PRYOR OKS BALLOT TITLE FOR PROPOSAL ON MARIJUANA

Attorney General Mark Pryor on Friday approved the wording of a popular
name and ballot title for a proposed initiated act that would lessen the
penalty for possessing small quantities of marijuana.

Pryor rejected the ballot titles for two other initiatives, but proponents
of one say they have submitted an alternative. And in another development
in the effort to legalize marijuana in some form in Arkansas, the attorney
general issued a legal opinion that said state law contains no exception
that would allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

"It's an issue that's come into its own," said state Rep. Jim Lendall,
D-Little Rock, who requested the opinion. "People realize this is a privacy
issue, and people realize it can be very, very useful for people who have
illnesses.

People who otherwise are very law-abiding citizens have to go underground
to get the medicine they need to keep them going."

Pryor's opinion, Lendall said, sidesteps the issue of whether exemptions
exist in state law to allow medical use of the drug. "This does give us
impetus," he said. "What apparently is needed is something that
specifically addresses the issue."

Lendall and other supporters of efforts to legalize marijuana say it's
effective for pain and nausea caused by severe illnesses, such as cancer.

Friday's ballot title decisions are part of a mandated review by Pryor's
office, which must perform the review within 10 days of submission. The
review ensures that a title reflects what is in the proposal.

Once approved, the proposal is sent to the secretary of state's office for
publication, and proponents are then allowed to begin a signature-gathering
campaign to qualify the proposal for the general election ballot. At least
56,481 signatures of registered Arkansas voters would be required to
qualify the proposal.

An attorney general's spokesman said the approval of a ballot title should
not be seen as endorsement of an initiative.

"We don't endorse or make any judgment on the substance of these ballot
titles," spokesman Michael Teague said. "We're trying to make sure the
ballot title reflects the text and there's nothing misleading about it. We
don't judge the content."

The ballot title Pryor approved is for an initiative that would limit the
penalty for possession of an ounce or less of marijuana to a $200 fine with
no imprisonment.

Possession of an ounce or less of marijuana is now a misdemeanor punishable
by up to a year in jail and a fine not exceeding $1,000.

The backer of that initiative, Glen Schwarz of Little Rock, past president
of the Arkansas chapter for the National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws, wanted the popular name of the initiative to be "An Act to
Decriminalize Possession of Small Amounts of Marijuana."

But Pryor approved the measure only after changing the popular name to "An
Act to Lessen the Criminal Penalty for Possession of Small Amounts of
Marijuana," which he said would "accurately set forth the purpose of the
proposed measure."

Pryor proposed similar changes to the ballot title for Schwarz's measure
before approving it as well. Schwarz could not be found for comment Friday
evening.

The attorney general rejected the popular name and ballot title submitted
by a newly formed Fayetteville-based organization, the Alliance for Reform
of Drug Policy in Arkansas.

Its proposal is aimed at legalizing the medical use of marijuana. But Pryor
said the title of the proposal "fails to adequately summarize your proposed
act" and "omits essential facts and fails to give the voter a fair
understanding of the issues presented."

Mara Leveritt, a representative of the organization, said an improved title
already has been submitted for Pryor's review.

Pryor also rejected the ballot title of a proposal submitted by a North
Little Rock design engineer, Barry Emigh, who said he does not use
marijuana but supports its decriminalization as an effort to ease crowding
in jails.

Emigh's proposed maximum penalty is a $75 fine, with no jail time.

Emigh's proposal contained unresolved ambiguities in the title and text,
which also needs additions or clarifications to "more fully and correctly
summarize" the proposal, Pryor said.