Melissa Fults, treasurer for Arkansans for Compassionate Care, said her group will first pursue the issue through the state Legislature. If that fails, she said, it will again go through a petition campaign to get it on the ballot in two years. "Needless to say, we're disappointed," Fults said by phone Wednesday morning. "But we were so close. We did more than anybody ever believed we'd do. And we'll start right back." Fults said she believes the closeness of the race could spur legislators to take up the issue even though previous attempts haven't worked. (Source)
"I predict it will pass overwhelmingly next time."—Arkansas Judge
A proposal to make AR the first southern state to legalize MMJ was rejected by 52% of voters. Chris Kell, the campaign strategist for Arkansans for Compassionate Care, tells The Fix that the narrow loss was due to the "onslaught of propaganda and misinformation that the opposition put out there"—specifically the Arkansas Family Council. "Their whole campaign claimed this was a back door to full legalization—but that's completely false." Despite the outcome, the fact that the issue made the ballot at all—and lost only narrowly—in the conservative state represents significant progress for the MMJ movement. (Source)
Education for the 2014 cycle starts today, Folks. You're going to be talking to lots of folks in the next few weeks who are more aware about marijuana than ever before. Stay engaged! Help us build the group that will be invincible in 2014. (Source)
