Tag Archives: medical marijuana

Medical Marijuana Forces Law Enforcement Changes

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by Chase Gage
Delta Digital News Service

JONESBORO — The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment passed during the 2016 election cycle. With implementation beginning, law enforcement agencies are shuffling to prepare for the changes they will soon experience.

In Arkansas, the medical use of marijuana is legal. However, the use, possession and distribution of marijuana for any purpose still remains illegal at the federal level in the United States. That alone causes issues for the legal implementation of medical cannabis.

“It’s still illegal federally and we don’t have it (recreationally) legal at the state level so we’ll continue to enforce the laws until they change,” said Jonesboro Chief of Police Rick Elliott. “You’re going to have to have your medical card with you if you get caught with it. If you’re medically qualified and all documentation is in order, you’ll be fine.”

Elliott said if a person has a medical card, they will face no issues if caught with legally obtained marijuana. However, impaired drivers will face repercussions, just as they would with other drugs or alcohol.

In simpler terms, don’t drive high, even with a prescription.

“We’re bringing the officers up to speed on recognizing driving while high. There’s technology being developed similar to the breathalyzer that can detect THC levels,” Elliott said. “These new strains are very high in THC content, which is impairing. We expect an increase in traffic accidents because of it.”

Currently, prescribed patients cannot legally possess marijuana. Patients must purchase the drug at a dispensary within the state of Arkansas for it to be legal. Two Hot Springs dispensaries have opened since May, selling 169 pounds of medical marijuana and earning more than $1 million in the first month of business. A Northeast Arkansas dispensary isn’t open for business yet.

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A cannabis prescription is just like any other prescription. Arkansans voted to legalize the plant medicinally in 2016. (Photo by Kyle Butler licensed under CC BY 2.0)

Corey Seats, Coordinator and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for the 2nd Judicial District Drug Task Force, said the opening of the dispensaries, and thus the beginning of legal marijuana, will pose several issues for law enforcement.

“Normally you can search (a vehicle) if you smell marijuana,” Seats said. “If someone is pulled over and the officer smells marijuana inside the vehicle, his first question will be, ‘Do you have a medical marijuana card?’ If they say yes, can you search? How is that going to impact probable cause?”

Drug dogs and K-9 units will face similar problems. Drug dogs are trained to detect illegal controlled substances, but now marijuana will be legal in certain situations.

Seats said law enforcement officers run into similar problems with prescription pain medication such as hydrocodone.

“If you have a marijuana card, as long as you have less than 2.5 ounces, it’s not illegal to possess. How do you train a dog not to smell less than 2.5 ounces of marijuana? You can’t,” Seats said.

At the federal level, marijuana legalization is — for lack of a better term — a mess.

The Obama administration was rather hands-off on the subject, letting states decide how to regulate both medicinal and recreational marijuana through the Cole memoranda. However, in January 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a new memo on marijuana enforcement that essentially gave the federal government the ability to intervene in any situation involving the sale or possession of marijuana, despite the legality at the state level.

Current Attorney General William Barr has a different tone toward the cannabis industry. Barr said he did not think it was appropriate to upset the legally licensed cannabis businesses just because the federal government could.

“I’m not going to go after companies that have relied on the Cole memoranda,” Barr said during his Senate confirmation hearing.

Special Agent Stephen Cupp from the FBI’s field office in Jonesboro declined to comment on the issue due to the ever-changing political climate.

Patients with medical marijuana cards cannot freely smoke the drug as they please. There are several rules in place for the usage of the substance.

For Arkansas residents, there are currently 19 “debilitating medical conditions” listed that qualify an individual for a marijuana prescription, including AIDS, cancer, Alzheimers, intractable pain and more. Over 7,000 Arkansans currently possess medical marijuana cards.

Use of medical cannabis will be prohibited in most non-private areas. Examples include all public areas, school grounds, correctional facilities, motor vehicles, health care facilities, private residences used for licensed child care and any other place where smoking is prohibited.

In Arkansas, possession of marijuana less than 4 ounces is a Class A misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of one year in jail and up to a $2,500 fine for a first offense. Any subsequent offense is a Class D felony, which carries a maximum of six years in jail and up to a $10,000 fine. Possession of between 4 ounces and 10 pounds carries a mandatory minimum of three years in jail.

Marijuana is legal medicinally in Arkansas, but recreational use or possession is still against the law. Medicate responsibly.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Featured photo of “pre ’98 bubba” by Mark is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Politics Aside, Opioid Crisis Must be Stopped

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by Jama Domerese
Delta Digital News Service

Opioid Crisis

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JONESBORO – With political opinions more heated than ever, both parties agree the opioid crisis is an epidemic that needs to be stopped.

The death rate due to prescription drug abuse in the United States has escalated 313 percent over the past decade. Opioid prescription drugs alone were involved in 16,650 overdose-caused deaths in 2015, accounting for more deaths than from overdoses of methamphetamine and cocaine. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined prescribed drugs or painkillers sometimes can lead a patient to a life-long addiction.

Opioids help those who suffer from chronic pain and need help dealing with it. Not only are they easy to obtain from doctors, but they are relatively cheap for those with or without insurance. The long-term effects of using the prescriptions can lead to a dependence that leads to other health issues including brain and liver damage, a built-up tolerance, and a change in character that can influence a person’s life.

It can have long-term effects on personal relationships with friends and families causing divorce and child custody battles. It can affect someone’s career by not being able to pass a drug test and not being able to keep a steady job. The use of prescription medications is also used as a gateway drug that can lead to much harder and more expensive illegal drugs. The abuse of substances can also lead to criminal acts. Whether it’s driving under the influence or stealing to obtain more money to buy the drugs, opioid use can cause people to make poor decisions that can ultimately ruin their life.

When it comes to the political side of this situation, the two primary U.S. parties are often torn. Republicans often suggest opioid abusers should be punished ultimately for the misuse of prescription medications to try and get ahead of the problem of them upgrading to harder drugs. Conservatives are known to vote to enforce punishment because they see opioid abuse as a choice.

“When it comes to being a Republican, it is often seen as us trying to jail drug users instead of sending them to rehab like most Democrats want to do,” said A-State College of Republicans member Wesley Armstrong.

Many Democrats see drugs abuse as a mental illness. They claim punishment is not the answer to this problem; it needs to start with rehabilitation and medical attention. Liberals suggest reducing the number of unnecessary prescription drugs would help the nation economically.

The Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and programs such as the Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Plan are helping to develop a way to control unnecessarily prescribed drug consumption. The first phase of the Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Plan is to educate medical school students, prescribers, dispensers and the public about safe opioid prescribing.

A-State pre-med student Stephen Bell offered his thoughts on learning about the process.

“When you decide to take a step into the medical field, it comes with a lot of responsibility. Knowing the signs of abuse is a major key to determining how to continue prescribing and how to get someone the help they need. We as doctors have to understand that this is an ongoing issue that is unfortunately directly caused by us. It’s our job to help fix it,” Bell said.

Some states have passed mandatory prescribed education legislation. In addition, some administrations have continued to improve the system of safe disposal of expired opioids with the help of law enforcement agencies, successfully disposing of over 2.8 million pounds of unused medication since 2013.

Prescription drug abuse strikes every sense of an individual’s life, including their intellectual health, conduct and even physical appearance. The consumption of drugs can be caused by events that produce an excess of anxiety, sadness or hyperactivity. The use of drugs in a household can lead to destructive and violent behaviors; the effect drugs have on a family can be present many generations later, causing a chain of bad events to unleash in the community throughout a time span.

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State Rep. Aaron Pilkington

District 69 Rep. Aaron Pilkington suggested government officials should compromise for the good of the country.

“If our political parties can learn to compromise and see that both have some great ideas to help, our nation will be able to help combat opioid abuse by being more aware of the drastic consequences of abusing something that was once a privilege given to the citizens of the United States of America to help with health problems,” he said.

Federal and state agencies have already started looking for solutions to end the misuse and abuse of prescription drugs by educating the general public, medical students, monitoring physicians and any opioid legal prescriber about this issue. This ensures they are not medicating excessively.

The methods and programs being implemented are small steps to get rid of the opioid epidemic that is taking over so many lives.