Marijuana – Page 139 – Family Council

Proposal Would Address Marijuana Possession, Transportation, and Use

Feb 23, 2021Jerry CoxLegislation, MarijuanaArkansas Legislature, Marijuana

On Monday Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R – Springdale) and Sen. Cecile Bledsoe (R – Rogers) filed H.B. 1525 concerning the unlawful possession, transportation, and use of medical marijuana in Arkansas.

The bill prohibits a person from being under the influence of marijuana in public or at a marijuana dispensary or marijuana cultivation facility.

It clarifies that it is unlawful for a person to use marijuana by inhalation in a place where marijuana is prohibited by the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2016.

It also imposes penalties for possessing more marijuana than Arkansas’ medical marijuana amendment allows.

And it makes it a crime to transport medical marijuana into Arkansas from another state.

Right now, Arkansas law prohibits marijuana use in public, and it says that a person cannot be intoxicated by marijuana while at a marijuana dispensary or cultivation facility. State law also prohibits smoking of medical in public or if the user is under 21 years of age.

But Arkansas law does not contain penalties for violating some of these medical marijuana laws, and current law may not adequately address all the ways marijuana can be consumed by inhalation.

H.B. 1525’s broader language and penalties could help address these inadequacies in state law.

Time and again healthcare professionals have found a link between marijuana and serious health problems.

A study just published in JAMA Pediatrics found that heavy cannabis use among adolescents and young adults with mood disorders is “associated with an elevated risk of self-harm, overall mortality, and death by unintentional overdose and homicide.”

A 2019 study found that marijuana legalization has been linked to psychosis, suicide, and other substance abuse.

And a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association’s publication JAMA Psychiatry found exposure to marijuana during pregnancy was associated with psychotic behaviors, weaker cognitive abilities, and other problems in children.

All of this underscores what we have said for years: Marijuana may be many things, but “harmless” simply is not one of them.

Bill Would Address Problem With Marijuana Advertising

Feb 2, 2021Jerry CoxLegislation, Legislature, MarijuanaArkansas Legislature, Marijuana

On Monday Rep. Delia Haak (R – Gentry) filed H.B. 1353 closing a loophole in Arkansas’ law governing advertising for “medical” marijuana.

Arkansas law generally prohibits marijuana dispensaries and cultivators from using medical symbols on their property.

However, state law doesn’t clearly apply to other forms of marijuana advertising. As a result, billboards and ads for marijuana products around Arkansas sometimes use green crosses or other medical symbols.

H.B. 1353 clarifies the law to say that marijuana dispensaries and cultivators cannot use a cross of any color or other symbols commonly associated with the practice of medicine in their advertisements.

This is a good bill that closes a loophole in Arkansas’ marijuana laws.

You can read H.B. 1353 here.

And Yet Another Study Shows Marijuana Is Dangerous

Jan 28, 2021John StonestreetMarijuanaMarijuana

*John Stonestreet, Radio Host and President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview.*

An oft-repeated line from advocates in and out of American politics is that marijuana, unlike opioids or cocaine, is a “safe drug.” Every campaign to legalize its sale and use repeats this claim. But it’s not true.

Making this finding even more significant and ominous is the fact that mood disorders have risen significantly over the past decade among younger Americans.

According to the study’s author, a first step is to educate parents and kids about the risks. That’s true, but we also need to educate politicians and voters that promises of financial windfalls won’t somehow make pot safe, and it’s not the government’s job to incentivize risky behaviors for financial gain.