Marijuana – Page 51 – Family Council

Sarah Huckabee Sanders Issues Statement Against Marijuana Amendment

Oct 5, 2022Jerry CoxMarijuanaMarijuana

*Photo Credit: Family Council Action Committee via Facebook.*

On Tuesday Republican gubernatorial candidate Sarah Sanders issued a statement opposing Issue 4, a proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize marijuana in Arkansas.

Sanders’s statement says,

I don’t think that with the drug epidemic that we have across this state, frankly across the country, that adding and giving more access to that does anything to benefit Arkansas, so I certainly wouldn’t be supportive of that.”

Sanders is the latest leader to speak out against Issue 4.

In September Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, former Governor Mike Huckabee, Lt. Governor Tim Griffin, Congressman French Hill, and U.S. Senator Tom Cotton issued statements opposing Issue 4.

A growing body of research underscores the dangers associated with marijuana legalization.

For example, a report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that states that legalized commercial marijuana sales saw self-harm rates rise by 46% among men ages 21 to 39.

Marijuana can have damaging effects on adolescent brains — including permanent loss in IQ, difficulty thinking and problem-solving, reduced coordination, and increased risk of psychosis.

As we have said in the past, Issue 4 — the proposed marijuana amendment — makes sweeping changes to Arkansas’ constitution and state laws.

It repeals, replaces, and rewrites several parts of Arkansas’ medical marijuana amendment that voters passed in 2016, it adds new language to other parts of the Arkansas Constitution, and it drastically expands marijuana in every community in Arkansas.

It is unclear just how far-reaching some of these changes may be.

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

Group Launches Statewide Campaign Tour Against Marijuana Legalization

Oct 5, 2022Jerry CoxMarijuanaMarijuana

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

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — On Tuesday Family Council Action Committee announced plans for a statewide campaign opposing marijuana legalization in Arkansas.

Family Council Action Committee Executive Director Jerry Cox released a statement, saying, “Today we are launching a statewide tour to urge Arkansans to vote against Issue 4. It’s hard to believe an amendment this bad is actually on the ballot in Arkansas. In the next few days our team will hold meetings in twenty-five cities and towns across the state, where we will urge voters not to legalize marijuana in Arkansas. We are also launching a radio campaign against Issue 4, and we plan to equip and mobilize hundreds of churches across Arkansas to oppose the measure.”

Cox said Issue 4’s language is misleading. “The marijuana industry did not write this amendment to help Arkansans. They wrote it to help themselves. If Issue 4 passes, marijuana businesses in Arkansas will be controlled by owners who don’t even live here, and only a fraction of Issue 4’s piddly sales tax will go toward police officers or cancer research. It’s a misleading amendment that repeals and rewrites large parts of the Arkansas Constitution without fully explaining those changes to the voters.”

Cox said he wants Arkansans to understand exactly what Issue 4 would do. “Issue 4 writes an unrestricted marijuana industry into the Arkansas Constitution. City councils and quorum courts will be powerless to regulate it. State lawmakers won’t be able to raise taxes on it. Law enforcement won’t be able to prevent organized crime and drug cartels from purchasing marijuana businesses in Arkansas. We are calling on the people of Arkansas to vote against Issue 4 this November. Our state simply does not need another drug problem.”

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Here Are A Few Problems Associated With Marijuana Legalization and Use

Sep 29, 2022Jerry CoxMarijuanaMarijuana

Marijuana legalization and use are tied to a whole host of problems related to law enforcement, public safety, mental health, and other topics.

Here are a few examples of the harm that marijuana causes.

DANGER ON THE ROAD

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the CDC report that after alcohol, marijuana is the substance most often associated with impaired driving.

In Colorado traffic fatalities where the driver tested positive for marijuana have increased 138% since the state legalized marijuana in 2013.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety estimates that the number of drivers involved in fatal crashes in Washington doubled after the state legalized marijuana.

A 2020 study published in JAMA Network Open found that more than 1 in 8 teen drivers reported recently driving after using marijuana, and teens were more than twice as likely to drive after using marijuana than they were to drink and drive.

FUELING THE BLACK MARKET

Despite heavy regulation, authorities in Colorado seized more than five and a half tons of illicit marijuana intended for the black market in 2020.

This year, the Associated Press and NBC News have reported that organized crime and drug cartels are responsible for growing and distributing illicit market marijuana throughout Oregon and California despite legalization. Some of these criminal organizations are tied to labor trafficking, illegal immigration, theft, and violent crime.

DANGEROUS FOR MOTHERS AND CHILDREN

In 2021 a study published in Addiction found infants were 35% more likely to be born preterm, have a low birth weight, and be small for their gestational age, and were more likely to die within a year of birth if their mother used marijuana heavily during pregnancy.

A 2022 study published in JAMA Pediatrics found children and adolescents face an increased risk of mental disorder if their mothers used marijuana during pregnancy.

ACCIDENTAL EXPOSURE AND SECONDHAND SMOKE

Since its legalization in Colorado, ER visits and poison control calls have increased as a result of children accidentally eating food laced with marijuana.

According to the CDC, secondhand marijuana smoke contains THC and can be harmful to infants, children, and others exposed to it.

WORSENING THE MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS

In a 2022 study published in The Lancet, researchers determined that THC concentrations in marijuana have more than doubled in the U.S. over the past decade, and that using marijuana with high levels of THC was linked to an increased risk of psychosis.

A 2019 study published in The Lancet found using marijuana with THC levels exceeding 10% increased the odds of a person suffering a psychotic episode.

A 2021 report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found self-harm rates rose 46% among men ages 21 to 39 in states where commercial marijuana sales were legalized.