Cameron Bandy is a senior political science major from Jonesboro.
Admittedly, I’ve been changing my opinion about this for some time. In the past, I was critical of both medical and recreational marijuana because of their increasing potency which is of concern for many people. But more people are turning to marijuana, especially older people, to help treat their personal illnesses. In Arkansas, we currently have marijuana for medical purposes but not for recreational use. Since this bill wouldn’t make it past the state legislature, a ballot initiative is being conducted to try to put recreational marijuana legalization on the November ballot. I ultimately think the initiative would be struck down and wouldn’t pass the overwhelming majority of conservatives registered in Arkansas.
If the bill were to be on the ballot in November, then I would vote against the measure. I am in favor of decriminalizing it but not legalizing it. I don’t believe that someone caught with small amounts of marijuana should serve two to five years in federal prison as it does cost money per incarcerated person in the judicial system. The only exception to that should be if the amount of marijuana exceeds 100 pounds. This would also reduce overcrowding in federal prisons which is exhausting the judicial system as crime rates have been increasing in the past few years.
On a more general standpoint, at least politically, I think it is more productive for individual state legislatures to act on issues like marijuana as this is an issue that divides people by political geography. For example, more liberal states such as California, Oregon, Colorado, Washington and New York are more likely to adopt recreational marijuana usage than more conservative states like Arkansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Alabama. State government should handle these types of issues because the federal government should be tackling larger issues such as the rising inflation, the Ukraine war, coronavirus and the supply chain crisis.
Although legalizing marijuana would create jobs and increase revenue in the state of Arkansas, I would be concerned about the revenue structure. In this ballot initiative, a measly 5% of the revenue would go to drug court programs and a supermajority of the revenue would go to the state’s general fund. It would be better if the money was spent on public programs to support more Arkansans instead of sitting in the general fund. Arkansas has continued to have a surplus of funding, which is great, but this seems like we’re aiding the state government more than Arkansans with the revenue structure as it is.
Allowing people to vote on this issue may be the best route because a recreational marijuana bill in the state legislature would gain no traction. I think the initiative should reach the ballot so Arkansans can make a decision and have their voices heard. I would prefer not to have recreational marijuana but if it did pass then it could have some benefits to creating jobs and increasing revenue for the state. Arkansas should continue to use marijuana for medical purposes only.
Categories: Opinion
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