PHOENIX - Border Patrol agents in southern Arizona have seized a nearly 100-pound bundle of marijuana after spotting it flying over the border fence. Surveillance video on Wednesday captured the large package launching through the air over the fence from Mexico to the U.S. Agents on the ground found a large, plastic-wrapped bundle worth about $48,000. Spokeswoman Stephanie Dixon said drug smugglers are increasingly launching massive bundles of pot over the border fence, posing a danger to nearby residents and businesses because of their weight. She said she knew of one incident in which a bundle went through the roof of a dog house. [continues 368 words]
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Demand for permission to use, grow and sell medical marijuana in Arkansas is low as the state reaches the halfway point for the application period. Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration spokesman Scott Hardin told The Associated Press Friday morning that the agency had received no applications to grow and distribute medical marijuana. "We are not concerned, as we understand the applications require detailed and specific information that will take time to complete," Hardin said earlier in the week. "Applicants are likely performing their due diligence to provide quality applications." [continues 313 words]
Dear editor: With all of the political rhetoric in the spotlight during this election season, it is sometimes difficult to realize how blessed we are to be Arkansans and how important our choices are - not only in our selection of individuals we will choose to lead and represent us, but also in determining the ballot initiatives we choose to oppose or support. On Nov. 8, when you go vote, there will be issues on your ballot that change our Constitution or modify our laws. One of those, Issue 6, relates to legalizing marijuana. Issue 6 is being advertised and marketed to you as marijuana for medical use; however, this is a big lie. [continues 399 words]
THERE was an interesting story in the paper Sunday; actually several, as is the norm. (A salute to the desks that put together that biggest paper of the week.) This article, however, had to do with pot on the ballot. You've surely heard that Arkansas voters will see a couple of ballot questions having to do with medical marijuana next week. One of them might even have its votes counted. (The Supreme Court has ruled against the other, but your ballots have already been printed.) [continues 241 words]
LITTLE ROCK (AP) - The Arkansas Supreme Court was asked Friday to disqualify an effort to legalize medical marijuana over potentially invalid signatures, the second challenge filed against a ballot measure to make the drug available to some patients. Attorney Kara Benca of Little Rock questioned the validity of thousands of signatures that were submitted for the proposal allowing patients with certain medical conditions to buy marijuana. The measure is among two medical marijuana proposals on the November ballot. Benca, who didn't immediately return a message late Friday afternoon, claimed more than 15,000 signatures that were submitted for the proposal should be tossed out. Benca identifies herself in the lawsuit as a life-member of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, which supports legalizing the drug. [continues 266 words]
Democrats Add Plank for 2016 The backers of two competing medical marijuana initiatives found good news in their cause ending up on the platform of the Democratic Party of Arkansas. Members of the party met Saturday to hear speeches and take care of business ahead of the Nov. 8 general election, including approving a platform. One of the planks is on medical marijuana. The plank calls for "the development of a responsible medical marijuana program that will receive patients in need of such relief the freedom to access this remedy." [continues 1172 words]
Regulation Would Be a 'Tax Drain' On State, He Tells Counties HOT SPRINGS (AP) - Legalizing medical marijuana would be a drain on the state's resources, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Thursday as legalization supporters asked the state's highest court to dismiss an attempt to block their proposal this fall. The governor also expressed opposition to a casino ballot measure while speaking to the Association of Arkansas Counties. Hutchinson, the former head of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, said he was concerned about the costs of regulation and enforcement if voters approve legalizing marijuana for some patients. [continues 504 words]
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson told the Association of Arkansas Counties' 48th Annual Conference Thursday that he will oppose two proposals on the November general election ballot that would legalize medical marijuana in the state. "I will be opposing the two marijuana initiatives," Hutchinson told the conference, which was held at the Hot Springs Convention Center. "You can imagine the enforcement issues and the regulatory issues that are involved with this. I do not see any tax benefits for the state. I see more of a tax drain for the state." [continues 643 words]
Arkansans Against Legalized Marijuana filed suit Wednesday to stop the state from counting votes cast in November for a proposed initiated act that would legalize the drug for medical purposes. The complaint, filed with the Arkansas Supreme Court, alleges problems with the ballot title of the Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act. "It contains misleading statements, omits material information that is essential for a fair understanding of the Act, and is tinged with partisan coloring," the complaint reads in part. According to the complaint, the ballot title "falsely tells voters that the Act limits the use of marijuana"; "gives the false impression that all marijuana will be tested for quality, safety, and potency"; and "fails to tell the voters that the Act permits 'cannabis care centers' to sell food and drink that contains marijuana," among other issues. [continues 699 words]
Voters May Face Two Pot-Related Measures in November Arkansas voters may yet see dueling ballot proposals to allow medical marijuana in this state. Last week, backers of a second pot-related ballot question, a proposed constitutional amendment, submitted what they say is more than enough signatures to get the issue on the Nov. 8 general election ballot. Secretary of State Mark Martin's office is reviewing the signatures now to determine whether there are enough valid signatures to meet the required threshold. [continues 532 words]
A new group has formed to coordinate attacks on the proposed Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act and Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment. State Surgeon General Greg Bledsoe is serving as spokesman for the group, Arkansans Against Legalized Marijuana. Members include: the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce, the Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation, the Coalition for Safer Arkansas Communities, the Family Council Action Committee and the Arkansas Committee for Ethics Policy. "Well, it's a very diverse coalition," Bledsoe said in an interview Tuesday. "We decided to put together all of our collective thinking on this because we're unified on the fact that we think the medical marijuana issues would be bad for the state." [continues 500 words]
While spending endless hours in a waiting room at UAMS I've now read multiple anti-medical marijuana editorials printed in the course of a couple of weeks. It must be nice to have your own bully pulpit. Please excuse my tardiness in responding. I volunteer as a cancer patient advocate and I've been kind of busy. You seem to be under the impression that cannabis is only used for nausea. You mention the synthetic cannabis anti-nausea drug, Marinol, that makes money for a big drug company. I've worked with cancer patients who take it by the handful with no effect in stopping nausea. Smoking real cannabis does. It also stimulates their appetite, improves mental attitude and relieves pain better than constipation-causing addictive opiates. Cannabis contains a component, CBD (cannibidiol), that's been shown effective for the treatment of childhood epileptic seizure syndromes. An CBD/THC oral spray drug called Sativex is currently on fast-track status with the FDA for the treatment of multiple sclerosis tremors. CBD also shows efficacy against colon cancer. Sativex might also prove effective against my patient's colon cancer, but until medical cannabis is legalized, research is stymied. [continues 100 words]
The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has just issued a helpful reminder to all Americans. In denying a petition to loosen restrictions on marijuana, the agency repeated that the drug has "no currently accepted medical use" in the United States. This may come as a surprise, given that some states already allow doctors to prescribe marijuana to treat maladies from PTSD to Alzheimer's disease. Yet the truth is, research has yet to find firm evidence that marijuana can alleviate physical suffering. [continues 177 words]
When children steal cookies from the cookie jar, they usually suffer little more than a scolding. When those cookies contain cannabis, it's a different story: According to a study published last week, exposure to marijuana among children in Colorado has increased in the two years since the state began selling the drug legally- and so have the emergency-room visits that follow. Colorado gave the green light to medical marijuana in 2000. In 2012, the state sanctioned recreational use, and by January 2014, dispensary store shelves were stocked with potent products of all shapes and sizes. Since then, marijuana-related trips to children's care centers have almost doubled, though incidence overall remains low. Edibles in particular seem to entice unsuspecting children who think they are sneaking everyday snacks, though secondhand smoke is also a culprit. After accidental marijuana consumption, most children simply become sleepy. In the worst of cases, they can end up with a breathing tube. [continues 265 words]
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge has rejected a proposed constitutional amendment for the 2018 ballot that would legalize marijuana in the state. The proposal by Mary Berry, of Summit, would allow for the cultivation, production, distribution, sale, possession and use of the cannabis plant and all products taken from the plant, including marijuana. Rutledge wrote in an opinion released Monday that the proposal is being rejected because of ambiguities in the text. [end]
If passed, the Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act would be one of the most permissive medical marijuana measures in the country, Henny Lasley, a founding member of Smart Colorado, said Friday. Lasley was the headline speaker at a meeting of the Coalition for Safer Arkansas Communities held at the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce in Little Rock. The meeting attracted about 35 people, among them law enforcement officers, lawmakers and employees of treatment centers. The coalition says on its website that is an organization of parents, teachers, medical professionals, law enforcement officials, business owners and community leaders. [continues 628 words]
For the Sake of Your Health AT LEAST a couple of proposals legalizing "medical" marijuana are now angling for a place on November's ballot. Which means the state's Health Department may be called on to issue many a clarification between now and then. The first one came out last week. To quote Nathaniel Smith, M.D., and director of the department: "There was a statement by one of the proponents of medical marijuana that she had spoken to the Department of Health and that we were gearing up, expecting this ballot initiative to pass. That's not correct." [continues 561 words]
FOLKS at the Health Department in this state were very careful about their words. As always. No need to make the controversial even more problematic. The department was not to those pushing "medical" marijuana on the November ballots. The department was clarifying its position. Call the brass at the Health Department what you will, but don't call them impolitic. It seems that somebody pushing, and we mean pushing, dope- as- medicine had said something on one of the radio stations in central Arkansas, something about perhaps the department gearing up in case one of the medical marijuana proposals passes this fall. The director of the department, Nathaniel Smith, told the papers that is not the case. [continues 199 words]
The Arkansas Department of Health said Tuesday it will not support ballot measures intended to legalize medical marijuana in the state, saying in a statement that the drug is not approved by the Federal Drug Administration. The news came after Melissa Fults, campaign manager for Arkansans for Compassionate Care, appeared on the Dave Elswick Show on radio station KHTE-FM, 96.5. "There was a statement by one of the proponents of medical marijuana that she had spoken to the Department of Health and that we were gearing up, expecting this ballot initiative to pass," said Nathaniel Smith, director of the Department of Health, in an interview. "That's not correct." [continues 765 words]
See Through All the Smoke NOT JUST one but a couple of competing proposals to legalize "medical" marijuana in Arkansas may appear on November's already crowded ballot. There's both an initiated act and a constitutional amendment in the works. The campaign manager for the first has been pressing the sponsor of the second to withdraw his. If both appear on the ballot, says Melissa Fults, both will fail. But its sponsor, David Couch, says nothing doing. Happily, there's enough opposition to both bad ideas to indicate they're both in trouble. Arkansas doesn't need either one, let alone both. [continues 456 words]
An initiated act aimed at legalizing medical marijuana has been cleared for the Nov. 8 general election ballot, but the proposal faces opposition from three fronts - the backer of a competing constitutional amendment, a conservative organization and the governor. The Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act received enough valid signatures to appear on the ballot, Melissa Fults, campaign manager for Arkansans for Compassionate Care, said in an interview Thursday. Kerry Baldwin, a spokesman for the secretary of state's office, confirmed that the group did meet the signature threshold. It is the first initiated proposal to clear that hurdle; today is the deadline for submitting petitions for a general election ballot proposal. [continues 1171 words]
LITTLE ROCK (AP) - A proposal to legalize medical marijuana in Arkansas qualified for the November ballot on Thursday, putting the issue before the state's voters for the second time in four years. The secretary of state's office said it had verified at least 77,516 of the more than 117,000 signatures submitted for the proposed initiated act by Arkansans for Compassionate Care were from registered voters. Initiated acts need at least 67,887 signatures, while constitutional amendments need at least 84,859. Friday is the deadline for groups to turn in signatures for their ballot measures. [continues 441 words]
At Something More Important Than Football "Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened." - Winston Churchill GOODNESS, how many proposals about marijuana could be on the ballot come November? Talk about poor choices in an election. What is it about 2016? If the presidential election might require many of us to hold our noses when we vote, if any more marijuana proposals get on the ballot in Arkansas, somebody might have to hand out gas masks at the polls. If for nothing else than to avoid contact highs. [continues 435 words]
Rx Push for Ballot 1st With Signatures Backers of an initiated act to legalize medical marijuana became the first group this year to submit signatures for a ballot proposal when they delivered petitions to the Arkansas secretary of state's office Monday. The petitions, bearing about 117,000 signatures, were submitted almost three weeks ahead of the July 8 state deadline. The next step is for validation by the secretary of state's office; 67,887 signatures from at least 15 different counties are needed for an initiated act to land on the Nov. 8 general election ballot. [continues 966 words]
Tremendous Opportunities for Union County Health EL DORADO - Benton Police Capt. Kevin Russell told the audience at Tuesday's TOUCH Coalition meeting that the hazards of legalized marijuana outweigh the pro-ported benefits. "I became involved in this issue about five years ago and have studied it extensively," said Russell, a 17-year veteran of Arkansas law enforcement. A recent FBI Academy graduate and member of the Benton Police Department, Russell has made it his mission to inform and educate Arkansans on the effects seen in states following the legalization of marijuana on their youth and communities. [continues 882 words]
Sen. Tom Cotton's logic for his statement that the U.S. didn't have enough people in prison was that all the murders and assaults have not been solved, so there should be more people in jail. Yes, if those crimes were solved there would be more people in jail, but that is no reason, whatsoever, for people with drug problems to be in jail. If anything, it begs for leniency for those incarcerated for nonharmful crimes because then there will be more room in prisons when police do solve all those cold cases. Which also brings up the point that if police were not so busy chasing after minor offenders of our failed drug war, they would have more time to solve the cases of murder and assault. [continues 224 words]
Voters heading to the polls today will be asked to sign petitions on marijuana and term limits. Of the 12 ballot measures -- initiated acts and constitutional amendments -- approved for the 2016 ballot by Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and her predecessor, Dustin McDaniel, five are active, according to an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette survey. Of those five, petitioners will collect signatures for at least three ballot measures during the primary: The Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act, The Arkansas Hemp and Cannabis Amendment, and the Arkansas Term Limits Amendment of 2016. [continues 983 words]
LITTLE ROCK (AP) - Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge has again rejected a proposed constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana in Arkansas. The proposal by Mary Berry of Summit seeks to legalize the cultivation, production, sale, possession and use of the cannabis plant and all products produced by the cannabis plant, including marijuana. Rutledge said in her rejection letter Tuesday that there are ambiguities in the text of the proposal and that a number of additions or changes are necessary. This is the sixth time the attorney general has rejected the proposal because of ambiguities. Rutledge has approved a separate proposal to legalize medical marijuana in Arkansas submitted by Little Rock attorney David Couch. Supporters of that proposal need nearly 85,000 signatures from registered voters to put it on the ballot this fall. [end]
Taboos about drugs are lying shattered across the U.S., like broken debris after a party. But even as some states have begun to decriminalize or legalize marijuana, there is an argument that is making some Americans hesitate. They ask: Aren't many drugs, even pot, much more potent today than they were in the 1960s when the boomers formed their views on drug use? Hasn't cannabis morphed into super skunk? Aren't people who used legal painkillers like OxyContin and Percocet sliding into heroin addiction, suggesting that legally accessible drugs are a slippery slope toward the abuse of harder drugs? [continues 609 words]
The reason I wrote to the editor instead of the attorney general's office is because Attorney General Rutledge may tell me I was using the wrong words in my letter, especially if it has to do about legalizing marijuana. It seems every time the issue comes up for the ballot, she doesn't like the wording. And I wanted to make sure she would read my letter. I hope she understands this. She's worried about letting the people who have been charged or convicted on marijuana out of jail. Let's see, prisons are full. Jails are full, and every day, you read about possession of a controlled substance and paraphernalia, and they won't even tell us it's pot. They say if it's meth or cocaine, but not pot? I think they are embarrassed because of what they're doing or how stupid it is to lock people up for it. All this talk about more jails, not enough beds at the prison. Can you understand these words, Attorney General Rutledge? [continues 147 words]
Yet Another Study Shows ... "Back in 2012, Arkansas voters turned down a ballot proposal to allow for the use of medical marijuana in the state. But only barely. The proposal failed with 49 percent of the vote for, 51 agin. That made a lot of folks nervous. With a vote like that, the idea of medical marijuana wasn't killed in Arkansas, only just barely wounded. And its supporters vowed to be back. And they are. (They're trying to get it on the ballot again, as they promised.) [continues 535 words]
Medical Marijuana's Support Grows WHAT A shocking poll. And it has nothing at all to do with The Donald, Dr. Carson, or any of the other presidential hopefuls crowding your television sets. The political science types at the University of Arkansas have come out with their annual Arkansas Poll, or what they call The Arkansas Poll, that definite article being all the rage these days. Folks working on the poll interviewed 800 Arkies back in October, and found some interesting things. Some were expected: People in Arkansas like Asa!, the president not-so-much, and oppose same-sex marriage. [continues 423 words]
These days, it's become fairly square to criticize marijuana and its rush toward legalization. Twenty-three states have condoned the drug in some form, with four permitting recreational use, and Massachusetts is set to vote on permitting it next year. The proposed federal CARERS Act of 2015 would let states legalize medical marijuana without federal interference and demote pot from a Schedule I drug-one with high abuse potential-to Schedule II. The path toward nationwide decriminalization is looking unobstructed. [continues 775 words]
CONWAY - A Van Buren County man isn't giving up on his cause, even though the attorney general's office has rejected five proposed ballot titles that would have asked voters to legalize marijuana for various purposes. Four of Robert Reed's proposals would have provided for voters to decide whether to approve a constitutional amendment allowing for either industrial or agricultural uses and medical uses of marijuana. The other proposal would have let voters decide whether to pass an amendment legalizing all uses of marijuana, including recreational. [continues 495 words]
The cousin of a former state police lieutenant admitted Tuesday to a federal judge that in 2013, he sold cocaine that his cousin had stolen from the police property room, unaware that federal agents had him under surveillance. Lamont Johnson's plea to a charge of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance ( cocaine) was part of a plea agreement in which federal prosecutors agreed to drop four other charges Johnson faced at a jury trial scheduled to begin next week. Those charges included conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine, being a felon in possession of firearms and two counts of possessing a defaced firearm. [continues 519 words]
Panel gives both sides chance to voice opinions on controversial issue FAYETTEVILLE - A panel discussion on medical marijuana offered Fayetteville city attorney Kit Williams a chance to describe his wife's personal story of how the drug helped her while she underwent chemotherapy treatments for cancer. Fayetteville city attorney Kit Williams admitted that about five years ago, before his wife's diagnosis, he thought advocacy for medical marijuana "was a bunch of smoke and mirrors." But the panel at the Arkansas Health Disparities Conference at the University of Arkansas also gave a Little Rock doctor, David Smith, a chance to express his concerns about the chemicals in marijuana. [continues 349 words]
Wait for it ... wait ... wait for the other shoe to drop, because inevitably it will. The headlines and Internet chatter all scream for the legalization and increased use of marijuana, and I sit here waiting for the other shoe to drop. Sure it relieves some physical discomforts, but ... no one knows the long term effect because the primary usage for decades has been illegal and few would admit using marijuana, not even when answering questions for medical research. The lag between usage and detrimental side effects happens, as they did about 20 years ago when Risperadol came on the market providing amazing results. It became the medical relief of choice with no known side effects (except the exorbitant cost) found in the pre-market launch. That premise changed as the use spread across the country over the years. It still works well ... with some qualifications. [continues 881 words]
How many more prisons will we build before we wake up? Intoxication is intoxication. Alcohol, marijuana, prescription drugs, cocaine-there is no difference. People choose to alter their consciousness. Get over it. Forty years of a war on drugs hasn't reduced the use or abuse of anything. It's time to look past the moralizing and accept reality. Getting high is not a criminal act. What we fear, the force behind prohibition, is the fear that an intoxicated person will harm others. [continues 175 words]
Regarding "How We See It: Prison Ideas Offer Hope for Solutions" (Dec. 4): If no one else is willing to spell it out, I will. Much of the overcrowding in Arkansas prisons is caused by state legislators who know they stand a greater chance of getting elected if they take a get-tough-on-drugs stance, and by law enforcement agencies who profit from the war on drugs via federal grant money and asset forfeiture laws. It's in the interest of both groups to broaden the definition of "lawbreakers" to be as inclusive as possible. In other words, the problem is systemic. [continues 241 words]
Gov. Mike Beebe of Arkansas, before leaving office in January, plans to issue a pardon to his son, who was convicted of a felony drug offense more than a decade ago. The governor's decision followed an October recommendation by the Arkansas Parole Board that Kyle Beebe's application for a pardon was "with merit." Mr. Beebe was convicted in 2003 of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, and his sentence included three years of probation. "At the time of my arrest, I was living in a fantasy world, not reality," Kyle Beebe, now 34, wrote in a letter to his father that was included in his June 21 pardon application. "I was young and dumb. At that time in my life, I felt like I was missing something, and I tried to fill that emptiness by selling drugs." [continues 395 words]
Unusual ballot issue draws broad lines, odd partnerships on Prohibition-era 'dry' option OZARK, Ark.- Arkansas liquor stores have allied with religious leaders to fight statewide legalization of alcohol sales. The stores in wet counties don't want to lose customers. The churches don't want to lose souls. A ballot issue next week asks voters whether to amend their constitution to permit sales of intoxicating liquors in all 75 counties, up from about half. Passage would further erode the shrinking swath of America, mostly in the South, clinging to vestiges of Prohibition even as cultural attitudes and waning religious influence have killed it off elsewhere. [continues 235 words]
Why hasn't the United States government done more since the '60s to stop the flow or destroy the source of incoming drugs from Colombia and Mexico? Why haven't we napalmed the coca plant fields in Colombia and the marijuana fields in Mexico? Why is our Air Force practicing touch-and-go missions in central Arkansas instead of flying reconnaissance of our southern borders of California, Arizona and Texas? Why aren't more observation drones being used in this so-called war on drugs? [continues 177 words]
Some Americans and their politicians do not like the fact that children from Central America are now coming to the U.S. Many of these children are fleeing drug-gang violence in their home countries. The drug gangs are fighting for the control of the drug traffic to users in the U.S. The unnatural, insatiable appetite of American drug users fuels the Central American violence. I believe our politicians and the mass media are ignoring the obvious reasons for the problem. Outraged protesters want to stop the influx of these children and have tried to block the buses that transport them to centers where they can be processed. I think these misguided and shallow-thinking protesters and other Americans that think like them should focus their efforts on stopping American drug users. One of these drug users might be living right next door to you, or you might even know one in your own family. [continues 57 words]
But the Fight Is Still Far From Over IT LOOKS as if this fall's ballot in the general election here in Arkansas may be free of anything about marijuana. Call it a smoke-free election. Which is good. There's enough mud in the air as it is. Word began filtering out on social media Monday. Those who run websites proposing legalization of weed for medicinal purposes began thanking their supporters, but putting out what was, for them, the bad news: They didn't get enough signatures in time to make the November ballot. Word also began circulating that another effort, one to legalize weed altogether, also failed to get the required number of signatures. The good news just kept coming. [continues 455 words]
Since Oct. 1, U.S. Border Patrol agents have apprehended more than 52,000 children traveling alone from Central America and Mexico. Many of these kids made the dangerous trip to escape even more dangerous conditions in their home countries. According to a 2013 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees survey of 400 children who fled to the United States from Central America and Mexico, nearly half said drug cartel and gang violence had affected them personally, while 20 percent said they had been abused or otherwise experienced violence in their own homes. [continues 509 words]
Not Entitled to Reduction, Panel Rules A panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld a more than 81/2-year sentence for former Little Rock police officer Mark Anthony Jones. He admitted to helping escort a load of marijuana across the city in 2012 - but later said he did so only because the FBI dangled an irresistible wad of cash in front of him. Jones, 47, argued at his sentencing hearing in late October that because he cooperated with prosecutors, he was entitled to a sentence below the 97- to 121-month penalty range recommended by federal sentencing guidelines. [continues 600 words]
Marijuana Cupcake, Anyone? A MOMENT, please, on the latest from the Wild, Wild, ever Wilder West: The business section isn't the place where you usually find the paper's horror stories. They're supposed to be limited to the reviews of scare flicks. But there it was, a story in Saturday's business section, about . . . edible pot. And scary ain't the half of it. Now that Colorado has legalized marijuana for recreational use-that's the next step after a state legalizes medical marijuana-folks out there are putting dope in their food. And not just their own food. Comes word from the Associated Press that some businesses in Colorado now offer weed in their cookies and cupcakes. [continues 261 words]
It seems the Jason Rapert brain freeze spewed so much political humor that an equally humongous gaffe got by most people. The same time the Reverend Rapert was doing his thing, Supreme Leader Jerry Cox had an experienced police officer from Colorado come down to preach against all things pertaining to marijuana, pot, cannabis, hemp and chocolate chip cookies. ( His 40 pounds of experience hung proudly over his belt.) The officer assured Jerry and all four of his followers that if Arkansas allowed medical marijuana, recreational marijuana, and two- for-one Ding Dong sales, this state would go to pot. ( Sorry, could not pass on that one.) [continues 68 words]
It seems the Jason Rapert brain freeze spewed so much political humor that an equally humongous gaffe got by most people. The same time the Reverend Rapert was doing his thing, Supreme Leader Jerry Cox had an experienced police officer from Colorado come down to preach against all things pertaining to marijuana, pot, cannabis, hemp and chocolate chip cookies. (His 40 pounds of experience hung proudly over his belt.) The officer assured Jerry and all four of his followers that if Arkansas allowed medical marijuana, recreational marijuana, and two-for-one Ding Dong sales, this state would go to pot. (Sorry, could not pass on that one.) [continues 62 words]
Come November, Arkansas voters could be the first in the South to decide whether or not to legalize marijuana for recreational use. Last week, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel certified the wording of a proposed state constitutional amendment called "The Arkansas Hemp and Cannabis Amendment." The amendment would allow the "cultivation, distribution, sale and use of the cannabis plant" and all products derived from the plant throughout the state. The Legislature would have the authority to regulate, but not ban pot in the state. Now all supporters have to do is gather more than 78,000 signatures of registered Arkansas voters to secure the proposal a spot on the November ballot. Not an easy task. But not impossible, either. Two other ballot initiates regarding legal marijuana could end up on the ballot as well. Both would legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes, not recreational. [continues 233 words]
Inside Arkansas
