Natural State News

If Arkansas voters in November approve a constitutional amendment legalizing marijuana, the state will see more children harmed by drugs and new pathways for illegal drugs, said Jerry Cox, president and founder of Family Council.

“We’re already fighting a raging opioid epidemic," Cox said. "Methamphetamines are destroying lives all the time, and fentanyl is killing people every week. Now big marijuana companies are trying to amend our constitution for the same reason all drug dealers deal drugs—to get rich while destroying the lives of others. Arkansas doesn’t need another drug problem.”

Supporters of the amendment which would legalize marijuana for ages 21 and up, hope it will help fund law enforcement.

The state Board of Election Commissioners blocked the initiative in August, but the Arkansas Supreme Court overturned that decision, the Associated Press reported.

A proposed constitutional amendment is on the ballot in November that would allow people 21 and over to purchase and possess up to one ounce of cannabis and allow state-licensed dispensaries to sell recreational marijuana, AP reported. Responsible Growth Arkansas is pushing for the amendment while organizations like the Family Council are opposed to it.                     

 According to Ballotpedia, “Issue 4” on the November Ballot is the marijuana legalization initiative. Voting “Yes” means “legalizing the possession and use of up to one ounce of marijuana for persons who are at least 21 years old, enacting a 10% tax on marijuana sales, and requiring the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Division to develop rules to regulate marijuana businesses” and voting “No” “opposes legalizing marijuana for personal use in Arkansas.

Responsible Growth Arkansas is sponsoring the amendment and according to Ballotpedia said, "We all know that funding and supporting the police is important. Our brave men and women in law enforcement deserve our support. You can vote to support our law enforcement by voting for Issue 4 this election. Issue 4 will safely legalize the sale of cannabis to adults 21 and older and creates revenue that goes to more funding for local police departments, more funding for protecting our communities, more funding for safer streets. A vote for Issue 4 is a vote to support our police."

Safe and Secure Communities opposes the amendment and said, “We’re on a mission to save Arkansas from the destructive effects of legalized drugs, and we need your support," Ballotpedia said." Many cities around the nation are destroyed, and now Arkansas is at risk. Help keep Arkansas communities secure and our citizens safe. The pot industry is directly targeting kids, even though hundreds of scientific studies show that marijuana – especially today’s high-potency weed – permanently damages the teenage brain. Teens who smoke pot regularly drop out at twice the rate of non-users, and as adults they earn less and have a lower IQ. Marijuana-related policy changes, including legalization, have significant unintended consequences for children, adolescents, and cities large and small."

In an interview with NTD's "The Nation Speaks," Dr. Ken Finn, president of the American Board of Pain Medicine and a vice president of the International Academy on the Science and Impacts of Cannabis, cautioned about the use of recreational marijuana.

“I think the industry has circumvented the FDA drug development process and a lot of these products are frequently contaminated and unfortunately poorly regulated,” Finn said.

He added, “this has really created a public health and safety concern with an increased use and utilization of our already strained health care system. Poison control calls are skyrocketing across the country in states that have both medical and recreational programs, particularly in the zero to 5 age group and these kids don’t handle cannabis like an adult; 4 percent of these kids will end up on a ventilator.” 

When asked what recreational marijuana is being contaminated with, Finn said, “pesticides, fungicides, anticoagulant rodenticides, heavy metals… mislabeling so what’s on the package might not be what’s in the product. Many of them don’t have CBD in it, they actually have THC in it.” 

Finn believes there is a “very strong correlation” between the rise of opioid overdoses and the legalization and use of recreational marijuana.

In a press release from Family Council, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, former governor Mike Huckabee, Lt. Governor Tim Griffin, Congressman French Hill, U.S. Senator Tom Cotton and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a current candidate for governor, all expressed their opposition to the amendment.

“I don’t think that with the drug epidemic that we have across this state, frankly across the country, that adding and giving more access to that does anything to benefit Arkansas, so I certainly wouldn’t be supportive of that,” Sanders said.

The press release cites a study from the Journal of the American Medical Association that found states which “legalized commercial marijuana saw self-harm rates rise by 46% among men ages 21 to 39.” The Family Council, who is strongly opposed to the amendment, argues “Marijuana can have damaging effects on adolescent brains — including permanent loss in IQ, difficulty thinking and problem-solving, reduced coordination, and increased risk of psychosis.”

In a newsletter, Cox of the Family Council wrote, "We are mistaken if we believe legalizing drugs is about freedom and taxes. I wouldn’t want to try to make that case on Judgment Day. Legalizing drugs is about death and lies from the father of all lies. Please don’t fall for any of it. You can put a stop to this, and I hope and pray that you will. It was crafted by the marijuana industry and placed on the ballot through a petition drive funded by marijuana growers. They are trying to give themselves an uncontrollable monopoly."

According to the Los Angeles Times, unlicensed dispensaries in California have become "hotbeds of crime" and stand as a "stark illustration" of how marijuana legalization in the state has gone terribly wrong. Although these black-market dispensaries offer cheaper marijuana products than legal retailers, most are untested and unregulated.