LITTLE ROCK — Arkansans for Compassionate Care turned in all signatures necessary to get the legalization of medical marijuana on the Nov. 6 ballot on Monday afternoon at the state capital.
A group of about 30 people appeared at at the Secretary of State's office in the lower level of the capital about 2 p.m. to turn in the estimated 74,406 signatures necessary to earn it a place on the ballot to go to a public vote.
In a campaign that has been ongoing since April of last year, Melissa Fults, the organization's treasurer, said that many people risk their freedom and that of their families daily to get medical marijuana, doing so to ensure that those who are sick get what they believe to be the correct form of treatment.
In a press conference held after the signatures were presented, several advocates spoke in favor of the bill that would legalize medical marijuana in the state. Many of those advocates claimed to be users of medical marijuana.
Fults herself said that she hopes medical marijuana is legalized to help her son with his illness without the threat of being arrested or incarcerated.
"Do I let my loved one die? Or do I break the law?" Fults said to a crowd of about 40. "... I choose to break the law, every time."
Read more about this story in tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.