Growing Number of Users Struggling with Problems from Marijuana: Study

Marijuana

A new study shows a growing number of users are struggling with problems from marijuana.

Researchers writing in the Journal of Addiction Medicine found cannabis use disorder rose substantially nationwide from 2000 to 2022.

That’s concerning, because cannabis use disorder is extremely dangerous.

Medical experts generally define “cannabis use disorder” as heavy marijuana use or as the inability to stop using marijuana despite the negative consequences that it causes.

Researchers have found people with cannabis use disorder face higher risk of heart attack and stroke, paranoia and memory loss, schizophrenia, and other serious problems.

Voters in Arkansas have faced pressure to expand “medical” marijuana or legalize marijuana completely. However, as we have said for years: Marijuana may be many things, but “harmless” simply is not one of them.

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

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DEA Report Underscores How Marijuana Legalization Actually Fuels the Black Market

Marijuana

A new report by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency underscores how marijuana’s legalization in some states has actually emboldened drug cartels and fueled the black market nationwide.

In its 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment released earlier this month, the DEA writes,

Cannabis growers in states where cultivation is legal are the main suppliers of illicit
marijuana markets in the rest of the United States, growing in excess of quotas and legal market
needs. . . .

Despite these measures, during the last two decades, the black market for marijuana has expanded significantly as Chinese and other Asian TCOs [transnational criminal organizations] have taken control of the marijuana trade. These organized crime groups, as well as Mexican cartels, are profiting from both illegal cultivation and sales, and from exploiting the “legal” market.

Over the past decade we have seen how legalization has actually emboldened drug cartels and increased the flow of illegal marijuana across America.

For example, last year, California’s Unified Cannabis Enforcement Task Force seized 154,000 pounds of illegal marijuana and destroyed some 236,000 illegal marijuana plants.

According to a recent news report out of Las Vegas, illegal marijuana sales in Nevada run approximately $242 million every year in the state.

Illegal marijuana operations often are believed to be tied to labor trafficking and violent crime — contributing to what some have dubbed “modern day slavery on American soil.”

Troublingly, Chinese organized crime is dominating black market marijuana in many states. The U.S. Department of Justice says Chinese drug cartels may be making millions of dollars from illegal marijuana in states like Maine, New York, Massachusetts, and elsewhere.

Much of the illegal marijuana that authorities in Arkansas seize on a regular basis actually comes from states that have legalized the drug.

Legalizing drugs — whether it’s marijuana itself or the THC and other substances extracted from cannabis — has not worked as intended in places like California. Arkansas should think twice before making the same mistakes these states have made.

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

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Chicago Woman Suspected of Giving THC Candy to Kids at Park

Marijuana,

News outlets report a Chicago-area woman is suspected of giving candy laced with THC to children at a park.

THC is the main psychoactive substance in marijuana, and health experts warn the drug poses serious risks. State laws permitting recreational marijuana — as well as loopholes in some laws governing industrial hemp — have led to an alarming rise in candies and drinks laced with THC.

ABC7 Chicago reports:

Officers responded to reports that four children had become ill at the park after eating candy handed out by an unknown woman. All of them were taken to a hospital, where one tested positive for THC, a psychoactive compound found in cannabis, Wheeling police said.

Police searched the park and found a THC milk chocolate product.

Nationwide, marijuana products like these — including gummies, candies, and other edibles containing THC — are sending kids to the emergency room.

Edibles laced with THC often mimic popular candies that appeal to children, but their high concentrations of THC make these products dangerous.

From heart disease and cancer to stroke, mental illness, and birth defects, marijuana has repeatedly been found to pose serious health hazards.

This year, multiple bills legalizing THC-infused drinks were filed at the Arkansas Legislature.

H.B. 1578 specifically would have legalized drinks containing THC in Arkansas. H.B. 1722 would have legalized e-cigarettes, food, drinks, and other products containing THC. A similar bill — S.B. 455 — would have legalized THC products as well.

Fortunately, none of these bills passed this year, and lawmakers actually enacted a measure to prohibit THC.

All of this simply underscores what we have said for years: Marijuana may be many things, but “harmless” simply is not one of them.

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

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