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| | Rewritten marijuana proposal rejected by AG
Wednesday, Nov 19, 2003 Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK -- State Attorney General Mike Beebe on Tuesday again rejected the ballot title and name of a proposed initiated act that would legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes. A similar proposal was rejected by Beebe in October. The attorney general wrote in Tuesday's opinion that the proposal was ambiguous. Specifically, the opinion noted that the proposal says "shall not permit the medical use of marijuana that endangers the health or well-being of another person, such as driving or operating heavy equipment while under the influence of marijuana." Beebe said the "scope and effect of this provision are unclear, in my view." He also said he was not sure how to interpret the phrase "shall not permit." The proposal that the Alliance for the Reform of Drug Policy in Arkansas hopes to get before voters on Nov. 2, 2004, would allow physicians to advise patients they would be candidates for marijuana use and would allow those patients to possess at any given time up to six marijuana plants or one ounce of processed marijuana. Supporters say marijuana is effective for pain and nausea caused by severe illnesses, including cancer. Once the attorney general's office approves a proposal's popular name and ballot title, supporters would then have until July 2 to collect the 64,465 signatures of registered voters needed to get an initiated act on the ballot. A similar bill was before the Legislature during its regular session earlier this year, but it failed in committee. |
