Marijuana – Page 11 – Family Council

DOJ Claims Marijuana Safer Than It Is: Guest Column

May 15, 2024John StonestreetMarijuanaMarijuana

Recently, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its plans to reclassify marijuana as a drug akin to prescription painkillers.

The proposed regulations would not decriminalize marijuana, but it is a push in that direction and would make accessing the drug easier across the country. This move to reclassify marijuana is the next dangerous step in a decades-long campaign to market it as safe and non-addictive.

Pot’s effects on health and sanity may not be as obvious as with harder drugs like ecstasy or meth, but that doesn’t mean it’s safe. Research has found marijuana use closely linked with increased risk for depression and bipolar disorder. It is also a leading indicator of workplace accidents and has led to higher rates of schizophrenia in young men.

It’s also worth noting that those who stand to gain the most from this reclassification are not patients, but corporations already profiting from the multi-million-dollar marijuana industry.

Ultimately, reclassifying marijuana will only lead to more harm, not health.

Arkansas State Police Seize More Than 400 Pounds of Illicit Marijuana From Out of State in Single Traffic Stop

May 13, 2024Jerry CoxMarijuanaMarijuana

Arkansas State Police intercepted over 400 pounds of marijuana during a routine traffic stop in Conway County, according to an official press release.

A state trooper stopped a rental truck on I-40. Officers discovered the truck contained 21 boxes filled with vacuum-sealed marijuana packages totaling 434 pounds, alongside $1,460 in cash.

The press released indicated the marijuana originated from out of state.

This bust is part of a larger trend, with more 900 pounds of illegal marijuana confiscated on I-40 in just the last few weeks.

Stories like these serve as a reminder that marijuana’s legalization in other states has actually fueled the black market and the drug cartels rather than weakening them.

For example, California’s Unified Cannabis Enforcement Taskforce seized more than $312 million worth of illegal marijuana in 2023.

Oregon has been inundated by industrial scale marijuana cultivation sites operated illegally by organized crime and drug cartels. Some of these marijuana operations are tied to labor trafficking and violent crime.

Oklahoma authorities describe illicit marijuana as a problem that “plagues” their state.

The list goes on.

These reports come as a proposed marijuana amendment is vying for the 2024 ballot in Arkansas — raising serious questions about what could happen in Arkansas if the state goes the same route as California, Oregon, and others.

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

Searcy Nurse Honored for Saving Student from Apparent THC Overdose

May 9, 2024Jerry CoxMarijuanaMarijuana

KARK recently reported that a school nurse in Searcy was honored at last week’s school board meeting for saving a student from an apparent THC overdose.

According to the article, RN Amy Dutton was in her office when a student came in, complaining she wasn’t feeling well. The student told Dutton she had taken a THC gummy. THC is the primary psychoactive substance found in marijuana.

The student reportedly became nonresponsive as her blood pressure and heart rate plummeted.

Dutton gave the student Narcan, saving her life.

Narcan typically is used to reverse opioid overdoses, but research shows it may also be used to treat overdoses on THC and other cannabinoids.

The story is significant, because right now the group Arkansans for Patient Access is actively working to pass a constitutional amendment that would drastically expand Arkansas’ medical marijuana laws to enable recreational marijuana statewide.

The amendment does not place any limits on the amount of THC that marijuana products and edibles can contain.

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.

All of this would lead to more marijuana and more marijuana use in Arkansas.

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.