Illegal Marijuana Farms Plague California, Oregon Despite Legalization

Marijuana
Above: Authorities seize marijuana from an illegal, industrial-size cultivation facility in southern Oregon (Photo Credit: YouTube).

There is a myth that legalizing marijuana eliminates drug crime, but time and again evidence from other states shows that simply is not the case.

Last week NBC News reported that illegal marijuana farms in California have flourished despite legalization — and that these operations are tied to human trafficking and other crimes.

The article’s authors note that California legalized so-called “recreational marijuana” to weaken drug cartels’ influence, but illicit growers and dealers still thrive in the state.

California’s experience reflects the experiences of other states that have legalized marijuana.

Earlier this year law enforcement from Oregon reported that large scale, illegal marijuana farms have inundated the southern part of the state — despite the fact that marijuana is legal in Oregon.

According to news reports, the illegal marijuana farms are “run and controlled by multinational criminal organizations” — in other words, drug cartels and organized crime — and they are tied to human trafficking, theft, and violence.

Authorities reportedly have seized thousands of marijuana plants and uncovered other crimes at some of these large scale, illegal marijuana farms.

Below is a video the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon released earlier this year. The video illustrates the size of these illegal marijuana farms and the inhumane treatment of the farms’ workers.

Why would illegal, industrial-sized marijuana farms flourish in a state where marijuana is legal? Here are a couple of explanations.

First, growers and sellers may grow and sell marijuana illegally to evade government oversight, licensing fees, taxes, and other expenses. They can cut corners, avoid fees, sell to minors, and earn more profit.

Second, criminal organizations can grow marijuana and ship it for illegal sale out of state. If industrial hemp and marijuana are legal in a state like Oregon, it may be harder for authorities to determine whether a specific marijuana farm is operating legally or illegally. Drug cartels can use illegal marijuana cultivation facilities to fuel their activities elsewhere.

Legalizing marijuana does not decrease drug-related crime, and it does not alleviate drug problems. If anything, it seems to make those problems worse.

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

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Rogers Public Library Declines to Remove Sexual Content From Children’s Section Despite Objections

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Last week Family Council wrote about sexual material and pro-LGBT books in the children’s section of the Rogers Public Library.

Family Council has obtained a copy of a letter from the Rogers Public Library rejecting a patron’s request to remove one of the books — Sex Is A Funny Word — from the library.

As we have written before, library patrons typically can use a Material Reconsideration Form to ask a library to remove inappropriate material from circulation.

According to the rejection letter, the patron asked the Rogers Public Library to remove Sex Is A Funny Word because the book promotes gender dysphoria and child sexuality — particularly masturbation.

The letter notes that the library opted to keep the book, because it “is a uniquely inclusive and diverse resource on the topic of sex education.”

Below is a copy of the library’s letter opting to keep the book.

According to the American Library Association, Sex Is A Funny Word was frequently challenged at libraries nationwide in 2017 and 2019 because of its LGBT content and sexual material and because of concerns that the book would lead children to “want to have sex or ask questions about sex.”

Libraries don’t have to put books like this one in the middle of their children’s sections.

There is only so much shelf space available in a library. That’s part of the reason why library boards and librarians have leeway to establish selection criteria and make decisions about the kinds of material available in a library.

With that in mind, it would be entirely appropriate for a library to remove a book like Sex Is A Funny Word from circulation — or at least separate it from other children’s books.

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

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Arkansas Representative Says Lawmakers Will Introduce Legislation to Amend State’s Pro-Life Law

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Above: Rep. Nicole Clowney (D – Fayetteville) discusses efforts to introduce legislation in Arkansas to add exceptions to state laws against abortion (Photo Credit: YouTube).

On Tuesday State Representative Nicole Clowney (D – Fayetteville) participated in a discussion panel on abortion at the Fayetteville Public Library.

During the panel, Rep. Clowney said that her colleagues in the general assembly will introduce at least four measures during the upcoming legislative session that would change the exceptions in Arkansas’ abortion law.

Act 180 of 2019 prohibits abortion in Arkansas unless the mother’s life is at risk. It also contains language exempting situations such as ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage.

Rep. Clowney was part of panel hosted by the University of Arkansas – Fayetteville Education Association / Local 965 — a union for employees at the U of A in Fayetteville.

During the panel, Rep. Clowney said she anticipates four different measures amending Act 180 to be introduced during the upcoming legislative session:

  • One measure would add exceptions for rape to the law.
  • A second would add exceptions for incest to the law.
  • A third measure would add exceptions for lethal fetal anomaly to the law.
  • A fourth measure would change the exception for the life of the mother into an exception for abortions “caring for the health of the mother.”

Taken together, these changes would upend the state’s pro-life laws and could open the door to abortion on demand in Arkansas.

In other states, exceptions for a woman’s health or for fetal abnormalities have been interpreted very broadly.

Health exceptions in particular could apply to nearly any situation. That is part of the reason why Arkansas’ pro-life laws historically have exempted situations where the the mother’s life is at risk rather than situations where an abortionist believes her health is somehow being affected by the pregnancy.

These sorts of broad exceptions may effectively permit elective abortions in Arkansas.

As we have written before, rape and incest are evil. A woman who is raped is a victim in every sense of the word, but the unborn baby is totally innocent. Abortion doesn’t heal the wounds that rape or incest leave behind, and sexual predators may actually coerce their victims into having abortions to conceal rape or incest. It is not right to kill an unborn baby because the baby’s father was a rapist.

Public opinion polling shows Arkansans overwhelmingly oppose abortion. Seventy-nine percent of likely voters in Arkansas believe abortion should be either completely illegal — without exception — or legal only under certain circumstances.

Act 180 of 2019 reflects that. It generally prohibits abortion, but it makes exceptions for certain serious medical complications like an ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage and for circumstances when the mother’s life is in jeopardy.

Below is a video recording of Rep. Clowney’s comments regarding legislative efforts to amend Arkansas’ pro-life laws.

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

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