Medical Marijuana Supporters Take To Airwaves

Arkansans for Compassionate Care, the group supporting the medical marijuana initiative, has launched a major media campaign in Arkansas to promote Issue No. 5.

The act, which will be on the November ballot, would allow for up to 30 nonprofit dispensaries in Arkansas. Local cities and counties could choose to ban them.

Marijuana would only be available to people with a prescription for certain health conditions, including cancer, glaucoma, Hepatitis C, HIV/AIDs, Alzheimer’s disease and several other conditions. The proposal allows for a patient to have up to 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana without the threat of prosecution

Chris Kell, campaign strategist with Arkansans for Compassionate Care (ACC), said the ads started last Tuesday and will be up through Election Day. Kell added that the ads are airing on broadcast and cable TV statewide.

“We’ll have a zero balance for our campaign on Election Day,” Kell said of the group’s all-out effort to promote the issue’s passage.

Opponents of the measure, led by conservative groups and law enforcement, have put forth a TV ad that argues against Issue No. 5, but their paid media efforts have been light.

In the ACC’s ad, which you can view below, a Fayetteville resident named Emily Williams discusses her positive experience with medical marijuana after being diagnosed with cancer.

She implores at the end of the ad to “please support Issue No. 5.”

A recent Talk Business-Hendrix College Poll finds 38% support for the medical marijuana measure, while 54% oppose it. Kell said he thinks the group’s media campaign will shift public opinion.

“As I travel the state and talk to folks, once they hear the stories and get the effect of what this movement is about, it changes their opinion significantly,” Kell said.

He also indicated that in the next few days a new ad would begin airing that will feature a Gulf War veteran.