Arkansas Homeschoolers Recognized as 2025 National Merit Scholar Semifinalists
Last week the National Merit Scholarship Program recognized 135 high school seniors from Arkansas as National Merit Scholarship semifinalists.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the students will go on to compete for nearly 7,000 scholarships worth approximately $26 million.
Among the semifinalists named this year were two home schoolers: Eli Colton of Bella Vista and Charles D. Raith of Siloam Springs.
Students vying for the National Merit Scholarships apply by taking the PSAT exam in the fall of their junior year.
The Arkansas Department of Education has taken steps to increase home schoolers’ access to the PSAT.
To be named as a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist is a tremendous honor. Please join us in congratulating these two home school students on their achievement!
Report Shows Marijuana Campaign Highly Active in August
The latest financial report from the group backing marijuana in Arkansas shows its campaign was highly active last month.
Arkansans for Patient Access is working to pass a marijuana amendment this November.
Under this measure, 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 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.
The measure also fails to limit the amount of THC in marijuana products, and it repeals restrictions designed to protect children from marijuana advertising.
All of this would lead to more marijuana in Arkansas.
Earlier this month Arkansans for Patient Access filed reports with the Arkansas Ethics Commission showing it spent $260,863 on its pro-marijuana campaign during August alone. All told, the group has spent $1.8 million — and still has nearly $152,000 at its disposal.
We have written time and again about how marijuana’s legalization in other states has actually emboldened drug cartels and organized crime.
Since January, authorities in California have confiscated more than $120 million worth of illegal marijuana — including nearly 123,000 illegal plants.
Some of these illegal marijuana operations are tied to labor trafficking, violent crime, and foreign interests like China.
A CBS News segment last year highlighted how Chinese investment is driving illegal marijuana production across the U.S., and CBN reported last October that Chinese investors with “suitcases full of cash” are buying U.S. farmland to grow black market marijuana.
Earlier this year U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Washington, appeared on Fox News Business to discuss congressional concerns over illegal marijuana farms and about fentanyl precursors in the U.S. — both with alleged ties to China.
Family Council Action Committee has materials available for volunteers and churches regarding the marijuana amendment:
You can learn more at FamilyCouncilActionCommittee.com.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.