California Authorities Shut Down Four Illegal Marijuana Dispensaries in Major Raid
California authorities shut down four illegal marijuana dispensaries and arrested nine people in a coordinated raid that seized hundreds of pounds of illegal drugs.
The Kern County Sheriff’s Office led the February 12 operation in Rosamond, California, working with multiple state and federal agencies.
Officers seized 330 pounds of processed marijuana, 212 pounds of THC edibles, 324 pounds of THC concentrates, over 3,000 vape cartridges, and 46 pounds of psilocybin mushrooms and edibles.
Contrary to popular belief, marijuana legalization in California and elsewhere has actually emboldened drug cartels and contributed to the spread of illegal marijuana on the black market.
California has seized more than $1.2 billion in illegal cannabis since 2022. In Maine, authorities have said there are hundreds of illegal growing operations connected to Chinese organized crime groups. Oklahoma’s lax marijuana laws have created similar issues, with law enforcement alleging that 40% of America’s black market marijuana has come from legal grow sites in Oklahoma. And Arkansas State Police routinely confiscate marijuana from these states.
Despite promises of regulation, oversight, and tax revenue, states that have legalized marijuana still battle organized crime, black market operations, and public safety threats.
Arkansans should remember all of this when it comes to any proposals to expand marijuana. Marijuana may be many things, but “harmless” simply is not one of them.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
Family Council Joins Legal Brief Against Mail-Order Abortion Drugs
On February 13, Family Council joined 43 other pro-life leaders in a legal brief challenging mail-order abortion drugs.
The case is Louisiana v. FDA, in which the State of Louisiana is challenging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s 2021 and 2023 rule changes that removed important restrictions on RU-486 and allowed abortion drugs to be delivered through the mail without an in-person visit with a doctor.
Since then, abortionists in other states have marketed abortion drugs to women in Arkansas even though abortion is generally prohibited except to save the life of the mother and it is a crime to deliver abortion drugs by mail into the state.
A good court ruling in this case could help stop the flow of abortion drugs across state lines.
Advancing American Freedom, who led the amicus brief in Louisiana, issued a statement about the lawsuit, saying:
Rosalie Markezich, a Louisiana woman, did not want an abortion. Yet, since the FDA no longer requires women to meet with a medical professional to obtain a mifepristone prescription, her then-boyfriend was able to obtain chemical abortion drugs from a California abortionist through the mail. He then coerced Roselie into taking the abortion pill which killed her baby and left her with lasting mental health challenges, physical pain, and heavy bleeding.
Abortionists should not be able to disregard the laws of pro-life states made possible by Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Ignored by the FDA to increase access to abortion drugs, since 1873, the Comstock Act has expressly prohibited the mailing of abortion materials, including any “thing . . . intended for producing abortion.” Yet the FDA’s removal of the in-person visit requirement facilitates exactly that.
The amicus brief argues that states have the authority to restrict or prohibit abortion, and that the FDA’s abortion drug rules undermine states’ authority to enforce their pro-life laws.
New evidence shows that abortion drugs are much more dangerous than the FDA previously thought. A recent study by the experts at the Ethics and Public Policy Center found abortion drugs are at least 22 times more dangerous than the U.S. Food and Drug Administration labeling indicates. Nearly 11% of women experience serious health complications from abortion pills — including sepsis, infection, and life-threatening hemorrhage. These drugs should not be available at all — much less through the mail.
Family Council is pleased to join with so many other excellent groups who are willing to stand up for innocent human life in court.
You Can Read The Amicus Brief Here.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.