Arkansans Support Medical Marijuana Proposal? Not So Fast.

Marijuana

Yesterday the 2015 Arkansas Poll from the University of Arkansas was released. Many are seizing on some of the data contained in the poll, saying the poll shows Arkansans now support the legalization of so-called “medical” marijuana. But not so fast. Let’s take a look at what the poll actually says–and at the marijuana proposal vying for a spot on the ballot.

Pollsters surveyed 800 Arkansans by telephone. Among other things, they asked survey respondents, “Do you favor allowing patients to use marijuana for medical purposes if supported by their medical doctor?”

The poll question is very simple and narrowly-tailored. However, the “medical” marijuana proposals being offered in Arkansas are much broader. Here is what we mean:

In 2012 only 43% of survey respondents told the University of Arkansas they supported the “medical” marijuana proposal by Arkansans for Compassionate Care. Today, according to this poll, 68% of likely voters say a patient ought to be able to use marijuana if supported by their doctor.

The poll numbers are different because these are two completely different poll questions. The 2012 proposal did more than simply let people use marijuana; it established marijuana stores throughout Arkansas; it allowed patients and caregivers to grow marijuana at home; and it restricted the ability of local communities to regulate marijuana sales and use.

The 2016 proposal Arkansans for Compassionate Care is trying to place on the ballot contains the very same provisions. The new proposal: (more…)

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Living in an “Un-Serious” Culture

Current Events

daily_commentary_11_03_15Our friends at the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview have produced an excellent commentary on the “unseriousness” of our culture.

John Stonestreet notes,

“At any given moment, what’s most likely to cause social media outlets like Twitter to explode isn’t a humanitarian crisis, a natural disaster, or a critical political issue—it’s a celebrity feud or some other pop culture story.

“Surveying our cultural landscape, it’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that the defining characteristic of modern Western culture, at least in the United States, is that it is unserious. Now, by ‘un-serious’ I don’t mean that we should walk around with a furrowed brow and only talk about Kierkegaard or nineteenth-century German Romanticism. What I’m referring to is the nihilism of what German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche called ‘last men,’ apathetic creatures without any great passions or commitments.”

You can read Stonestreet’s entire commentary here, or listen to it below.

[audio:http://www.breakpoint.org/images/content/breakpoint/audio/2015/110315_BP.mp3|titles=Caring About Small Things and Overlooking Big Things]

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Poll: Arkansans Favor Pro-Life Laws, Overwhelmingly Oppose Same-Sex Marriage

Abortion, Homosexuality,

The 2015 Arkansas Poll released by the University of Arkansas today shows Arkansans overwhelmingly oppose recognition of same-sex marriage.

According to the poll, 64% of likely voters said same-sex marriage “should not be recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages.”

The poll comes as little surprise. Arkansans made it abundantly clear in 2004 they favor defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman; virtually every poll conducted since then has shown continued support for that definition among Arkansans.

The poll also shows 47% of likely voters favor laws making it “more difficult for a woman to get an abortion”–the highest percentage since 2003. Only 12% said it ought to be “easier” to get an abortion.

This number coincides with declining abortion levels in Arkansas–which have fallen drastically since the 1990’s–and new pro-life laws.

You can see the entire poll summary here.

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