Formed in 2005, the Family Council Action Committee is a state-wide grassroots organization dedicated to promoting, protecting, and strengthening traditional family values through the political process, according to information at the organization's website.
Currently, Arkansans for Compassionate Care is circulating a petition in support of its initiative for medical marijuana use. In April, General Dustin McDaniel, an Arkansas Attorney, certified the initiative. Therefore, if the group is able to garner an approximate 65,000 signatures by July 6, 2012, it will be able to have the initiative placed on the 2012 Presidential Ballot in Arkansas.
According to information from the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) website, as reported in the August 23rd ozarksfirst.com article, ''Push to Legalize Medical Marijuana in Arkansas Causing Concern'', the medical marijuana initiative would enable patients with severe illness, such as cancer, Crohn's disease and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), to ''possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana'', given a doctor's recommendation. In addition, patients would be allowed to purchase marijuana from a dispensary in the state; currently there are about 30. If a patient did not live near a dispensary, the initiative would allow patients, or a caregiver, to grow their own marijuana.
FCAC President Jerry Cox was quoted as saying in the ozarksfirst.com article, ''This is about legalizing marijuana. It's just a matter of legalizing it in degrees. I think you'd find, if you asked around, that a lot of the same folks who support this support total legalization of marijuana for any purpose. I believe their real agenda is to have marijuana be as legally available as tobacco.''
Cox was also quoted as saying: ''This law would make Arkansas one of the most liberal states in the nation, where marijuana is concerned. And there are too many unanswered questions. How are we going to be sure medical marijuana grown in Arkansas isn't sold illegally across state lines? I've read marijuana can be cultivated with varying levels of active ingredients in it much the same way nicotine levels can be manipulated in tobacco. How are they going to keep marijuana growers from using that to make their product more potent or addictive?"
However, as posted at the Arkansans for Compassionate Care's website, Dr. Jocyelen Elders, Arkansan & former U.S. Surgeon General, is quoted as saying: ''The evidence is overwhelming that marijuana can relieve certain types of pain, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms caused by such illnesses as multiple sclerosis, cancer and AIDS - or by the harsh drugs sometimes used to treat them. And it can do so with remarkable safety. Indeed, marijuana is less toxic than many of the drugs that physicians prescribe every day.''
According to information at NORML's website, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, those opposed to the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes contend there are traditional medications patients can use and marijuana is unnecessary, and that using marijuana for medicinal purposes sends a bad message to children.
In response to these claims, NORML purports that for some patients, suffering from chronic conditions such as AIDS, cancer, and others that cause severe pain, these traditional drugs do not work nearly as well as marijuana. In addition, regarding the message being sent to children, NORML intends it to be one of compassion for those suffering. NORML points to the fact that cocaine, amphetamines and morphine are used routinely all across the country for various medical purposes, and yet no one is citing the use of these drugs as sending a harmful message to children.
As always, opinions vary on this highly controversial topic. On one hand, legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes appears on the surface to be outrageous. However, if one looks at the issues a bit more closely, the reasons behind legalization become more understandable.
Perhaps we should not be so quick to judge that which on the surface seems so counterintuitive to the war on drugs. But, there is no doubt that legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes would give rise to a certain amount of problems. Basically, no situation will be perfect, or without its challenges. But looking into the eyes of a loved one as they suffer the ravages of cancer, or AIDS, or Crohn's disease, or some other nightmarish condition, unable to eat, and being able to do something, anything, to ease their suffering, would seem, to a great many, worth those challenges.
