Marijuana Legalization: A Public Health Threat

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Our friends at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview published a brief commentary today identifying some of the public health threats posed by legalization of marijuana.

John Stonestreet writes,


This is stone-cold crazy.

According to Alex Berenson, in a lead op-ed in the New York Times, the legalization of marijuana is a serious and growing threat to public health and public safety.

The article is entitled “What Advocates of Legalizing Pot Don’t Want You to Know.” In it, Berenson lays out the evidence for that claim, and it’s sobering. Maybe frightening.

Not only are cannabis users more likely to start using opioids, but the National Academy of Medicine reports that using pot “is likely to increase the risk of schizophrenia and other psychoses; the higher the use, the greater the risk.” Between 2006 and 2014, emergency room visits for marijuana-induced psychosis tripled to 90,000. And all of the first four states to legalize marijuana have seen “sharp increases in murders and aggravated assaults since 2014.”

And yet, more and more states are rushing headlong toward legalization. Folks, come to BreakPoint.org, we’ll link you to the Times piece. Share it with your state legislators.

If Christians are really for human flourishing and loving our neighbors, it’s time to speak out against legalizing marijuana.

We’ve written numerous times about the dangers posed by marijuana and the link between marijuana use and mental health concerns — including memory problems, a permanent loss in IQ, and schizophrenia.

As we have said time and time again, marijuana may be many things, but “harmless” simply is not one of them.

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Arkansas Lottery Continues to Give Paltry Funding to Scholarships

Arkansas Lottery

Yesterday the Arkansas Lottery released its financial report for the month of December.

The report shows the Arkansas Lottery took in nearly $45.9 million last month, but gave college scholarships less than $6.7 million — 14.5% of all the money the Lottery made. Compare that with states like Louisiana that allocate 35% of their lottery’s revenue for education.

Since July the Arkansas Lottery has given scholarships less than 17 cents of every dollar it made.

For nearly ten years the Arkansas Lottery has demonstrated time and again that scholarship funding is not its highest priority. Things like administrative costs and contracts have continued to take precedence over increasing the budget for Arkansas’ students.

Below is a breakdown of lottery revenue so far this fiscal year.

Month Gross Lottery Revenue Paid to Scholarships % Gross Revenue
July $42,413,352.70 $5,066,628.73 11.9%
August 40,343,279.62 6,175,998.40 15.3%
September 35,198,809.72 7,783,450.82 22.1%
October 57,575,285.62 11,259,040.31 19.6%
November 37,700,016.00 6,821,411.01 18.1%
December 45,859,642.73 6,650,791.54 14.5%
Total $259,090,386.39 $43,757,320.81 16.9%

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Arkansas Ranked Second Most Pro-Life State in America

Abortion, , , ,

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, January 10, 2019

Little Rock — On Thursday Americans United for Life released its 2019 Life List ranking all 50 states from best to worst on how well their laws protect human life. This year Arkansas is ranked in second place, right behind Arizona.

Family Council President Jerry Cox released a statement saying, “This is something Arkansans should be proud of. Our state is the second most pro-life state in the country. That is something to celebrate.”

Cox said the ranking is the result of the hard work of pro-life Arkansans. “Arkansans work very hard to protect innocent human life from conception until natural death. Volunteers across the state help women with unplanned pregnancies choose options besides abortion, and our lawmakers have consistently passed good legislation that protects unborn children. The fact that Arkansas is ranked the second most pro-life state in America shows all that hard work is paying off.”

Cox said Americans United for Life is a leading expert when it comes to surveying state pro-life laws. “AUL has been at this for years. When their attorneys analyze state laws, they look at everything from abortion policies to protections for pregnant women to end-of-life laws. If they say we’re the second most pro-life state in America, you can count on it.”

Cox said his team is developing a legislative package that he believes will help make Arkansas the most pro-life state in the nation. “Right now Arkansas is in second place. We want to be in first place. We’ve talked to attorneys from Americans United for Life, and we have put together a list of laws that we believe can help make Arkansas the best state in the nation when it comes to upholding the sanctity of human life. We look forward to working with our friends in the Arkansas Legislature and at Arkansas Right to Life to help make Arkansas the most pro-life state in America.”

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