Responsible Growth expects plenty of signatures, ready for legal battles June 30, 2022 By Griffin Coop The leader of the industry-backed group working to legalize recreational marijuana in Arkansas expects the group to turn in more than the required number of signatures by next week’s deadline and said Thursday his group is prepared for legal challenges. Responsible Growth Arkansas, which has raised nearly $2 million, needs at least 89,151 verified signatures by July 8 to make the ballot. Campaign chair Eddie Armstrong said Thursday he expects the group to turn in more than 100,000 verified signatures by the deadline. “The status of the campaign is very confident as we’ve always been,” Armstrong said. The ballot title will also need to be certified by the state Board of Election Commissioners. Responsible Growth Arkansas, funded primarily by donations from the state’s first five cultivators, is prepared for a variety of legal challenges, including challenges over the signatures, Armstrong said. “Our team has strategically been put together in anticipation of any challenges that may come our way,” Armstrong said. “We understand that we potentially could face a ballot challenge or a signature challenge and I believe we are prepared for both if we should be met with them.” The group’s campaign for the amendment will start in early fall, Armstrong said, although he declined to say what the campaign might look like. Known as the Arkansas Adult Use Cannabis Amendment, the measure would increase the number of cultivators from 8 to 20 and the number of dispensaries from 40 to 120.
