LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — An effort to expand Arkansas' medical marijuana program fell short of the required signatures and won't qualify for the November ballot, Secretary of State John Thurston said Monday.
Arkansans for Patient Access, the group behind the measure, said it planned to take legal action to appeal Thurston's decision.
Thurston said in a letter to the measure's sponsor that his office determined that only 88,040 of the signatures submitted by the group were valid, falling short of the 90,704 needed from registered voters to qualify for the ballot.
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.
Arkansans for Patient Access submitted more than 150,000 signatures in favor of the proposed amendment. The state told the group in July it had fallen short of the required number, but had qualified for an additional 30 days to circulate petitions.
The group said rejecting 20,000 of its signatures was due to an “arbitrary,” last-minute rule change.
“The overwhelming support shown through the petition process proves that Arkansans want the opportunity to vote on expanded medical marijuana access,” the group said in a statement. “Arkansans for Patient Access will continue to fight for their right to make that decision at the ballot box this November.”
The proposal’s rejection comes weeks after the state Supreme Court blocked a ballot measure that would have scaled back the state’s abortion ban.
The Family Council Action Committee, an opponent of the marijuana measure, praised Thurston for rejecting the signatures but said it expected the final decision would come from the state Supreme Court.
“A measure this bad simply has no business being on the ballot,” Family Council Executive Director Jerry Cox said in a statement.
About half of U.S. states allow recreational marijuana and a dozen more have legalized medical marijuana. Those numbers could grow after the November election. Voters in Florida, North Dakota and South Dakota will decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana for adults, and two medical marijuana proposals will be on Nebraska's ballot.
FILE - Boxes of petitions signed for a proposed ballot measure expanding Arkansas' medical marijuana program sit in a committee room at the Arkansas Capitol in Little Rock, Ark., July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew DeMillo, File)
PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks arrived at Chase Field on Monday afternoon for a light workout and heavy anxiety.
After a full afternoon of scoreboard watching, their fears were confirmed. There will be no postseason for the defending National League champions.
The Atlanta Braves and New York Mets split their doubleheader on Monday in Atlanta, meaning both those teams will head to playoffs while the Diamondbacks were the odd team out. All three finished the regular season with an 89-73 record, but the Mets and Braves both owned tiebreakers over Arizona because they won the season series.
In the end, there was nothing to do but watch the season slip away on TV. Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen was playing catch on the field as the final out was recorded before trudging off the field and to the clubhouse.
“I was planning on playing tomorrow,” Gallen said.
The Mets-Braves doubleheader on Monday was scheduled one day following the expected end of the regular season after Hurricane Helene washed out two of their games in Atlanta last week.
It wasn't an ideal situation for anyone involved.
“It's unfortunate, but you can't control the weather,” Gallen said. "Who knew a hurricane was going to happen? That's moreso the bigger picture — people are losing their lives and homes. For me to get mad about a natural disaster would be a little tone deaf.
“The more disappointing part is that we — to a certain extent — controlled our own destiny and we didn't come through. Didn't execute.”
The D-backs needed either the Mets or Braves to sweep the two games on Monday to make the postseason, but there was little incentive for the Mets to win the second game of the doubleheader because they had already clinched their spot in the playoffs by winning the first game.
The Braves were much more motivated since a win would clinch their own spot in October. Even after ace left-hander Chris Sale was scratched from his scheduled start because of back spasms, they won 3-0.
Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker said there was nobody to blame but themselves.
“Frustration, but not at the (Mets),” Walker said. “That's how any team would have navigated it. ... If we're unhappy about it, that's a time to look inward and say we could have done more and could have played better.”
It's a bitter finish for the Diamondbacks, who were hoping to produce a suitable encore to their surprise run to the World Series last season.
They were active adding players during the offseason, grabbing hitters like Eugenio Suárez, Joc Pederson and Randal Grichuk. They also tried to beef up the pitching staff by adding signing Jordan Montgomery and Eduardo Rodriguez.
Some of those moves worked out, and some of them didn't. They fell one win short of October, even if they won five more games than last year, when they snuck into the bracket after an 84-win season.
There are plenty of reasons for the disappointment, including a 2-5 record over the season's final week. The stumbling began on Sept. 22 when they built an 8-0 lead at Milwaukee by the third inning, only to lose 10-9. It was the biggest blown lead that ended in a loss in franchise history.
They never seemed to completely recover.
“We controlled our own destiny for a little while there and let it slip out of our fingers,” pitcher Merrill Kelly said. “There are a lot of games that I think we let go.”
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Arizona Diamondbacks' Christian Walker reacts after a pitch call against the San Diego Padres during the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)
