Weeding Out Crime: Arkansas State Police Seized 15K+ Pounds of Illegal Marijuana Last Year

Marijuana

The Arkansas State Police seized more than 15,000 pounds of illegal marijuana in 2024.

In a news release, the ASP reported its Interstate Criminal Patrol played a key role in the seizures, noting,

Illegal marijuana seizures increased by approximately 50%, with more than 15,000 pounds confiscated in 2024, compared to just over 10,000 pounds in 2023. Cash seizures more than doubled, from $1.4 million in 2023 to $3.3 million in 2024. Methamphetamine seizures increased significantly from 56 pounds in 2023 to 509 pounds in 2024.

Besides illegal marijuana, authorities also confiscated 89 pounds of illegal THC wax and more than 3,700 THC vapes.

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

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.

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.

We appreciate the hard work of the Arkansas State Police keeping illegal drugs out of our communities.

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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Arkansas House Committee Advances Two Good Bill Addressing Ballot Initiatives

Legislation,

On Monday the Arkansas House State Agencies Committee advanced two good bills strengthening Arkansas’ laws concerning ballot initiatives.

S.B. 208 by Sen. Kim Hammer (R — Benton) and Rep. Kendon Underwood (R — Cave Springs) requires petition canvassers to verify a person’s identity via photo ID before obtaining the person’s signature on a petition. This helps prevent people from fraudulently signing someone else’s name on a petition.

S.B. 211 by Sen. Kim Hammer (R — Benton) and Rep. Kendon Underwood (R — Cave Springs) requires petition canvassers to file an affidavit with the Secretary of State verifying that the canvasser complied with the Arkansas Constitution and all Arkansas laws concerning canvassing, perjury, forgery, and fraud in the process of gathering signatures.

Both bills have already passed the Arkansas Senate. They now go to the entire Arkansas House of Representatives for a final vote.

As we have said many times, Arkansas’ ballot initiative process has become the opposite of what it was intended to be. Its original intent was to give citizens a way to enact laws and amendments on their own. But today, powerful special interests are able to exploit the ballot initiative process for personal gain.

Pro-life leaders have provided committee testimony alleging that canvassers for the 2024 Arkansas Abortion Amendment violated state law and were paid $500 bonuses for “altercations” with pro-lifers who opposed the abortion amendment.

If the Arkansas Legislature does not enact good laws that bring accountability and transparency to the ballot initiation process, these problems will simply continue to get worse.

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

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Resolution Filed Recognizing Home Schooling in Arkansas

Home School, Legislation,
Above: Rep. Cooper presents legislation in this file photo from 2021.

On Monday Rep. Cameron Cooper (R — Romance) filed H.R. 1046 recognizing February 26 as Homeschool Day at the Arkansas State Capitol.

The resolution highlights many of the good things about home schooling and celebrates home schooling’s legacy in Arkansas, saying,

WHEREAS, over thirty thousand (30,000) students were homeschooled in Arkansas during the 2023-2024 school year; and

WHEREAS, homeschooling offers flexibility, efficiency, and effectiveness in teaching students in Arkansas, and this benefit allows homeschooling families to offer increased opportunities for community involvement and service to others for their children; and

WHEREAS, homeschooling is not a one-size-fits-all plan, and the education can be customized to the student’s learning styles and preferences and can be beneficial to students with special needs; and

WHEREAS, homeschooling provides benefits in academics, mental health, physical health, and social development; and

WHEREAS, homeschooling encourages autonomy and independence and allows children to harness their own unique qualities and interests; and

WHEREAS, homeschooling offers opportunities for students to learn entrepreneurship and often to begin working on their own small businesses; and

WHEREAS, homeschooling emphasizes family as a foundation for social development and development of faith; and

WHEREAS, homeschooling is accommodating to special situations and works well for military families, families who travel, and families contending with illness and challenging work schedules; and

WHEREAS, homeschooling parents are able to value an individual student’s potential and focus on this individual potential instead of minimum standards and standardized testing, and these parents are allowed to shape homeschooling so that learning for the students can be reactive to new methods and new concepts regarding positive child development; and

WHEREAS, homeschooling provides for a focus on life skills that students can use as they progress into adulthood as homeschooling allows students to dedicate time to learning anything from cooking to budgeting,

NOW THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:

THAT the House of Representatives recognize February 26, 2025, as Homeschool Day at the State Capitol.

Home schooling in Arkansas has surged since the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019 there were a little less than 22,000 homeschoolers in Arkansas. In early 2020, those numbers climbed to 22,249. By 2023, homeschooling had risen to 30,000 students. And last year homeschooling surged again, to 32,767 students.

Family Council has always believed families deserve options when it comes to education. That’s one reason we support home schooling.

Research shows parental involvement generally is tied to better educational outcomes for children. That’s true no matter how families choose to educate their children — but home schooling is particularly good for many families, because it lets them choose the education that’s best for them. That’s good for everyone.

Family Council’s home school division, the Education Alliance, is hosting Home School Day at the Capitol on February 26. You can learn more about this free event here.

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

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