Page 646 – Family Council

Group Gets $1.75 Million for Campaign to Legalize Recreational Marijuana in Arkansas

Jan 12, 2022Jerry CoxMarijuanaMarijuana

Recently five companies each contributed $350,000 toward an effort to place a recreational marijuana measure on Arkansas’ 2022 ballot.

The five donations to the pro-marijuana group Responsible Growth Arkansas totaled $1.75 million to promote recreational marijuana in Arkansas this year.

According to filings with the Arkansas Ethics Commission, the donations came from:

Bold Team, LLC, in Cotton Plant, Arkansas
Good Day Farms Arkansas, LLC, in Rogers
Osage Creek Cultivation, LLC, in Berryville
DMCC, LLC in Jonesboro
NSMC-OPCO, LLC, in White Hall

In October, Responsible Growth Arkansas filed statements with the Arkansas Ethics Commission indicating it would work to amend the Arkansas Constitution to permit recreational marijuana. Former Arkansas lawmaker Eddie Armstrong reportedly is leading the effort.

According to the Arkansas Secretary of State, Responsible Growth Arkansas has until Friday, July 8, 2022, to collect 89,151 valid petition signatures from registered voters in order to place a recreational marijuana measure on the November ballot.

Researchers have found time and again that marijuana is dangerous.

Scientists have linked marijuana use with violence, psychosis, schizophrenia, depression and suicide.

A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal last year found adults under age 45 who frequently used marijuana were roughly twice as likely to suffer heart attack as adults who did not use marijuana.

Last spring a study out of California found infants were 35% more likely to die within a year of birth if their mother used marijuana heavily; the study also found that infants were more likely to be born preterm, have a low birth weight, and be small for their gestational age.

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.

The list goes on and on.

All of this underscores what we have said for years: Marijuana may be many things, but “harmless” simply is not one of them.

Atheist Groups Complains About Gov. Hutchinson’s Bible Verses

Jan 11, 2022Jerry CoxReligious Freedom, VideoReligious Freedom, Religious Liberty, Video

Americans United for Separation of Church and State recently wrote a letter to Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson complaining that he posts Bible verses on Facebook every Sunday.

Watch this video to learn more.

Hong Kong Parents Struggle for the Hearts and Minds of their Children

Jan 10, 2022John StonestreetChinaChina

Parents, educators, the church, and the state all play essential roles within a society, but when the state goes bad, it can take down every other sphere with it. For example, according to a recent article in The Economist, “A struggle is underway for the hearts and minds of Hong Kong’s children.”

In August, the city’s pro-democracy teacher’s union disbanded, following a government crackdown that had called it “a malignant tumor.” Since then, the curriculum now “educates” children solely on the virtues of the Chinese Communist Party. Speaking out against these changes could lead to life in prison.

As a result, some parents have stopped talking about politics at home, fearing their young children will say the wrong thing at school. Others continue to teach their kids democratic ideas, at risk of government retaliation to themselves or relatives. As a result, tens of thousands of residents are leaving the city altogether.

It’s good that parents are aware enough to be concerned. Unfortunately, too many parents here fail to take seriously the ideas that threaten the hearts and minds in our schools.