Arkansas rejects marijuana legalisation due to 'spelling and grammar errors' in proposal

'Any person eighteen (18) years of age and older' was one of the problematic phrases

58 per cent of Americans believe marijuana should be legal in the US (Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images)

Plans to legalise marijuana in Arkansas have been scuppered - by spelling errors and “ambiguities in text”.

Arkansas Attorney General, Leslie Rutledge, said “errors of grammar, punctuation and spelling” were the reason behind her rejection of the constitutional amendment, the Associated Press reports.

The proposal, written by Marry Berry, a resident of Summit, Arkansas, called for all residents to cultivate, produce, possess and use cannabis and anything produced from the plant.

Phrases queried in the proposal by Ms Rutledge included: "Any person eighteen (18) years of age and older", to which she said the “and” should have been “or”, Russia Today reports.

The phrase, “all products derived from the cannabis plant”, was declared ambiguous by Ms Rutledge, who said the products could also include other ingredients and create a potential loophole in other laws.

“State laws as it pertains to marijuana" and "number of license" were also said to be grammatically incorrect by Ms Rutledge.

Ms Berry has been told to resubmit the measure and ballot title.

In 2012, voters in Arkansas narrowly declined the legalisation of medical marijuana with 48.56 per cent approval.

A further campaign, called “The 2016 Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act”, was certified by the Arkansas Attorney General in 2014 and is collecting signatures.

Currently, first-time marijuana possession of fewer than four ounces with a misdemeanour, can lead to a year in jail and a maximum fine of $2,500 in Arkansas. A repeat offence can lead to six years in jail and a maximum fine of $10,000.

A poll, released last week by Gallup, found 58 per cent of Americans believe cannabis should be legal in the US.

Younger people were more supportive of legalisation use than those of older generations, according to the poll, although older generations were found to be more supportive now than in the past.