Category: Marijuana

Texas Looks at Statewide THC Ban

News outlets in San Antonio report that legislation proposed in Texas would ban THC statewide. THC is the primary psychoactive ingredient found in marijuana.

Elected officials in Texas say sellers are using legal loopholes to market dangerous THC products in the state.

Edibles and other substances containing high doses of THC are sometimes manufactured from industrial hemp — or cannabis — and marijuana products containing high levels of THC pose serious health risks.

Nationwide, marijuana products like these — including gummies, candies, and other edibles containing THC — are sending kids to the emergency room.

In 2022 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released a strong warning highlighting five serious health risks associated with Delta-8 THC manufactured from industrial hemp products. Likewise, researchers at the Oregon Health and Sciences University found poison center calls due to children exposed to marijuana rose 245% from 2000 – 2020.

Last summer the Centers for Disease Control released a report showing the number of children, teens, and young adults sent to the emergency room due to marijuana exposure increased from 2019 to 2022. The report revealed that marijuana-related ER visits surged more than 200% among children under age 11 during that time.

THC is dangerous — especially for children. That’s part of the reason Arkansas has taken steps to prohibit THC products. 

Last year the Arkansas Legislature passed Act 629 by Sen. Tyler Dees (R – Siloam Springs) and Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R – Paragould). This good law prevents Delta-8 THC and other THC varieties from being manufactured and sold via industrial hemp — or cannabis — in Arkansas. However, a group of companies that profit from Delta-8 THC has sued to block Act 629 in federal court.

Without laws addressing THC, these drugs could send more children to the E.R. in Arkansas.

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

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Illegal Marijuana Continues to Plague California

Despite legalization, marijuana continues to be a problem on the black market in California.

California’s Department of Cannabis Control recently announced authorities had seized more than $5.2 million worth of illegal marijuana products from indoor cultivation sites in a single county. Law enforcement reportedly confiscated more than 5,400 illegal marijuana plants along with weapons, cash, and other items.

This year, California’s Unified Cannabis Enforcement Task Force has seized nearly $200 million of dollars worth of illicit marijuana across the state.

Time and again, news outlets and law enforcement reports have shown that legalizing marijuana actually emboldens drug cartels and fuels the black market.

Chinese organized crime is dominating black market marijuana in states where marijuana is legal.

The U.S. Department of Justice says Chinese drug cartels may be making millions of dollars from illegal marijuana in states like Maine, New York, Massachusetts, and elsewhere.

CNN writes that “illegal pot production . . . provides a glimpse of a hidden world – one that mirrors a trend playing out not only in California, but in states such as Oklahoma, Oregon, New Mexico and Maine: groups of people with apparent ties to foreign countries – most notably China – producing weed in colossal volumes.”

A CBS News segment last year highlighted how Chinese investment is driving illegal marijuana production across the U.S.

CBN reported last year that Chinese investors with “suitcases full of cash” are buying U.S. farmland to grow black market marijuana.

NPR has reported how illegal immigrants from China “are taking jobs at hundreds of cannabis farms springing up across the U.S.”

Other correspondents have reported how these illegal marijuana operations contribute to “modern day slavery on American soil.”

And illegal marijuana produced in states like California and Oklahoma appears to be making its way into states like Arkansas. All of this underscores why it is so important that Arkansans have resisted efforts to legalize marijuana.

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

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Marijuana Legalization Increases Use Among Youth: New Study

Research published this month shows marijuana legalization is tied to increased use among youth.

The study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry examined how state laws legalizing marijuana affect young people.

Researchers found recreational marijuana laws are linked to a 13% increase in marijuana use among youth. The article also notes that recent studies show a growing trend of marijuana use among youth in states where recreational marijuana is legal.

The findings are troubling, given how research increasingly shows marijuana is harmful to children, teens, and young adults.

Nationwide, since 2019, the number of kids diagnosed with cannabis-induced mental disorders — including schizophrenia and psychotic episodes — has increased by 50%.

And research has shown time and again that marijuana has a significant potential for dependence and abuse.

As we have said for years: 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.

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