Fort Smith Couple to be Tried in Child THC Overdose Case

Marijuana,

Local news outlets report a Fort Smith couple will be tried jointly in a case concerning THC overdose by a child.

THC is the primary psychoactive ingredient found in marijuana.

KNWA reports,

Kelli Casey, 31, and Roy Casey, 31, were arrested on April 8 on first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor and maintaining a premises for drug activity charges. Both have pleaded not guilty to those charges. . . .

A probable cause affidavit said that on Feb. 7, Fort Smith police officers were contacted by a hospital regarding an unresponsive toddler who was flown to Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock.

Hospital staff determined the child had acute respiratory failure and secondary THC poisoning due to overdosing on THC, according to the affidavit. . . .

The affidavit said officers searched the home and found 11 grams of marijuana, 20 THC liquid vape cartridges and two bongs with THC wax residue on the kitchen counter. There was also a film of wax residue on multiple items in the home.

We have written repeatedly about the harm that THC can cause to children. Nationwide, THC products are sending kids to the emergency room.

Earlier this year, USA Today reported 11 middle schoolers in New York were hospitalized on Monday after a classmate gave them gummies laced with THC.

In March, health officials in North Carolina released a report showing a surge in Poison Control calls about children exposed to THC.

This year the Arkansas Legislature passed a good law to help protect people from dangerous drugs like THC. Lawmakers also rejected multiple bills legalizing THC and similar substances.

All of this reminds us once again: 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’ 2025 Legislative Session Adjourns

Legislation,

On Monday the Arkansas House and Senate met to tie up loose ends and officially adjourn the 2025 legislative session.

Lawmakers passed several excellent bills this year. You can learn more about those new laws by downloading our 2025 General Assembly Report here.

You can also read our May edition of the Arkansas Citizen for a brief recap of the session’s highlights.

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

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TikTok Fined $600M for Failing to Protect User Data from China

Social Media,

The Wall Street Journal reports TikTok has been fined $600 million in Ireland over risks of Chinese surveillance.

With upwards of a billion users worldwide — including somewhere between 135 and 170 million in the U.S. — TikTok is among the most popular social media outlets on earth.

But TikTok isn’t just a phone app. It’s a major corporation, and its Chinese-based parent company, ByteDance, has been valued at $300 billion.

However, TikTok has found itself embroiled in controversy for struggling to protect private user data from entities in China — including the Chinese Communist Party. The platform has been accused of serving users a steady “diet of darkness” online. TikTok also has been sued for allegedly violating U.S. laws intended to protect children.

Now The Wall Street Journal reports,

The Irish Data Protection Commission said Friday that TikTok had failed to demonstrate that any user data it sends to China would be protected from government access under Chinese laws covering things such as espionage and cybersecurity. 

The Irish regulator, which leads enforcement of the European Union’s privacy law for TikTok, ordered the social-video app to stop transferring user data to China within six months if it can’t guarantee the same level of protection as in the EU.

The watchdog also said TikTok last month admitted to storing limited European user data in China, despite having previously denied doing so. TikTok told the watchdog it has since deleted that data. The regulator said Friday it is discussing with EU counterparts whether it should take further action against the company over the matter. 

TikTok said it would appeal the fine, which totaled 530 million euros. The company contests the allegation that it isn’t giving European data enough protection, and says the decision primarily covers a period before it implemented new protections. TikTok added that it has never turned over user data to the Chinese government or received a request to do so.

It’s important to remember that in 2023, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin filed two lawsuits against TikTok and its parent company ByteDance.

The A.G.’s lawsuits allege that TikTok and ByteDance failed to fully disclose that the company is subject to Chinese laws that mandate cooperation with intelligence activities of the People’s Republic of China and that TikTok aggressively collects sensitive user data.

As we keep saying, social media platforms are not just websites or phone apps. These are multimillion dollar businesses owned and operated by investors and other interests. If the Chinese Communist Party can influence TikTok, the CCP may be able to manipulate content, influence users, and harvest data on one of the world’s largest social media platform. That’s a serious concern.

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

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