Natural State News

The Arkansas Adult Use Cannabis Amendment is an initiative set to be on the state's election ballot on Nov. 8, Ballotpedia reported. Marijuana legalization is an initiated constitutional amendment pushed by the marijuana industry that cannot be changed by any elected official. The measure would legalize recreational marijuana use for individuals 21 years of age and older and authorize the commercial sale of marijuana with sales to be taxed at 10%.

According to a newsletter written by Family Council President Jerry Cox, a Little Rock-based man told Cox he wished those "pro-marijuana people could have been with him when he came upon his son’s body in their den. A victim of a gunshot suicide, the man’s son started his road to destruction using marijuana. The boy’s father and mother both say that marijuana was the cause of their son’s death.

"Legalizing marijuana will hurt our children and grandchildren," Cox told Natural State News. "It makes no sense to promote anything that will hurt a child. I challenge anyone to tell me how legalizing marijuana will result in fewer kids on drugs."

Cox founded Arkansas's Family Council in 1989 with the intent of serving the people of Arkansas by promoting, protecting and strengthening traditional family values, according to the Family Council website. He is also the founder of the Education Alliance, the Arkansas Physician’s Resource Council and the Arkansas Justice Institute.

According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), teenage marijuana use is at its highest level in 30 years. In addition, modern-day teens are more likely to use marijuana than tobacco.

California was the first state to legalize medical marijuana in 1996, starting a trend that led to the widespread legalization of both medical and recreational marijuana across the U.S. Recreational marijuana is currently legal in 19 states and the District of Columbia, MJ Biz Daily reported.