Arkansas Democrat-Gazette editorial blasts marijuana use, attempts at legalization July 14, 2022 By Griffin Coop The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette blasted marijuana use yesterday in an editorial that expressed dismay at an attempt to legalize recreational marijuana in the state. Headlined “The latest dope,” the editorial expressed a clearly negative view of marijuana and Responsible Growth Arkansas’s proposed constitutional amendment but seemed to stop short of actually opposing the measure. So, we asked Democrat-Gazette Editorial Page Editor David Barham if the editorial should be taken as opposition to Responsible Growth’s proposed measure. We haven’t heard back. We’ll let you know if we do. You can read the full editorial here, but this paragraph sums up the statewide newspaper’s argument: It seems a new warning comes out every few months. Either the THC in modern dope is much higher than it was during the age of flower children, or maybe it’s a study that shows the kids get into the stash in Colorado. Another study shows the problematic psychotic effects of smoking modern dope. The information in the editorial seemed to be largely drawn from this story from CNN and cited this study from the University of Toronto that found marijuana users were 22% more likely to visit the emergency room or be hospitalized. The Democrat-Gazette editorial closed by saying this: It may be a blessing that the groups are fighting with each other in the public prints. (See Saturday’s front page.) But nobody should be surprised at the determination of these pro-dope outfits, despite marijuana’s ill effects. When pro-weed outfits were trying to legalize “medical” marijuana back in 2016, they told us all that it was only a first step—a first step toward complete legalization. And now here we are. One step to go. We hope it isn’t one step over the line, sweet Jesus.
