LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) 鈥� There are few surprises expected on Election Day in solidly Republican Arkansas, where Donald Trump's is heavily favored in the race for governor and other GOP candidates are considered locks.
But one big exception is the campaign to make Arkansas the first state in the South to legalize recreational marijuana. is drawing millions of dollars from opponents and supporters of legalization, with ads crowding the airwaves.
President Joe Biden's recent announcement that he will for simple marijuana possession has shined a new spotlight on the legalization efforts in Arkansas and four other states. Voters in , , and are also taking up measures on recreational marijuana.
toward decriminalizing the drug could provide a boost for legalization in some of the most conservative parts of the country, experts say.
鈥淭he most powerful elected leader in the world has publicly declared it was a mistake to criminalize people for using cannabis and I think that will go a long way with regard to voters who may be on the fence," said Mason Tvert, partner at VS Strategies, a cannabis policy and public affairs firm.
Biden's announcement only covers people convicted under the federal law. But he has called on governors to issue similar pardons for those convicted of state marijuana offenses, which reflect the vast majority of marijuana possession cases. The president also directed his to review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.
The moves come as opposition to legalization has softened around the country, with recreational marijuana legal in 19 states, despite resistance at the federal level. Advocates say it shows that states are ahead of the federal government on the issue.
鈥淚 think it's an example of state level leadership and citizens pushing the federal government in the right direction," said Eddie Armstrong, a former state legislator who leads the group campaigning for legalization.
In 2016, Arkansas became the first Bible Belt state to , with voters approving a legalization measure. to legally buy marijuana from state-licensed dispensaries, . Patients have spent more than $200 million so far this year, the state says.
An ad by Responsible Growth Arkansas points to benefits such as the thousands of jobs it says legalization would create. The main group opposing the measure is running an ad that urges voters to 鈥減rotect Arkansas from big marijuana.鈥�
The proposal faces opposition from Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a former head of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration who criticized Biden's pardon announcement. Former White House press secretary , the Republican front-runner to succeed Hutchinson, has said she will vote against the measure. Her Democratic rival, Chris Jones, said he supports it.
In neighboring Missouri, a proposed constitutional amendment would legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older and of past arrests and convictions for nonviolent marijuana offenses, except for selling to minors or driving under the influence.
Supporters said they do not expect Biden鈥檚 pardon announcement for some federal marijuana offenses to have much of an impact on the Missouri measure, which could expunge several hundred thousand state marijuana offenses.
鈥淭here is some danger of confusion, but I think most people understand the distinction of the federal and state processes,鈥� said John Payne, campaign manager for .
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican and former sheriff, opposes the ballot measure but has not aggressively campaigned against it. He has no plans to emulate Biden鈥檚 pardon announcement.
Parson has granted pardons 鈥渢o individuals who demonstrate a changed life-style, commitment to rehabilitation, contrition and contribution to their communities 鈥� rather than as a blanket approach to undermine existing law,鈥� said Parson spokesperson Kelli Jones.
Similarly, North Dakota's legalization campaign does not expect to incorporate Biden's pardons into its messaging. Mark Friese, treasurer of the backing the legalization ballot proposal, said he doubts Biden鈥檚 pardon will have much of an impact in North Dakota or sway the legalization effort.
鈥淭he number of North Dakotans convicted in federal court is small,鈥� said Friese, a prominent North Dakota lawyer and former police officer. 鈥淪mall amounts of marijuana are typically and historically not prosecuted in North Dakota.鈥�
Matt Schwiech, who is running South Dakota鈥檚 ballot initiative campaign to legalize recreational marijuana possession for adults, said the president鈥檚 pardons may hand the campaign a boost with older Democrats. It also underscores the campaign鈥檚 message that convictions for pot possession hurt people on job or rental applications, as well as that enforcing pot possession laws are a waste of time and resources for law enforcement, he said.
South Dakotans, including a sizable number of Republicans, voted to legalize marijuana possession in 2020, but that law was in part because the proposal was coupled with medical marijuana and hemp. This year, recreational pot is standing by itself as it goes before voters.
It remains unclear whether Biden's pardon move will inject party politics into an issue that supporters say crosses partisan lines. For example, Arkansas voters in 2016 approved medical marijuana the same year they overwhelmingly backed Trump.
All of the states with recreational marijuana on the ballot next month, except for Maryland, voted for Trump in the 2020 presidential election. And the issue is going before voters as GOP candidates have been stepping up their .
鈥淔rom our perspective the people of Arkansas, they didn鈥檛 vote for Biden initially and so we don鈥檛 anticipate this really having any sort of influence over anybody鈥檚 decision,鈥� said Tyler Beaver, campaign manager for , the main group campaigning against the proposal.
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Associated Press writers David A. Lieb in Jefferson City, Missouri; Stephen Groves in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and James MacPherson in Bismarck, North Dakota; contributed to this report.
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Andrew Demillo, The Associated Press
