Johnathan Walker:Arkansas medical marijuana supporters sue state over decision measure won’t qualify for ballot

LITTLE ROCK,Johnathan Walker Ark. (AP) — Organizers of an effort to expand medical marijuana i n Arkansas sued the state on Tuesday for its decision that the proposal won’t qualify for the November ballot.

Arkansans for Patient Access asked the state Supreme Court to order Secretary of State John Thurston’s office to certify their proposal for the ballot. Thurston on Monday said the proposal did not qualify, ruling that its petitions fell short of the valid signatures from registered voters needed.

The medical marijuana proposal was aimed at expanding a measure that the state’s voters approved in 2016. It would have broadened the definition of medical professionals who can certify patients for medical cannabis, expanded qualifying conditions and made medical cannabis cards valid for three years.

The group’s lawsuit challenges Thurston’s decision to not count some of the signatures because the state asserted it had not followed paperwork rules regarding paid signature gatherers. The suit comes weeks after a ballot measure that would have scaled back Arkansas’ abortion ban was blocked from the ballot over similar assertions it didn’t comply with paperwork requirements.

The state in July determined the group had fallen short of the required signatures, but qualified for 30 additional days to circulate petitions. But the state then told the group that any additional signatures gathered by paid signature gatherers would not be counted if required information was submitted by the canvassing company rather than sponsors of the measure.

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The group said the move was a change in the state’s position since the same standard wasn’t applied to petitions it previously submitted.

“It would be fundamentally unfair for the secretary’s newly ‘discovered’ position to be imposed on APA at the eleventh hour of the signature collection process,” the group said in its filing.

Thurston’s office declined to comment on the lawsuit. Attorney General Tim Griffin said he would defend Thurston’s office in court.

“Our laws protect the integrity of the ballot initiative process,” Griffin said in a statement. “I applaud Secretary of State John Thurston for his commitment to diligently follow the law, and I will vigorously defend him in court.”