Jerry Cox – Page 1125 – Family Council

Family Council Action Committee Opposes Marijuana Measure

Jun 20, 2016Jerry CoxMarijuanaMarijuana

The following press release is from Family Council Action Committee.

On Monday, Arkansans for Compassionate Care submitted petition signatures to the Arkansas Secretary of State requesting a measure legalizing “medical” marijuana be certified for the November 2016 ballot.

Family Council Action Committee Executive Director Jerry Cox released a statement saying, “Arkansans need to know the truth about marijuana. This measure lets most marijuana users grow marijuana at home without sufficient oversight. Marijuana is not classified as medicine. It isn’t overseen by pharmacists or the federal Food and Drug Administration. Studies increasingly find a connection between marijuana use and cognitive problems and reductions in IQ. Many researchers even link marijuana with schizophrenia later in life.”

Cox said the proposal has many of the same flaws as a similar ballot measure proposed in 2012. “This new proposal isn’t any better than the proposal from 2012. Arguably, this measure makes it easier for just about anyone to use marijuana, because it lists more qualifying conditions than the 2012 proposal. It still lets marijuana users grow marijuana at home. Marijuana won’t be prescribed by a doctor through a pharmacy. The proposal forces the State of Arkansas to come up with tax dollars to establish a marijuana program at the Arkansas Department of Health. Governor Mike Beebe’s administration determined in 2012 that was going to cost Arkansas taxpayers severely. This new proposal does not fix that problem. Arkansas taxpayers are going to be stuck footing the bill to support someone else’s marijuana habit.”

Cox said the proposal fails to help children with seizures. “People backing this measure and similar proposals keep talking about marijuana extracts and oils can help children with seizures. If that’s true, then why is this measure written so broadly? The wording of this proposal doesn’t focus on children or on oils or extracts. It’s about otherwise-healthy adults buying, growing, and smoking marijuana. The number-one reason children in Arkansas are in foster care is drug abuse by their parents. In states that have legalized marijuana, we have seen stories of children rushed to the emergency room after accidentally overdosing on cookies or candies laced with marijuana. This proposal isn’t going to help children. It’s going to put children at risk.”

Cox said the proposal is about complete legalization of marijuana. “Two of the nation’s top supporters of marijuana legalization are backing this measure. If this proposal isn’t about full legalization of marijuana, then why else would they support it?”

Cox said the measure does not properly regulate marijuana use. “If marijuana is medicine, then it should be regulated like medicine. This proposal does not do that. If marijuana is no different from alcohol, then it should be regulated like alcohol. This proposal doesn’t do that, either. All this measure does is make it easier for people to grow and smoke marijuana.”

Family Council Action Committee is a conservative 501(c)(4) organization based in Little Rock, Arkansas.

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Despite Legalization, Illegal Marijuana Sale Leads to Deaths in CO

Jun 17, 2016Jerry CoxMarijuanaMarijuana

According to the Denver Post, prosecutors in Colorado have charged three men in the case of a marijuana-related shooting that occurred earlier this month.

The Denver District Attorney said,

“The charges allege that Evans, Jones, and Turrentine came to Denver from Oklahoma to illegally purchase several pounds of marijuana, and that during the transaction on June 3, 2016, they shot and killed two men and tried to kill five others.”

The Denver Post writes, “Police have called the shooting deaths the result of a ‘drug deal gone extremely bad.'”

This situation underscores the fact that, contrary to the claims of many, black market marijuana sales continue even following full legalization of marijuana. For example, reports from Colorado in 2012 indicated so-called “medical” marijuana legalization had spawned illegal drug trafficking.

A study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in April 2012 found 74% of teens surveyed in two Colorado substance abuse facilities had used “medical” marijuana intended for someone else.The study surveyed 164 teens ages 14-18. Of these teens, 122 admitted to using “medical” marijuana; only 1 was legally qualified to do so.

Important News About New Home School Regulations

Jun 17, 2016Jerry CoxHome SchoolHome School

Recently the Arkansas Department of Education changed the process home schooled students follow when applying for a driver’s license, despite the fact state laws governing the process have not changed.

Arkansas Code Section 27-16-701(d)(2) says home schoolers under the age of eighteen must present “a notarized copy of the written notice of intent to home school” when applying for a driver’s license; this law has been on the books for quite some time, and it has not changed or been amended. However, the Arkansas Department of Education removed the notary section from the 2016-2017 Notice of Intent to Home School, making it difficult for home schoolers to comply with this portion of the law.

The department also says home schoolers must now provide a signed copy of the Notice of Intent when they apply for a driver’s license rather than a notarized copy, despite state law to the contrary; the State Board of Education has proposed rules and regulations to this effect for home schoolers as well, again, despite state law saying the Notice of Intent must be notarized rather than merely signed.

These new rules from the Department of Education and the State Board of Education create a dilemma for home schoolers, because they contradict state laws passed by the Arkansas Legislature. These new rules from the Department of Education contain requirements not found in state law and essentially ask home schoolers to violate the law when applying for a driver’s license.

Altogether, we feel these department rules are not consistent with Arkansas’ Home School Law or Arkansas’ laws governing driver’s licenses, and we are working to correct the situation.

The Arkansas Department of Education will hold a hearing Friday, July 29, 2016, at 1:30 P.M. in downtown Little Rock at the Department of Education’s auditorium to discuss these new rules and regulations for home schoolers. This hearing is open to the public, and participants will be allowed to voice their opinions or submit written opinions to the Arkansas Department of Education.

We are already providing written comments to the department and have been in communication with the commissioner of the Department of Education, Johnny Key. Hopefully, we will have solved this problem before the hearing occurs, but anyone who wants to attend the hearing to voice their concerns may do so.

You can read the proposed rules and regulations here (the portions related to driver’s license applications are on the final page). You can submit written comments ahead of the hearing to Jennifer Davis at ADE.RulesComments@arkansas.gov.

We have been working with the Arkansas Department of Education to correct this situation, and we plan to continue to work with them and other state agencies as necessary to ensure state rules and regulations are consistent with our state’s home school laws so that home schoolers are not placed in the difficult position of choosing between obeying the law and obeying a state regulation. Unlike many home school groups in other states, we have enjoyed an excellent relationship with the Home School Office at the state Department of Education for a number of years. We trust the Department of Education will work with us and all home schoolers to resolve this situation quickly.