Arkansas State Police Seize $3.6M Worth of Illegal Marijuana in Lonoke Co. Traffic Stop

Marijuana
Above: a suitcase full of illegal marijuana seized in Monday’s traffic stop. Photo Credit: Arkansas State Police.

On Monday the Arkansas State Police seized an estimated $3.6 million worth of illegal marijuana during a traffic stop in Lonoke County, according to an official press release. The driver reportedly was travelling from California to Florida.

While very little is known about this particular situation, it serves as a reminder that marijuana’s legalization in places like California has actually fueled the black market and the drug cartels rather than weakening them.

For example, California’s Unified Cannabis Enforcement Taskforce seized nearly $162 million worth of illegal marijuana during the first half of this year.

In New Mexico, a loophole in state law has allowed criminals to operate marijuana businesses without a proper background check, and Oregon has been inundated by industrial scale marijuana cultivation sites operated illegally by organized crime and drug cartels.

Some of these marijuana operations are tied to labor trafficking and violent crime.

Authorities in Oregon reportedly seized some 105 tons of illicit marijuana last year.

It’s worth pointing out that if Arkansas had passed marijuana amendment Issue 4 in 2022, our marijuana laws arguably would be more lax than Oregon’s and California’s in many ways. Fortunately, voters rejected that measure at the ballot box.

Contrary to popular belief, legalization does not decrease drug-related crime, and it does not alleviate drug abuse. If anything, it seems to make these problems worse.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Family Council Urges Biden Administration Not to Deny Funding to Pregnancy Resource Centers

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Last week Family Council submitted public comments to the federal government opposing a federal rule change that would prevent pro-life pregnancy resource centers from receiving federal funds under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.

Under TANF, states receive blocks of federal tax dollars that they can award to organizations and programs that:

  • Assist needy families so that children may be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives;
  • End the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage;
  • Prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies;
  • Encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.

Currently, some states award TANF funds to pregnancy resource centers and similar organizations, because these organizations help meet some or all of TANF’s purposes. However, in October the Biden Administration quietly rolled out a rule change that could stop states from giving these federal funds to pregnancy centers.

Late last week Family Council submitted formal comments to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families opposing the rule change and urging the Biden Administration not to make blanket policies excluding pregnancy resource centers from the TANF program.

As Family Council’s official comments note, the federal government is trying to withhold funding from these good organizations simply because they help women after they become pregnant rather than focusing on pregnancy prevention. The truth is many pregnancy resource centers provide everything from ultrasounds and pregnancy tests to maternity clothes, diapers, and formula — typically free of charge. There is no doubt these organizations provide actual, measurable assistance to women, children, and families. The rule change would make it more difficult for these families to find and receive assistance in their communities. It’s ridiculous for the Biden Administration to rewrite its rules to exclude these good organizations from the TANF program.

You can read a copy of Family Council’s formal comment here.

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