U.S. Treasury Announces Sanctions Against Mexican Drug Cartel

Drugs, ,

On Thursday the U.S. Treasury Department issued sanctions against the La Nueva Familia Michoacana drug cartel from Mexico for smuggling illicit drugs — including “rainbow fentanyl” — across the United States.

The DEA reports that fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine.  Two milligrams of fentanyl is considered a lethal dose. “Rainbow fentanyl” is brightly colored fentanyl pills and powder believed to appeal to children.

In a press release last week, Treasury Department leadership said, “Not only does this cartel traffic fentanyl, which claimed the lives of more than 71,000 Americans last year, it now markets ‘rainbow fentanyl’ as part of a deliberate effort to drive addiction amongst kids and young adults.”

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge recently warned parents about the increase in “rainbow fentanyl” pills that look like candy. Earlier this month the FBI arrested 45 individuals believed to be tied to trafficking of fentanyl, marijuana, and other drugs in Arkansas.

In 2021 the legislature passed Act 887 making it a felony to unlawfully manufacture, possess, or deliver fentanyl in Arkansas.

Nationwide, drug cartels are funding their criminal enterprises by growing and selling marijuana and other drugs despite many states legalizing marijuana.

Across the board, drugs are a very serious issue plaguing Arkansas, and our state needs to address it.

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

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Eighth Circuit Denies Appeal of Injunction Against Arkansas’ SAFE Act For Now

Transgender,

On Wednesday the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request for an en banc hearing before the full circuit court over a preliminary injunction against Arkansas’ Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act.

The Arkansas Legislature passed the SAFE Act in 2021. The law generally protects children in Arkansas from sex-change surgeries, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones.

Last year U.S. District Judge James Moody issued a preliminary injunction blocking the state from enforcing the SAFE Act while a lawsuit over its constitutionality plays out in court. The Arkansas Attorney General’s office appealed that decision to the Eighth Circuit.

In August a three-judge panel from the Eighth Circuit ruled that the law should remain blocked while the lawsuit progresses in Judge Moody’s court.

The State of Arkansas asked the entire Eighth Circuit to review the preliminary injunction. On Wednesday the court declined to take up the case, because it expects Judge Moody to rule on the SAFE Act’s constitutionality within a month.

Regardless of how Judge Moody rules in the case, his final decision is almost guaranteed to be appealed to the Eighth Circuit.

As we have said many times, children should not be subjected to sex-reassignment procedures.

Researchers do not know the long term effects puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones can have on kids.

This summer the U.S. Food and Drug Administration added a warning label to puberty blockers indicating that they can cause vision loss and swelling of the brain.

The U.K.’s National Health Services recently closed its Tavistock gender clinic that gave puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children for many years.

The facility today faces the possibility of lawsuits from upwards of 1,000 families whose children were subjected to sex-reassignment despite an obvious lack of scientific evidence in favor of the procedures and inadequate mental health screenings for children with gender dysphoria.

A gender-identity clinic in Scotland faces similar legal troubles from former patients who say they were rushed into sex-change procedures.

The U.K. is not the only European country rethinking how it treats children who disagree with their biological sex.

A major hospital in Sweden announced last year that it would no longer administer puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children.

Stories like these are part of the reason many experts agree that giving puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children is experimental, at best.

The SAFE Act is commonsense legislation that protects children.

It received overwhelming support from the Arkansas Legislature.

Most voters in Arkansas support the law, according to polling by Talk Business & Politics and Hendrix College.

Arkansas’ SAFE Act protects children. We believe federal courts ultimately will recognize that fact and uphold this good law as constitutional.

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