Arkansas Cannabis Advocate Withdraws Petition to Modify Marijuana for Adult Use — Here’s Why

Of Nina Zdinjak

Arkansas NORML board member and medical marijuana patient advocate Melissa Fults withdrew her petition to change adult cannabis use, preferring to wait until the 2024 election to give her time to focus on other recreational propositions which she disagrees with, the Northwest Arkansas-based Democrat told the Gazette.

Fults filed the Arkansas Adult Use and Expungement Marijuana Amendment in November, which would make cannabis possession legal for adults and allow those with certain cannabis-related misdemeanors or convictions to petition the courts for a remedy.

Photo by Olena Ruban/Getty Images

In a recent interview, she revealed her intention to campaign against the Arkansas amendment to the adult use cannabis law, which is sponsored by a voting committee and funded by current medical marijuana growers.

“We’ve worked so hard to stop the farmers,” Fults said. “You can’t fight on so many fronts.”

According to Fults, this change would allow large growers to take advantage while crowding out smaller growers and harming the medicinal program. She also condemned the amendment for not including a provision to remove those with criminal records for minor weed-related charges.

Fults said there were many volunteers ready to fight the change.

Your action would allow enough cannabis companies to meet Arkansas’ demands. While the change, supported by Responsible Growth Arkansas, would grant initial cultivation and dispensing licenses to current operators, Fults said.

Responsible Growth Arkansas Chair Eddie Armstrong responded to Fult’s criticism by saying it urges his group to improve the proposal. Armstrong said the change would benefit medical marijuana patients by lowering prices and meeting their needs.

“The industry is a new industry, so there are a lot of bumps and bruises along the way when you’re building something new,” Armstrong said.

He noted that the petition already has over 50,000 valid signatures.

A third recreational marijuana proposal, the Arkansas Recreational Marijuana Amendment, is also likely to be delayed until 2024, according to a spokeswoman for Arkansas True Grass, a group behind it. This change is aimed at allowing for the automatic release of people jailed on cannabis-related charges and would not limit the number of marijuana dealers.

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and has been republished with permission.