansas Adult Use Cannabis Amendment.

"We're not going to contest that there's some risks to [using marijuana]," Moffat said. "But it's certainly far less harmful than alcohol. There's no public health or safety reason to leave it in the hands of the illicit market."

Arkansas is one of 13 states with a ballot initiative for recreational or medical marijuana in 2020, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.

If legalized, Arkansas would be the 12th state -- and the first Southern state -- where cannabis legally can be used recreationally.

NW News on 02/01/2020