Source: https://drugpolicyeducation.org/read-the-amendments/
Timestamp: 2019-09-17 02:09:56
Document Index: 733006049

Matched Legal Cases: ['§1', '§2', '§4', '§9', '§10', '§ 6', '§ 6', '§4', '§5', '§6', '§ 3', '§7', '§1', '§8', '§9', '§10', '§10', '§3', '§ 5']

READ THE AMENDMENTS – Drug Policy Education Group – Arkansas
This is an amendment to the Arkansas Constitution to authorize the possession of cannabis, also known as marijuana, by adults for personal use under state law, acknowledging that possession and sale of cannabis is currently illegal under federal law; to confirm that the regulation, possession and sale of medical marijuana under Amendment 98 to the Arkansas Constitution will continue unchanged; to authorize the state Alcohol Beverage Control Division of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration to issue licenses to commercial establishments to cultivate, process and sell cannabis to adults for personal use, to promulgate rules for that purpose and to require licenses to begin issuance within 120 days of the effective date of this amendment; to authorize dispensaries and cultivation facilities with a valid license under Amendment 98 to sell cannabis for adult personal use beginning on December 4, 2020; to authorize the number of commercial establishments licensed to conduct retail sales of cannabis to at least one per county and thirty (30) per Congressional district; to authorize the number of commercial establishments licensed to cultivate cannabis to one (1) per two hundred fifty thousand (250,000) residents; to authorize the Alcohol Beverage Control Division of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration to promulgate rules providing for issuance of dispensary and cultivation licenses by lottery; to provide that all commercial establishments licensed to cultivate, process or sell cannabis to adults for personal use must be located at least one thousand (1000) feet from a pre-existing school or church; to provide for state taxation of the retail sales of cannabis and to direct tax revenue to be used first to fund the cost of the regulatory program, with excess revenue directed as follows: 60% to fund and operate public pre-kindergarten and after school programs and 40% to fund the operations of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; to authorize municipalities and counties to prohibit commercial cannabis retail sales within the jurisdiction by a majority vote in accordance with Article 5, §1 of the Arkansas Constitution; to authorize the Alcohol Beverage Control Division of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration to promulgate rules establishing controlled access requirements for cannabis plants on residential property and security, laboratory testing, and processing requirements for cannabis plants and products by licensed cultivation facilities, processing facilities and dispensaries; to authorize adults to possess up to 4 ounces of cannabis flower, 2 ounces of cannabis concentrate, edible products containing cannabis with tetrahydrocannabiol (THC) content of 200 mg or less and to cultivate up to six cannabis seedlings and six cannabis flowering plants for personal use on residential property owned by the adult in possession of the plants or with the written permission of the property owner.
This amendment to the Arkansas Constitution shall be known as the “Arkansas Adult Use Cannabis Amendment.”
§2 Effective Date
The provisions in §4, §9, and §10 of this amendment shall become effective the day after its passage by popular vote of the people, without regard to certification of the vote by the Secretary of State. The remaining sections shall become effective 60 days after passage of the amendment by popular vote of the people.
a) “Adult” means a resident of the State of Arkansas who is over the age of twenty-one (21).
b) “Cannabinoid” means any of the chemical compounds that are the active constituents of cannabis.
b) “Cannabis concentrate” means a substance obtained by extracting cannabinoids from cannabis through mechanical or chemical means.
c) “Cannabis flower” means the flowering bud of a cannabis plant which has been dried, cured, frozen or otherwise preserved for consumption through combustion or vaporization or preserved for further processing.
d) “Cultivation facility” means a commercial establishment authorized to cultivate, prepare, package and deliver cannabis flower to processing facilities for processing into cannabis concentrates or edible products containing cannabis or to dispensaries for retail sale.
e) “Dispensary” means a commercial establishment authorized to cultivate, prepare, package, sell or deliver cannabis flowers, cannabis concentrates and edible products containing cannabis to adults. A dispensary shall be authorized to cultivate cannabis in quantities set by the Alcohol Beverage Control Division of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, which shall be no less than 200 mature cannabis plants and 200 cannabis seedlings at any one time.
f) “Edible products containing cannabis” means a commercially-prepared product containing cannabis flower or cannabis concentrate that is intended to be consumed as food or drink. Such products may contain no more than 10 mg of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) per serving.
g) “Mature cannabis plant” means a cannabis plant that is flowering.
h) “Processing facility” means a commercial establishment authorized to prepare, extract and package cannabis flower into cannabis concentrates or edible products containing cannabis and deliver such products to dispensaries for retail sale.
i) “School” means a facility or building operated by a public school district; open-enrollment public charter school, as defined in Ark. Code Ann. § 6-23-103; or a private entity including parochial schools providing preschool, elementary, or secondary education but does not include postsecondary institutions of higher education, community colleges, or the residences of students being homeschooled under Ark. Code Ann. § 6-15-501, et. seq.
§4 Possession; Immediate Retail Sales
a) On December 4, 2020, adults are authorized under state law to possess cannabis, also known as marijuana, for personal use, acknowledging that possession and sale of cannabis is currently illegal under federal law.
b) Adults may possess up to 4 ounces of cannabis flower, 2 ounces of cannabis concentrate and edible products containing cannabis with tetrahydrocannabiol (THC) content of 200 mg or less at any one time.
c) Adults may also cultivate up to six cannabis seedlings and six mature cannabis plants for personal use on residential property that is owned by the adult in possession of the plants or with the written permission of the property owner.
d) Beginning on December 4, 2020, under the provisions of this section dispensaries with a valid license under Amendment 98 shall be authorized to sell cannabis to adults for personal use and cultivation facilities with a valid license under Amendment 98 shall be authorized to sell cannabis to dispensaries for retail sale to adults for personal use.
§5 Effect on Amendment 98
This amendment shall not affect the provisions of Amendment 98 or the regulations implementing the possession and sale of medical marijuana under Amendment 98.
§6 Cultivation Facility, Processing Facility and Dispensary Licensing and Regulation
a) The Alcohol Beverage Control Division of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration is directed to begin issuance of licenses to processing facilities and to provide public notice of the intent to issue cultivation and dispensary licenses within one hundred and twenty (120) days of the effective date of this amendment. Application fees for a dispensary or processor shall initially be no more than $5,000 and annual licensing fees shall initially be no more than $1,000; application fees for a cultivation facility shall initially be no more than $15,000 and annual licensing fees shall initially be no more than $5,000. The Alcohol Beverage Control Board may authorize an increase in application and licensing fees when warranted, so long as the increased fee is not more than 10% higher on an annual basis.
b) The number of dispensary licenses shall be at least one (1) per county and thirty (30) per Congressional district. The number of cultivation facility licenses shall be limited to one (1) per two hundred fifty thousand (250,000) residents. The population and number of licenses to be issued shall be determined by the Board of the Alcohol Beverage Control Division of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration within ninety (90) days of the effective date of this amendment.
c) All commercial establishments licensed to cultivate, process or sell cannabis to adults for personal use must be located at least one thousand (1000) feet from a pre-existing school or church.
d) Within one hundred and twenty (120) days of the effective date of this amendment, the Alcohol Beverage Control Division of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration shall promulgate rules providing for the issuance of dispensary and cultivation licenses by lottery using procedures substantially similar to those currently provided in Ark. Code Ann. § 3-4-208 for retail sales of alcohol.
e) Within one hundred and twenty (120) days of the effective date of this amendment, the Alcohol Beverage Control Division of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration shall promulgate rules establishing the following:
1) Controlled access requirements for cannabis plants cultivated on residential property;
2) Security requirements for cannabis plants and products on the premises of licensed cultivation facilities, processing facilities and dispensaries;
3) Standards and procedures for laboratory testing of cannabis flower, cannabis concentrates and edible products containing cannabis prior to retail sale;
4) Standards and procedures for the processing of cannabis flower into cannabis concentrates and edible products containing cannabis; and
5) Other rules necessary to effectuate the intent of this amendment.
§7 Local Option Elections
a) Political subdivisions of this State are prohibited from creating or modifying existing zoning ordinances to restrict or impede cultivation facilities, processing facilities, or dispensaries from locating in any area that is not zoned for residential-use only on the date of the passage of this amendment.
b) A political subdivision may prohibit commercial cannabis retail sales by a majority vote in accordance with Article 5, §1 of the Arkansas Constitution.
c) The Alcohol Beverage Control Division of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration may promulgate rules to implement this section
§8 Tax Revenue
a) The state may levy an additional sales tax on retail sales of cannabis flower, cannabis concentrate and edible products containing cannabis which may not exceed 10%. No excise taxes may be levied on wholesale sales.
b) To fulfill the purposes of this amendment, the Arkansas General Assembly shall from time to time enact laws, and appropriate monies to or for the use of the Alcohol Beverage Control Division of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Initial laws and appropriations enacted by the General Assembly pursuant hereto shall be in full force and effect no later than January 1, 2021.
c) All revenues derived from the retail sales tax shall be used first to fund the salaries and operating expenses of the Alcohol Beverage Control Division of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration as necessary to license and regulate cultivation facilities, processing facilities and dispensaries.
d) Excess revenue from the retail sales tax shall be directed as follows: 60% to fund and operate public pre-kindergarten and after-school programs and 40% to fund the operations of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Funding priority shall be given to pre-kindergarten and after-school programs in schools with the highest percentage of children eligible for free and reduced-price meals under the guidelines published by the United States Department of Agriculture.
§9 Severability; Inconsistent Provisions Inapplicable
a) If any part or subpart of this amendment or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect any other provisions or application of the amendment that can be given effect without the invalid provisions or applications, and to this end the provisions of this amendment are declared to be severable.
b) All provisions of the Constitution, statutes, and common law of this State, including without limitation laws forbidding the possession, cultivation and use of cannabis, to the extent inconsistent or in conflict with any provision of this amendment are expressly declared null and void as to, and do not apply to, any activities allowed under this amendment.
§10 Legislative Authority to Modify this Amendment
(a) The General Assembly may not modify, repeal or otherwise nullify the provisions of this amendment without a vote of three-fourths of each house.
(b) Notwithstanding §10(a), the General Assembly may not modify, repeal, or otherwise nullify Sections 2, 4, 6, 8, or 9 of this amendment.
This is an amendment to the Arkansas Constitution to allow persons convicted of possession, cultivation, manufacture, distribution or sale of less than sixteen (16) ounces of cannabis, also known as marijuana, six (6) or fewer mature cannabis plants or cannabis paraphernalia prior to the effective date of this amendment to petition a court for release from incarceration, reduction of sentence, expungement of the conviction and/or restoration of rights and to authorize the creation of dedicated court for this purpose.
This amendment to the Arkansas Constitution shall be known as the “Arkansas Marijuana Expungement Amendment.”
The provisions of this amendment shall become effective December 1, 2020.
§3 Petitions for Relief from Cannabis Criminal Convictions
Any person with felony or misdemeanor convictions within the State of Arkansas prior to the effective date of this amendment for the possession, cultivation, manufacture, distribution or sale of:
less than sixteen (16) ounces of cannabis, also known as marijuana;
six (6) or fewer mature cannabis plants; or
paraphernalia intended for use with cannabis, as defined by Ark. Code Ann. § 5-64-101, et seq.
may petition the courts for relief from the conviction. Relief shall be determined by the courts and may include release from incarceration, reduction of remaining sentence, expungement of a conviction, and/or restoration of voting rights.
On or before the effective date of this amendment, the Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court shall create the Cannabis Conviction Relief Court for the sole purpose of hearing petitions from persons convicted of cannabis-related crimes. The Chief Justice shall appoint a retired circuit or chancery court judge to preside over the court and the operations of the court shall be funded by cannabis sales tax revenue. The court shall hear petitions for relief for a period of at least five (5) years from the effective date of this amendment.
Persons with a conviction qualifying for relief shall file a petition with the court on a form developed for that purpose by the Administrative Office of the Courts, which it shall make readily available on its website and by mail at no cost to the petitioner. The court shall expeditiously consider all petitions filed and order such relief as may be warranted under this amendment.
4 Severability; Inconsistent Provisions Inapplicable
b) All provisions of the Constitution, statutes, and common law of this State to the extent inconsistent or in conflict with any provision of this amendment are expressly declared null and void as to and do not apply to, any activities allowed under this amendment.
5 Legislative Authority to Modify this Amendment
(a) The General Assembly may not modify, repeal or otherwise nullify the provisions of this amendment.