People In Arkansas Are Voting On Expanding Medical Marijuana. A Court Ruled Their Votes Won't Be Counted

Arkansas voters will vote on a proposed medical marijuana expansion but their votes will never be counted.

The state Supreme Court ruled the ballot measure was misleading.

The proposed constitutional amendment would have modified the state's current medical marijuana program, Little Rock Public Radio reported.

It would have loosened rules around medical marijuana in the state. The proposed changes include broadening the definition of medical workers who can validate a patient's need for medical cannabis, expanding the eligible conditions for its use and making medical cannabis cards valid for three years.

Election officials did not have time to remove the measure from the ballot before early voting began.

The court ruling means that any votes cast for the measure will not be counted, the Associated Press reported.

The Supreme Court sided with Protect Arkansas Kids, which brought a legal challenge against the proposal.

The justices ruled that the measure failed to clearly inform Arkansas voters that it would prevent lawmakers from changing the amendment that legalized medical marijuana.

The justices also took issue with a provision that would allow possession of up to an ounce of marijuana if the drug is legalized on a federal level.

Arkansans for Patient Access, the group behind the ballot, measure issued a statement criticizing the court ruling.

"We are deeply disappointed in the Court's decision. It seems politics has triumphed over legal precedent," the group stated. "The medical marijuana program is strongly supported by the people, evidently not so much by the politicians."