Congressman Westerman Strongly Opposes Marijuana Issue 4

Marijuana

On Friday U.S. Congressman Bruce Westerman (AR — 04) provided a statement to Family Council saying that he strongly opposes Issue 4, the proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize marijuana in Arkansas.

Legalized recreational marijuana is on the list of last things Arkansas needs, and I strongly oppose it. There are no benefits that can outweigh more traffic deaths, more addiction, more ruined lives, and the long term economic, social, and moral decline that results from legalized pot. Arkansas can do better than that, & I encourage voters to vote NO on pot.

Rep. Westerman joins a growing list of leaders from Arkansas who oppose Issue 4 — including Republican gubernatorial candidate Sarah Sanders,  Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, former Governor Mike Huckabee, Lt. Governor Tim Griffin, Congressman French Hill, and U.S. Senator Tom Cotton.

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.

Issue 4 eliminates all taxes on medical marijuana, and it sets a very low tax rate on retail marijuana sales. State and local officials won’t be able to raise taxes on marijuana. City councils and quorum courts won’t be able to regulate marijuana use. The measure effectively writes an unregulated marijuana monopoly into the Arkansas Constitution.

It is unclear just how far-reaching some of Issue 4’s language may be.

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.

In 2020 law enforcement seized more than five and a half tons of illicit marijuana in Colorado intended for the black market, and authorities determined that traffic deaths involving drivers who tested positive for marijuana have increased 138% since the state legalized marijuana in 2012.

All of this underscores what 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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Washington County JPs Consider Resolution Calling on Lawmakers to Weaken Arkansas’ Pro-Life Laws

Abortion, , ,

On Monday justices of the peace in Washington County tabled a resolution that would have called on the State of Arkansas to weaken its pro-life laws, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

On June 24 the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade. The decision allowed states to enforce their own laws permitting, restricting, or prohibiting abortion. As a result, Arkansas began enforcing Act 180 of 2019 that generally prohibits abortion.

On Monday the Washington County Quorum Court’s County Service Committee briefly considered — and voted to table — a resolution calling for state lawmakers to add exceptions for rape and incest to Arkansas’ pro-life law.

Of course, this isn’t a new conversation. In 2019 and 2021 there was a lot of discussion at the capitol about putting exceptions for rape and incest in Arkansas’ pro-life laws. Ultimately, legislators decided to pass a pro-life law that prohibited abortion except when the mother’s life is at risk.

Rape and incest are evil. A woman who is raped is a victim in every sense of the word, and only about 2%–5% of all abortions are performed because of rape of incest.

In light of that, it’s easy for some elected officials to justify abortion in these situations. But there are serious problems with permitting abortion in cases of rape or incest.

The unborn baby is totally innocent. It is not right to kill an unborn baby because the baby’s father was a rapist.

Abortion doesn’t heal the trauma that rape or incest leave behind. Abortion takes the life of an unborn baby, it carries significant risks for the woman, and its consequences are very serious.

Abortion may actually help conceal rape and incest from authorities. Sexual predators sometimes coerce their victims into having abortions to conceal rape or incest.

In 2016 abortionist Ulrich Klopfer admitted to the Indiana Medical Licensing Board that he once performed an abortion on a 10-year-old girl from Illinois who had been raped by her uncle.

Dr. Klopfer did not report the crime to law enforcement. He let the girl go home to her parents who knew about the rape and had decided not to prosecute.

As far as we can tell, that girls’ uncle was never brought to justice.

Abortion helps conceal evil crimes like these. That’s part of the reason Arkansas does not need to expand the list of exceptions in its pro-life laws.

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