Rx ‘pot’ measure narrowly trailing

Rural counties pushing it further back

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/RICK MCFARLAND --11/06/12-- Melissa Fults (facing) hugs Aubrey Buchanan at the watch party for the group supporting the medical marijuana act. Fults is the spokeperson and treasurer with Arkansas for Compassionate Care. The party was at Vino's restaurant in Little Rock Tuesday.

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/RICK MCFARLAND --11/06/12-- Melissa Fults (facing) hugs Aubrey Buchanan at the watch party for the group supporting the medical marijuana act. Fults is the spokeperson and treasurer with Arkansas for Compassionate Care. The party was at Vino's restaurant in Little Rock Tuesday.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

— The ballot issue to legalize marijuana for medical use in Arkansas remained close to a 50 percent split as the first results rolled in from across the state Tuesday night.

As of late Tuesday night, with 2,161 of 2,386 precincts reporting, the unofficial results were: Against .................... 499,719 For.............................467,916 Jefferson, Phillips, Pulaski and Washington counties all were trending in favor of the proposal early on, with other counties leaning against it. But only a fraction of the ballots had been counted by 9:45 p.m. At that time 34 of the state’s 75 counties were reporting election results.

Calhoun and Columbia counties had completed their ballot tallies at press time, according to the secretary of state’s office. The measure failed by a narrow margin in both counties - by 30 votes in Calhoun.

If passed, Issue 5 would make Arkansas the first Southern state to legalize marijuana for medical use. Currently, 17 states and Washington, D.C., have legalized the medical use of the drug, although possession and use of marijuana for any reason remains illegal under federal law.

The issue had strong supporters on each side, with proponents arguing that the drug is a necessary tool for pain management andhelps stave off symptoms of some diseases such as glaucoma and cancer. Opponents countered that legalizing the drug for medical use opens the door for abuse, asserting that California’s medical use law has made it far too easy to obtain marijuana.

David Couch, spokesman for Arkansans for Compassionate Care, the organization that led the petition drive to get the issue on the ballot, said the early vote was shaping up as he had predicted.

“I thought most of the people outside the metropolitan areas would be split down the middle,” he said at the group’s watch party at Vino’s restaurant in downtown Little Rock. “I think we’ll carry the larger counties, and I believe we’ll end up on top.”

Chris Kell, strategist for the organization, said he was pleased with the early numbers.

“We knew all along it would be a close race.”

Jerry Cox, executive director of Family Council Action Committee, which led opposition to the issue, noted that early trends showed the issue failing.

“It’s too early to say if that’s the trend or not, but it looks promising that it won’t pass,” he said from the Republican watch party at the Embassy Suites Hotel in west Little Rock.

In the weeks leading up to the election, the Arkansas Faith and Ethics Council also took a stance against the ballot issue, arguing that legalization of the drug for medical use has severely undermined law enforcement efforts to combat the illegal marijuana trade.

The measure almost didn’t make it to the ballot. The first petition filed by Arkansans for Compassionate Care didn’t contain enough signatures from registered voters. Of the 65,413 signatures the group submitted, only 36,495 were from registered voters.

In late August, the group submitted a second petition with more than 69,000 valid signatures from registered voters who agreed the issue should be placed on Tuesday’s ballot.

Last week, the Arkansas Medical Society, the state’s largest physician organization, representing 4,300 doctors, announced its opposition to the measure.

Several of the group’s physicians noted both law enforcement concerns and the lack of “substantial evidence” that marijuana offers any better medical results than current prescription medicines regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 11/07/2012