Pubdate: Sat, 29 Sep 2012
Source: Texarkana Gazette (TX)
Copyright: 2012 Texarkana Gazette
Contact:  http://www.texarkanagazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/976

ON THE BALLOT

Court Rules Medical Marijuana Initiative Will Go Before the Voters

Once upon a time, Texarkana, Texas, decided liquor stores should be 
banished-all the way across State Line Avenue to the Arkansas side.

And so it has been for many years now. The business of selling the 
hard stuff has been exclusive to the Arkansas-side liquor stores-or 
the nicer-sounding "package stores" if you prefer-that line the 
avenue and a few other locations in the city.

Now it looks like the Arkansas side might get another exclusive 
retail product-medical marijuana.

The state Supreme Court ruled Thursday an initiative to make pot 
legal under state law in certain circumstances could appear on the 
November ballot, turning away claims by the opposition that the 
ballot summary does not fully explain what the voters will be legalizing.

A challenge by the Coalition to Preserve Arkansas Values had argued 
the summary does not adequately tell voters marijuana, for any 
purpose, would still be illegal under federal law and users could 
face prosecution.

Nor did the summary explain other aspects of the legalization, such 
as the provision that minors could obtain medical marijuana with a 
parent's consent.

The group behind the initiative, Arkansans for Compassionate Care, 
naturally disagreed and said the ballot summary was a fair 
representation of the measure and it contained enough information for 
voters to make a reasoned choice. The court sided with pot 
proponents. "Here, after reviewing the ballot title of 384 words, we 
conclude that the title informs the voters in an intelligible, honest 
and impartial manner of the substantive matter of the act," the court ruled.

Arkansans for Compassionate Care earned a ballot spot for its measure 
by collecting more than 60,000 signatures of registered voters on a petition.

The initiative, if passed, would allow doctors to prescribe marijuana 
for certain illnesses, including cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, 
hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Tourette's disease, 
Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, fibromyalgia and Alzheimer's disease.

It also includes somewhat less specific illnesses, such as any 
medical condition that produces intractable pain or severe nausea.

The measure states these conditions are just the initial list-no 
doubt anticipating expansion in the future.

The pot would be distributed through nonprofit dispensaries, though 
patients who live 5 miles away from such a dispensary would be 
allowed to grow their own stash.

Arkansas will be the first southern state to vote on medical 
marijuana. And for the record, we are against this proposal. We have 
looked at other states that have passed such measures and see more 
problems than positives.

But the voters will have the final say in this. And that's as it should be.

We just hope they choose wisely.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom