One cannabis bill passed in Arkansas’ 2025 session

Arkansas remains one of only 19 states that still punishes possession of cannabis with possible jail time. However, it does have a voter-enacted medical cannabis program, which is serving well over 100,000 patients. The 2025 legislative session continued the pattern that has been the new normal in Arkansas and saw little in the way of moving cannabis policy forward. SB59 was the one bill that was signed into law. This bill utilizes medical cannabis taxes to provide a free breakfast to students who request it.

Meanwhile, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) vetoed HB1889, which would have allowed medical cannabis patients to utilize a drive-through window at dispensaries and loosened the current regulations on delivery of medical cannabis to patients. The governor has repeatedly voiced her opposition to any expansion of the medical cannabis program legislatively or via the ballot initiative. She has used her full powers of the executive branch to effectively stymie any further expansion of cannabis policy. Gov. Huckabee Sanders has announced that she will be running for reelection in 2026.

Governor stacks state Supreme Court to block medical cannabis expansion initiative

On October 21, 2024, Arkansas advocates were dealt a cruel blow to their efforts to expand the state’s medical cannabis program and to legalize simple possession for adults when federal law evolves.

In a mysterious set of circumstances, two Arkansas Supreme Court justices recused themselves from a case deciding the fate of a medical cannabis expansion initiative. Governor Huckabee Sanders appointed two temporary justices.

Both of the temporary justices had reactionary reputations and one had made public anti-cannabis statements in the past.

In a 4-3 ruling — with a majority that included the two temporary justices — the state  Supreme Court then decided that votes would not be counted on the initiative, and it could not become law even if voters approved it. This was based on supposed issues with signatures along with issues with the title of the initiative, despite the Court approving the measure several months prior. Dissenting permanent judges objected that decades of precedent were being discarded.

In addition to the governor’s actions to block this expansion, the legislature has shown little to no appetite for cannabis policy reform.

Lawmakers, court protect medical cannabis patients’ rights

Both the legislature and a court delivered modest victories for patients in 2023.

In 2023, the state legislature approved and Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a bill protecting Arkansas medical cannabis patients’ right to concealed carry of a firearm. The issue of cannabis consumers’ firearm rights remains a contentious issue among federal courts and agencies.

Also in 2023, an Arkansas judge struck down several amendments to the state’s medical cannabis law previously approved by the state legislature. The judge found lawmakers overstepped their authority by imposing limits on the constitutional medical cannabis program approved by voters in 2016.

Ballot measure to legalize cannabis for adults falls short

In November 2022, for the first time ever, an initiated constitutional measure to legalize cannabis for adults appeared on the Arkansas ballot. With just over half of eligible voters participating in the election, Issue 4 was defeated by a 56.3% - 43.7% margin.

Opponents relied on a standard playbook of fear tactics to fight against the proposal, and although the measure would have directed cannabis tax revenue to Arkansas police departments, many local law enforcement groups urged voters to reject Issue 4. Several prominent politicians also campaigned against the ballot measure. Existing medical cannabis businesses in Arkansas were major backers of the effort.

Despite the loss, there is good reason to believe Arkansas voters are supportive of cannabis legalization in principle. Recent polls show that a majority of residents favor the idea, which suggests there is hope for future attempts to legalize cannabis. Fortunately, voters also soundly defeated Issue 2, which would have made future ballot initiatives more difficult to pass by raising the threshold for approval for constitutional amendments from a 50% simple majority to a 60% supermajority.

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