Marijuana – Page 43 – Family Council

FBI Arrests Suspected Violent Drug Traffickers in Central Arkansas

Nov 17, 2022Jerry CoxMarijuanaMarijuana

Earlier this month the FBI arrested 45 individuals suspected of being tied to drug trafficking and violent crime in Little Rock and Pine Bluff.

The arrests and indictments reportedly were the result of FBI investigations into two rival gangs in central Arkansas.

In August of 2021 DEA agents and North Little Rock Police determined that methamphetamine and fentanyl “were being mailed into Arkansas from California, and these shipments—which included kilogram-quantities of methamphetamine and thousands of pressed fentanyl pills—were then distributed to individuals in Little Rock and Pine Bluff as well as Houston, Texas.”

Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement discovered gangs were funding their violent crimes through the sale of high-grade marijuana.

Investigators reportedly found evidence of drug trafficking and travel between Arkansas and Texas, California, Arizona, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Oklahoma.

As news outlets have reported across the country, the opioid epidemic is raging in America, and drug cartels are funding their criminal enterprises with marijuana — despite many states legalizing marijuana.

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

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

Marijuana Smoke May May Be More Harmful Than Cigarettes: New Study

Nov 16, 2022Jerry CoxMarijuanaMarijuana

A new study published in the journal of the Radiological Society of North America shows marijuana smoke may be more harmful to lungs than cigarette smoke.

Researchers from Ottawa Hospital General in Canada examined some 150 lung scans from marijuana smokers, tobacco-only smokers, and nonsmokers.

The study found marijuana smokers faced higher rates of airway inflammation and emphysema than tobacco-only smokers and nonsmokers.

Seventy-five percent of marijuana smokers had emphysema — compared with only 5% of nonsmokers and 67% of tobacco smokers.

While the dangers of tobacco smoke have been well publicized for many years, the dangers of marijuana smoke are not as widely known.

The CDC reports that secondhand marijuana smoke contains THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, and that people who breathe secondhand marijuana smoke can be exposed to THC as a result.

A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found adults under age 45 who frequently use marijuana are roughly twice as likely to suffer from a heart attack as adults who do not use marijuana.

A 2019 study found that regular marijuana use increased the risk of heart problems for young people, and a 2017 study reported marijuana smokers were three times as likely to die of hypertension.

All of this 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.

Voters Reject Marijuana Issue 4 in Arkansas

Nov 9, 2022Jerry CoxMarijuanaMarijuana

*Above: Jerry Cox speaks against marijuana amendment Issue 4 during a press conference in Little Rock.*

The following is a press release from Family Council Action Committee.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, November 8, 2022

LITTLE ROCK – On Tuesday voters in Arkansas rejected Issue 4, the amendment to legalize marijuana in Arkansas.

Family Council Action Committee Executive Director Jerry Cox released a statement, saying, “This is a stunning victory for Arkansas. Supporters of Issue 4 spent more than $13 million placing it on the ballot and trying to persuade voters to support it. Arkansans knew better than to go along with that. This was a true ‘David and Goliath’ fight and David won. The campaign against Issue 4 had only a fraction of the money that the marijuana industry had, but it was defeated by a broad coalition of churches, business groups, elected officials, and citizens who knew that Issue 4 would be bad for Arkansas.”

Cox praised the broad coalition of groups and individuals who opposed Issue 4. “Defeating Issue 4 was truly a team effort. We couldn’t have defeated Issue 4 without the broad, bipartisan coalition against it. Here are just a few of the people who spoke out against this measure: Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Governor Asa Hutchinson, Lieutenant Governor Tim Griffin, U.S. Senators Boozman and Cotton, U.S. Congressmen Rick Crawford, French Hill, and Bruce Westerman, attorney David Couch, marijuana advocate Melissa Fults, the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, dozens of state lawmakers, Arkansas Farm Bureau, the Arkansas Trucking Association, the Arkansas Chamber of Commerce, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Focus on the Family, the Arkansas Faith and Ethics Council, the Republican Party of Arkansas, the Arkansas State Lodge Fraternal Order of Police, and many, many others. Every one of these individuals and organizations brought something unique to the fight against Issue 4. We were able to defeat Issue 4 today, because everybody did their part.”

Cox said he hopes tonight’s vote sends a powerful message to the corporations that want to legalize marijuana in Arkansas. “The marijuana industry spent millions of dollars trying to write itself into the Arkansas Constitution. Now they know that Arkansans do not support that kind of crony politics. Communities in Arkansas don’t want to be like Portland or Chicago. The people who backed Issue 4 should think twice before trying to legalize marijuana in our state.”