Arkansas Senate Fails to Pass Bill Banning Marijuana Edibles

Legislature, Marijuana, ,

This week a good bill that prohibits the manufacture or sale of marijuana “edibles”—food or drink infused with marijuana—failed to pass the Arkansas Senate.

The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment currently lets companies manufacture and sell foods—like candy and cookies—or drinks infused with marijuana. These marijuana edibles often contain extremely concentrated levels of marijuana and are routinely sending people in other states to emergency rooms.

S.B. 333 lets medical marijuana users and caregivers mix marijuana with food or drink at home, but it prevents companies from manufacturing or selling marijuana edibles in Arkansas. It’s a good, commonsense bill that protects people from dangerous marijuana products.

However, the bill failed to clear the Arkansas Senate. The bill needed twenty-four votes to pass. It received fifteen.

Here are the senators who voted for S.B. 333:

  • Sen. Cecile Bledsoe (R-Rogers)
  • Sen. Eddie Cheatham (D-Crossett)
  • Sen. Linda Collins-Smith (R-Pocahontas)
  • Sen. John Cooper (R-Jonesboro)
  • Sen. Trent Garner (R-El Dorado)
  • Sen. Bart Hester (R-Cave Springs)
  • Sen. Missy Irvin (R-Mountain View)
  • Sen. Bryan King (R-Green Forest)
  • Sen. Bruce Maloch (D-Magnolia)
  • Sen. Jason Rapert (R-Conway)
  • Sen. Terry Rice (R-Waldron)
  • Sen. David Sanders (R-Little Rock)
  • Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R-Branch)
  • Sen. Larry Teague (D-Nashville)
  • Sen. Eddie Joe Williams (R-Cabot)

Here are the senators who voted against S.B. 333:

  • Sen. Will Bond (D-Little Rock)
  • Sen. Linda Chesterfield (D-Little Rock)
  • Sen. Alan Clark (R-Lonsdale)
  • Sen. Joyce Elliot (D-Little Rock)
  • Sen. Jake Files (R-Fort Smith)
  • Sen. Stephanie Flowers (D-Pine Bluff)
  • Sen. Jimmy Hickey (R-Texarkana)
  • Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson (R-Little Rock)
  • Sen. Keith Ingram (D-West Memphis)
  • Sen. Uvalde Lindsey (D-Fayetteville)
  • Sen. David Wallace (R-Leachville)

Here are the senators who did not vote on S.B. 333:

  • Sen. Ron Caldwell (R-Wynne)
  • Sen. Jonathan Dismang (R-Beebe)
  • Sen. Lance Eads (R-Springdale)
  • Sen. Jane English (R-North Little Rock)
  • Sen. Scott Flippo (R-Bull Shoals)
  • Sen. Jim Hendren (R-Gravette)
  • Sen. Blake Johnson (R-Corning)
  • Sen. Bill Sample (R-Hot Springs)
  • Sen. Greg Standridge (R-Russellville)

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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.

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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.

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