Democrat-Gazette opposes marijuana amendment in editorial October 17, 2022 By Griffin Coop The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette published an editorial Monday opposing an amendment that would legalize adult-use cannabis following previous editorials that signaled the newspaper’s opposition to the measure. The editorial argued legalizing cannabis would not fix problems the state has experienced such as crime, student achievement and declining ACT test scores. “Will marijuana fix that?” the editorial repeated. The newspaper also pushed back against arguments that legalization will generate tax revenue for the state and will kill the black market. The newspaper also trumpeted an argument that was first made by Fairfield Bay police chief David Burnett in an affidavit he submitted to the Supreme Court on behalf of Save Arkansas from Epidemic, a group formed to oppose the amendment. Burnett argued legalization would require every drug dog in the state to be de-certified and replaced with dogs that are not trained to detect marijuana. The editorial quoted this from Burnett: “That alone would open the door for a mass influx of other controlled substances, such as methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl, heroin, among others, into the state, if the amendment is enacted, and before the state can fund and train a whole new set of dogs for every location where a drug dog is currently in use in the state of Arkansas.” The editorial called that a “valid point.” The editorial also pushed back on the argument that there won’t be a dispensary on every corner. “Why not? Legal is legal. Is there such thing as being a little bit pregnant? And if the plant is legal, then why not allow it in home gardens, and allow folks to grow it right next to their tomato plants? Something tells us (namely experience) that this is the next step.” The Arkansas Adult Use Cannabis Amendment would set the maximum number of dispensaries at 120. The Democrat-Gazette had signaled it would oppose the amendment since it published an editorial opposed to recreational marijuana in July. The newspaper published other editorials against cannabis-infused beverages in August and against the economic and tax benefits of legalization.
