AR Surgeon General Says “Don’t Buy the Big Lie. Vote No On Issues 6 & 7”

Marijuana

ghbledsoeThis week Arkansas Surgeon General Dr. Greg Bledsoe was featured in an ad against the two marijuana proposals, Issues 6 and 7, that will appear on the Arkansas ballot this November.

Dr. Bledsoe has been outspoken against the legalization of marijuana. Recently he was featured in a video explaining, among other things, why marijuana itself cannot be considered “medicine.”

In September Dr. Bledsoe released a statement at a press conference with Gov. Hutchinson and numerous other physicians, saying,

“These marijuana proposals [Issues 6 & 7] are written with broad language that would open the floodgates for marijuana use in our communities.  Individuals could obtain marijuana for diagnoses such as ADHD, insomnia, and migraine headaches, allow the growing of marijuana in and around our neighborhoods, and even provide marijuana for minors with parental consent.  In addition, the language of these proposals would allow the selling of edible marijuana products in our state, products that have been packaged to appear like candy and sold in sodas, cookies, and brownies with cartoon marketing attractive to children.”

You can watch the new ad with Dr. Bledsoe below.

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Pharmacists Oppose “Medical” Marijuana Measures

Marijuana

Kush_closeEarlier this week the Arkansas Pharmacists Association released a statement in opposition to the two so-called “medical” marijuana proposals, Issues 6 and 7. You can read their press release below.

October 17, 2016 – The Arkansas Pharmacists Association, a professional organization that represents the pharmacists of Arkansas, announces its opposition to Issues 6 & 7 on the upcoming November ballot.  Both Issues seek to legalize “medical marijuana.”

“Both Issues 6 and 7 seek to create a framework for accessing marijuana for medical reasons that eliminates the current healthcare system of obtaining a prescription from a prescriber and having a medication dispensed by a pharmacist,” said Scott Pace, Pharm.D., J.D., Executive Vice President & CEO of the Arkansas Pharmacists Association.

“Pharmacists are compassionate healthcare providers who want what is in the best healthcare interest of their patients.  However, the proposed framework of both Issues 6 and 7 bypasses healthcare providers to allow a patient to obtain a “medication” from non-medically trained individuals.  Purity, dosage and safety of the drug would be unknown to both the patient and their healthcare team, creating the potential for drug interactions, adverse effects, and other harmful outcomes to patients, creating a prescription for disaster,” Pace said.

“The APA wants patients to have access to the best possible medical care in Arkansas.  But, this care has to be safe and provide access to highly-trained healthcare providers at every point in their care.  Issues 6 and 7 fails on both of these points.  The APA urges Arkansans to vote no on Issues 6 and 7 on November 8th.”

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The Arkansas Pharmacists Association, founded in 1882, is the statewide professional association representing approximately 2,200 pharmacists in Arkansas. APA strives to further the professional advancement of pharmacists, advocate the value of pharmacy, and safeguard the health and well-being of every Arkansan. Its mission is to advance a professional and business environment for Arkansas pharmacists to be successful and fulfilled in serving patients.

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Arkansas Lottery Gave Less Than 18% to Scholarships in 8 of Last 12 Months

Arkansas Lottery

Last week the Arkansas Lottery published its financial report for the month of September.

The report shows the Arkansas Lottery took in $33.1 million in September–more than $1 million per day–but paid less than $5.8 million to scholarships.

In other words, less than 17.5 cents of every dollar the Lottery made last month actually went to scholarships.

Here’s a breakdown of the Arkansas Lottery’s revenue and scholarship funds for Fiscal Year 2017, which began last July:

Month Gross Lottery Revenue Paid to Scholarships % Gross Revenue
July 38,237,293.92 8,714,386.39 22.8%
August 35,091,022.09 5,498,714.86 15.7%
September 33,113,391.64 5,773,076.42 17.4%
Total $106,441,707.65 $19,986,177.67 18.8%

At this rate, the Arkansas Lottery is on track to pay about $80 – $85 million in college scholarships in Fiscal Year 2017.

Here’s something very telling about the Arkansas Lottery, however: In 8 of the past 12 months the Arkansas Lottery budgeted less than 18% of its revenue for college scholarships.

To put those numbers into perspective, the average state lottery budgets about 30% of its revenue for its intended purpose; Louisiana gives 35% of its gross lottery revenue to education.

The fact that the Arkansas Lottery continues to budget such a small percentage of its gross revenue for scholarships speaks volumes about the Lottery’s priorities.

Here’s a breakdown of gross revenue and scholarship funds during the past 12 months at the Arkansas Lottery:

Month Gross Lottery Revenue Paid to Scholarships % Gross Revenue
October, 2015 35,261,533.80 6,020,642.32 17.1%
November 32,226,599.28 5,725,139.09 17.8%
December 38,670,746.09 6,425,754.66 16.6%
January, 2016 58,746,249.00 13,831,359.75 23.5%
February 40,790,144.05 4,474,356.06 11.0%
March 40,579,421.05 5,758,892.84 14.2%
April 37,516,802.47 7,392,837.00 19.7%
May 38,485,146.05 6,606,164.94 17.2%
June 34,983,951.24 11,249,220.37 32.2%
July 38,237,293.92 8,714,386.39 22.8%
August 35,091,022.09 5,498,714.86 15.7%
September 33,113,391.64 5,773,076.42 17.4%
Total $463,702,300.68 $87,470,544.70 18.9%

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