Recreational marijuana question falls short in Arkansas

Issue 4, the proposal to legalize recreational marijuana for adults, was losing ground with voters in Arkansas Tuesday.

With 97% of votes counted statewide, the proposal trailed with 499,170 no votes, or about 56% of the vote against it , to 388,123 yes votes, or about 44% in favor, the Arkansas Secretary of State reported.

A spokesman for the group that gathered the signatures for the initiative petition, Responsible Growth Arkansas, said there are plans to bring the question back to voters in two years.

Robert McLarty, campaign manager for the group said, "Last night, we made history by putting adult use cannabis on the ballot for the first time, Although we fell short, we look forward to continuing this effort to build this momentum to 2024."

In Sebastian County, with all precincts counted the proposal had 14,828 yes votes, 46.3%, to 17,170 no votes, 53.7%. The Arkansas Poll from the University of Arkansas showed 59% of voters said they were opposed to 41% in favor.

In Little Rock, at the Marriott Hotel in the Manning Room not far from a watch party for Gov-elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Jerry Cox of the Arkansas Family Council, also waited for results. Cox opposed marijuana passage, citing safety risks to children and would lead to more drug addiction problems for the state.

Cox stated, “This is a stunning victory for Arkansas. Supporters of Issue 4 spent more than $13 million placing it on the ballot and trying to persuade voters to support it. Arkansans knew better than to go along with that. This was a true ‘David and Goliath’ fight and David won.” The campaign against Issue 4 had only a fraction of the money that the marijuana industry had, but it was defeated by a broad coalition of churches, business groups, elected officials, and citizens who knew that Issue 4 would be bad for Arkansas.”Cox praised the groups and individuals who opposed Issue 4.

“Defeating Issue 4 was truly a team effort. We couldn’t have defeated Issue 4 without the broad, bipartisan coalition against it," Cox said.

He praised former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Lt. Governor Tim Griffin, U.S. Senators Boozman and Tom Cotton, U.S. Congressmen Rick Crawford, French Hill, and Bruce Westerman, attorney David Couch, marijuana advocate Melissa Fults, the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, dozens of state lawmakers, Arkansas Farm Bureau, the Arkansas Trucking Association, the Arkansas Chamber of Commerce, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Focus on the Family, the Arkansas Faith and Ethics Council, the Republican Party of Arkansas, the Arkansas State Lodge Fraternal Order of Police.

"Every one of these individuals and organizations brought something unique to the fight against Issue 4. We were able to defeat Issue 4 today, because everybody did their part,” Cox said. "The marijuana industry spent millions of dollars trying to write itself into the Arkansas Constitution. Now they know that Arkansans do not support that kind of crony politics," Cox said. "Communities in Arkansas don’t want to be like Portland or Chicago. The people who backed Issue 4 should think twice before trying to legalize marijuana in our state.”

Eddie Armstrong, chairman of Responsible Growth Arkansas, said Tuesday as the polls closed at 7:30 p.m., that he was satisfied with his work that started with gathering more than enough signatures on an initiative petition to get the recreational marijuana question on ballots.

Election Results:See full results from the Nov. 8 midterm election in Arkansas here

He said a yes vote would provide, more jobs, economic development, money for law enforcement, cancer research. .

Armstrong said he was impressed by what he saw from voters.

"Today was a great day. It was amazing. This one is really one for the people," Armstrong said.

As opposition grew in the days before the election.

"People from every corner of the state said they wanted this," Armstrong said.

Previous coverageRecreational marijuana in Arkansas: What we know about Issue 4 on November ballot

Predictions:How will Arkansans vote on recreational marijuana?

The question to legal recreational marijuana was a widely discussed topic that made the ballots.

It took an appeal to the Arkansas Supreme Court, but the group Responsible Growth Arkansas was responsible for getting the question on the ballot and making sure the votes are constitutionally counted.

It was not always certain the votes would count, after the Arkansas Election Commission voted against the ballot title, but an appeal to the Arkansas State Supreme Court got it back on the ballot.

Voters approved medical marijuana in Arkansas in 2016 by 53% of the vote in favor.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Election 2022: Issue 4 for recreational marijuana in Arkansas fails