Arkansas brings medical pot to Bible Belt, but fights remain

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     (AP) – Arkansas voters have handed marijuana advocates a

significant victory by making the state the first in the Bible Belt to legalize

the drug for medical use, and groups on both sides of the issue are now gearing

up for fights over how to set up the program in the coming months.

     The medical marijuana proposal was narrowly approved Tuesday despite

opposition of several powerful industry groups and the state’s Republican

governor, who once served as head of the Drug Enforcement Administration. The

move came four years after a similar measure failed at the ballot box.

     Opponents vowed to keep pushing for legislation or regulations to limit the

measure, even as the state faces a June 2017 deadline to start taking

applications for dispensaries that will sell the drug.




   

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