“Psychosis is an Increasing Risk of Today’s Strong Marijuana”: Psychology Today

Marijuana

On Monday Psychology Today published an article highlighting the growing risk of psychosis linked to high-potency marijuana.

According to research cited in the article:

  • Young adults and teens can develop an addiction to weed and become psychotic.
  • Many people don’t know that regular marijuana use may carry serious health risks, especially for the young.
  • No medication is FDA-approved for treating cannabis use disorder.
  • One cannabis-induced psychotic episode ups the risk of developing bipolar disorder or schizophrenia by 50%.

Nationwide, since 2019, the number of kids diagnosed with cannabis-induced mental disorders, including schizophrenia and psychotic episodes, has increased by 50%.

Legalization is tied to increased marijuana use among teenagers. 

Researchers have found marijuana use during adolescence is associated with an increased risk for psychiatric disorders and cognitive problems. 

A report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found a disturbing 46% increase in self-harm rates among men aged 21 to 39 in states where marijuana sales were legalized.

Across the board, media outlets have repeatedly reported that legalization of marijuana has fueled black market operations rather than reducing them — emboldening drug cartels that operate industrial scale marijuana cultivation sites.

All of this comes as Arkansans for Patient Access is actively working to expand marijuana in Arkansas.

In March the group backing a marijuana in Arkansas raised more than $565,000 to place their marijuana amendment on the November ballot, according to reports filed with the Arkansas Ethics Commission.

The group has until July 5 to collect 90,704 petition signatures from registered voters to place the marijuana amendment on the ballot.

Most of the money the group raised in March appears to have come from marijuana growers and sellers.

The amendment would drastically expand Arkansas’ medical marijuana law to enable recreational marijuana statewide. 

If passed, the amendment would guarantee marijuana growers and sellers a monopoly over the state’s marijuana industry.

The amendment would give free marijuana cards to immigrants and out-of-state residents who come to Arkansas.

Marijuana users would no longer need to show they suffer from a specific medical condition listed in state law. People would be able to grow and use marijuana at home.

It also repeals restrictions on marijuana advertising.

Arkansas voters rejected marijuana legalization at the ballot box in 2022. That amendment was opposed by a broad coalition of churches, business groups, elected officials, and citizens who knew that marijuana would be bad for Arkansas. We anticipate similar opposition to the 2024 marijuana amendment.

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

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Arkansas A.G. Joins Letter Asking Bank of America to Come Clean About Debanking

Religious Freedom, , ,

Earlier this month Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin signed a letter alongside 14 other state attorneys general asking Bank of America to come clean about its “debanking” practices.

The letter says,

Bank of America appears to be conditioning access to its services on customers having the bank’s preferred religious or political views. This is inconsistent with your bank’s promise to uphold “the highest standards of corporate governance and ethical conduct[, including] efforts to always do business the right way for [its] customers.”1 Surely Bank of America would not say that denying service to clients for exercising their civil liberties is doing “business the right way for [its] customers.”

Your discriminatory behavior is a serious threat to free speech and religious freedom, is potentially illegal, and is causing political and regulatory backlash. Your bank needs to be transparent with and assure us, its shareholders, and others that it will not continue to de-bank customers for their speech or religious exercise

The letter goes on to cite past examples of politicized debanking — and how debanking may run afoul of the law.

Family Council has written repeatedly about how de-banking hurts charities, conservative causes, and people of faith.

For example, in 2021, our credit card processor — a company owned by Chase Bank — canceled our account with virtually no notice and no explanation.

In 2022, Chase abruptly closed the account of Ambassador Sam Brownback’s National Committee for Religious Freedom with little warning or explanation, and PayPal similarly disabled the account of a group called the Free Speech Union.

Last month the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government released a report indicating the federal government actually weaponized banks against conservatives following the events of January 6, 2021.

The report shows that federal law enforcement officials from the Treasury Department and the FBI quietly contacted financial institutions to discuss ways financial institutions could share customer information with federal law enforcement outside of normal legal processes.

The U.S. Treasury Department gave banks and other financial institutions guiding “typologies” — patterns that could be used to identify suspicious people or activities — including search terms and patterns like “TRUMP” and “MAGA.”

The Treasury also encouraged financial institutions to comb through transactions for terms like, “Bass Pro Shops,” “Cabela’s,” and “Dick’s Sporting Goods” when looking for “Homegrown Violent Extremism.”

The report further revealed the Treasury Department provided banks and financial institutions with information listing legitimate, conservative groups such as Alliance Defending Freedom, American Family Association, Family Research Council, and many others as “Hate Groups” alongside the KKK and the American Nazi Party.

And last month testimony at congressional committee meetings further explained how banks and other financial institutions may abuse their power.

It is nearly impossible for a church, business, charity, or family to function in modern American society without a bank account. That’s one of the reasons why there are so many laws regulating the banking industry — and it’s part of the reason why debanking is so dangerous.

Nobody should have their bank account canceled because of what they believe.

We appreciate Attorney General Griffin’s willingness to stand up for transparency and accountability at Bank of America and in the financial industry.

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

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Companies Still Offering Women in Arkansas $50,000+ to be Surrogates

Bioethics, Surrogacy, ,

Companies are still offering women in Arkansas tens of thousands of dollars to bear children as commercial surrogates.

Commercial surrogacy agencies work with individuals and couples who pay women to be artificially inseminated and give birth to children for them as surrogates. Agencies often pay women thousands of dollars to act as surrogates.

For example, the company US Surrogacy has placed ads on Craigslist saying women in Arkansas can make $50,000 – $60,000 as commercial surrogates.

As we and others have said for years, commercial surrogacy exploits women and children. It treats babies like products that can be bought and sold, and it treats women like commodities.

In fact, many nations prohibit commercial surrogacy, because it is linked to the exploitation of women and children. However, commercial surrogacy laws in the U.S. tend to be lax.

In California, surrogate Brittney Pearson’s story shows some of the problems associated with surrogacy.

After Pearson was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer, doctors recommended inducing labor early and caring for the baby in the NICU while she started chemo. However, that isn’t what the same-sex couple paying Brittney Pearson as their commercial surrogate wanted.

Even though she was 24 weeks pregnant, and the baby might have been able to survive outside the womb, the men wanted Brittney to have an abortion. If the baby were born alive, the men asked that no life-saving measures be taken for the baby.

With her cancer having spread to her liver, Pearson found a hospital to induce birth. The child died shortly after being born on Father’s Day, June 18.

All of this was made possible by state laws that facilitate commercial surrogacy.

Stories like this one underscore why Family Council has opposed commercial surrogacy in Arkansas.

In 2017 we supported a bill to prohibit commercial surrogacy in Arkansas. Unfortunately, the measure never came up for a vote.

Commercial surrogacy violates the sanctity and dignity of human life, because it treats women like commodities, and it treats unborn children like property that can be manufactured, bought, sold, or destroyed at will.

To put it simply: People aren’t products.

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

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