Marijuana – Page 5 – Family Council

Arkansas Authorities Arrest Kentucky Man for Allegedly Trafficking Illegal Marijuana, THC Products

Jun 13, 2024Jerry CoxMarijuanaMarijuana

Last week Arkansas State Police arrested a Kentucky man for allegedly trafficking illegal marijuana and THC products.

Below is a press release from the Arkansas State Police with additional information.

VAN BUREN, Ark. — On Wednesday, June 5, 2024, around 2 p.m., Arkansas State Police (ASP) stopped a rented 2023 white Kia Soul near the 2-mile marker on Interstate 40 Eastbound in Crawford County for a traffic violation.

During a search of the vehicle, Troopers discovered 22 pounds of illegal marijuana inside vacuum-sealed bags, approximately three pounds of psilocybin mushrooms, 2,400 THC vape cartridges, and five pounds of THC concentrate.

Troopers arrested the driver, Benjamin Joyner, 25, of Bowling Green, Kentucky, and transported him to the Crawford County Detention Center, where he is being held on felony charges of Trafficking a Controlled Substance, Possession with Purpose to Deliver, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

Joyner told investigators he was traveling from Los Angeles, California, to Kentucky.

We have written repeatedly about how marijuana’s legalization in other states has actually fueled the black market rather than weakening it.

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.

Right now the group Arkansans for Patient Access is actively working to drastically expand marijuana in Arkansas.

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

If passed, the amendment would give free marijuana cards to immigrants and out-of-state residents who come to Arkansas to use marijuana.

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

Marijuana users would no longer need to show they suffer from a specific medical condition listed in state law — making it easier to use marijuana recreationally.

The measure also fails to limit the amount of THC that marijuana products can contain, and it repeals restrictions on marijuana advertising.

All of this would lead to more marijuana in the state.

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

Group Spends More Than Half a Million Dollars on Pro-Marijuana Campaign in May: New Report

Jun 12, 2024Jerry CoxMarijuanaMarijuana

On Tuesday the group backing marijuana in Arkansas filed reports with the state Ethics Commission showing it spent $517,381 on its campaign during the month of May.

Arkansans for Patient Access has until July 5 to collect 90,704 valid signatures from registered voters to place its marijuana amendment on the ballot. If passed, the measure would drastically expand “medical” marijuana in Arkansas, making it easier for people to use marijuana recreationally.

All told, the group has raised and spent more than $1.1 million on its campaign. Arkansans for Patient Access currently has more than 400 paid canvassers hired to collect signatures for the ballot measure. The group’s funding primarily has come from businesses that grow or sell marijuana, and most of the money the campaign spent in May went toward its petition drive.

Among other things, the marijuana amendment fails to limit the amount of THC that marijuana and marijuana products can contain.

Marijuana users would no longer need to show they suffer from a specific medical condition listed in state law — making it easier for people to use marijuana recreationally.

The amendment lets people grow and use marijuana at home, and it would openly legalize marijuana in Arkansas if federal laws against marijuana are repealed.

The measure also repeals significant restrictions on marijuana advertising in Arkansas.

All of this would lead to more marijuana 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.