Good Bill Banning Marijuana-Smoking Fails to Clear Senate

Legislature, Marijuana, ,

This week a good bill that prohibits “medical marijuana” users from smoking marijuana failed to clear the Arkansas Senate.

The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment currently lets practically anyone qualify to smoke marijuana. Even children are allowed to smoke it.

Smoking is a recreational activity that is almost universally recognized as unhealthy.

That’s why S.B. 357 by Sen. Jason Rapert (R-Conway) and Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R-Elm Springs) prohibits marijuana smoking; other forms of medical marijuana use—such as marijuana oils, tinctures, and vaporizers—would remain legal, but not smoking.

This week S.B. 357 failed to pass the Arkansas Senate. The bill needed twenty-four votes to pass; it received only ten.

Here are the senators who voted for S.B. 357:

  • Sen. Ron Caldwell (R-Wynne)
  • Sen. Linda Collins-Smith (R-Pocahontas)
  • Sen. John Cooper (R-Jonesboro)
  • Sen. Bart Hester (R-Cave Springs)
  • Sen. Missy Irvin (R-Mountain View)
  • Sen. Jason Rapert (R-Conway)
  • Sen. Bill Sample (R-Hot Springs)
  • Sen. David Sanders (R-Little Rock)
  • Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R-Branch)
  • Sen. Eddie Joe Williams (R-Cabot)

Here are the senators who voted against S.B. 357:

  • Sen. Will Bond (D-Little Rock)
  • Sen. Alan Clark (R-Lonsdale)
  • Sen. Joyce Elliot (D-Little Rock)
  • Sen. Jane English (R-North Little Rock)
  • Sen. Jake Files (R-Fort Smith)
  • Sen. Stephanie Flowers (D-Pine Bluff)
  • Sen. Trent Garner (R-El Dorado)
  • Sen. Jim Hendren (R-Gravette)
  • Sen. Jimmy Hickey (R-Texarkana)
  • Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson (R-Little Rock)
  • Sen. Keith Ingram (D-West Memphis)
  • Sen. Uvalde Lindsey (D-Fayetteville)
  • Sen. Bruce Maloch (D-Magnolia)
  • Sen. Terry Rice (R-Waldron)
  • Sen. David Wallace (R-Leachville)

Here are the senators who did not vote on S.B. 357:

  • Sen. Eddie Cheatham (D-Crossett)
  • Sen. Linda Chesterfield (D-Little Rock)
  • Sen. Jonathan Dismang (R-Beebe)
  • Sen. Lance Eads (R-Springdale)
  • Sen. Scott Flippo (R-Bull Shoals)
  • Sen. Blake Johnson (R-Corning)
  • Sen. Bryan King (R-Green Forest)
  • Sen. Greg Standridge (R-Russellville)
  • Sen. Larry Teague (D-Nashville)

Sen. Cecile Bledsoe (R-Rogers) was not able to vote due to an excused absence from the Arkansas Senate. However, she has assured us she supports S.B. 357.

READ MORE

Notable Bills Filed at the Legislature So Far

Abortion, Home School, Legislature, Marijuana, , ,

We’ve been busy at the Arkansas Capitol Building. Below is a list of some of the notable bills that have been filed at the Arkansas Legislature so far.

Pro-Life

  1. H.B. 1032 (Act 45 of 2016). This good, pro-life bill prohibits some dismemberment abortion procedures–such as the D&E and sharp curettage procedures, in which a living, unborn baby is dismembered. The bill passed the Arkansas Legislature and was recently signed into law by Governor Asa Hutchinson.
  2. S.B. 148. This good, pro-life bill protects babies who survive an abortion from being denied medical treatment, and it ensures doctors and nurses provide reasonable medical care and nourishment to any infant born in Arkansas.
  3. H.B. 1185. This bill makes it easier for the State to give a death certificate to a baby that is miscarried or stillborn. It reinforces the fact that unborn children are people, and that their deaths should be treated the same as anyone else’s.

Home Schooling

  1. S.B. 112. This bill lets home schoolers and private school families deduct certain education costs from their income taxes.
  2. H.B. 1208. This bill clarifies that home schoolers and private school students can enroll in academic courses at their local public schools if their public school district is willing to enroll them. This practice is currently permitted primarily through state rules and regulations. H.B. 1208 writes it into state law.

Marijuana

  1. H.B. 1391. This good bill makes it easier for local municipalities to zone and regulate marijuana farms and marijuana stores.
  2. H.B. 1392. This good bill effectively prohibits the commercial production or sale of marijuana edibles, but lets marijuana cardholders and caregivers mix marijuana with food or drink to aid ingestion. This means a marijuana dispensary would not be able to sell gummy bears or candy bars infused with marijuana–many of which look like ordinary candy–but marijuana users would still be permitted to mix marijuana with food or drink at home.
  3. H.B. 1400. This good bill prohibits marijuana smoking. Smoking is a recreational activity. It is not medicine–in fact, smoking is universally recognized as harmful to a person’s health. Marijuana smoke contains many of the same carcinogens as tobacco smoke, and secondhand marijuana smoke is dangerous for children. As marijuana proponents pointed out time and again last year, smoking is not the only way a person can use so-called “medical marijuana.” With that in mind, this bill prohibits marijuana smoking in Arkansas.
  4. S.B. 238. This good bill amends the deadlines and timetables in the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment to delay implementation of the state’s medical marijuana program until marijuana is legalized at the federal level. Right now, marijuana growers, sellers, and users can be prosecuted for violating federal drug laws even though Arkansas’ constitution says marijuana is legal. S.B. 238 solves this problem by effectively delaying implementation of the state’s marijuana program until federal law allows it.
  5. S.B. 130. This bill clarifies that a person will be considered “under the influence” of marijuana if a test shows he or she has 5 nanograms or more of THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) per milliliter of blood. Right now Arkansas medical marijuana amendment does not define “under the influence of marijuana,” and law enforcement does not have a clear means by which to determine if a driver is impaired by marijuana.

READ MORE

Bill Filed to Let Home Schoolers Take Classes at Local Public Schools

Home School, Legislature

H.B. 1208 filed today by Rep. Mark Lowery (R-Maumelle) would let home schooled and private school students enroll in classes at their local public schools.

This actually is not a new concept; in fact, some public schools in Arkansas have let home schoolers enroll in public school courses for a number of years.

Currently, executive memos from the Arkansas Department of Education along with rules and regulations from the State Board of Education have allowed home schoolers to enroll in some public school courses. In return, public schools receive additional funding from the state.

H.B. 1208 codifies that practice by writing it into state law, and it expands it to include private school students.

This means a home schooler who wants to take, for example, a more advanced math or science course–such trigonometry or physics–may be able to do so through his or her local public school. Likewise, if a private school student wants to take a course that is not offered at his or her school–such as a certain foreign language–taking that course from the local public school may be an option.

It’s important to note H.B. 1208 does not require public schools to open their doors to home schoolers; the program is optional for all school districts, but schools who participate will receive additional public funding from the state.

H.B. 1208 gives families throughout Arkansas more flexibility in helping their children receive the best education possible. That’s a good thing.

You Can Read H.B. 1208 Here.

READ MORE