An Arkansas lawmaker wants to ban cannabis products that have taken over shelves at gas stations and convenience stores.
Republican State Sen. Tyler Dice introduced a bill last week that would ban the likes of Delta-8, Delta-9 and Delta-10—legal, but unregulated compounds known to produce a similar high to that found in cannabis. .
“It’s an accessibility issue where you can go to a regular gas station and buy this product like you would buy Skittles or any other candy,” Des told local news station THV11.
Hemp-derived products have become ubiquitous in recent years, especially after Congress passed the Farm Act of 2018, which legalized the production of industrial hemp.
But critics have lamented that many of these cannabis products are subject to little, if any, regulation, posing risks for consumers who believe what they consume is mostly harmless.
Dees claimed to station That poison control is “contacted in cases where children are present, ingesting products that cause them harm.”
THV11 followed up With the state’s poison control, which “said that although they don’t have exact numbers when it comes to Delta 8 because they don’t start collecting data until January 2021, they have seen an increase in children’s exposure to THC products.”
“Any product that contains THC is potentially harmful. Whether it’s delta 8 or delta 9,” Ari Phillip, MD, medical director of the Arkansas Poison Control Center, tells SELF. said the station. “We are concerned that this could have psychological effects so it should be kept away, locked within reach of children.”
Arkansas voters Reject a motion in the ballot Last November he would have legalized recreational cannabis in the state.
The state’s Republican governor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who was elected in the November election, voted against the motion.
“I don’t think that with a drug epidemic all over this state, frankly all over the country, adding on and having more access to it does anything to benefit Arkansas, so I certainly wouldn’t be supportive of that,” Sanders, former press secretary to Donald Trump, said. He said in October.
Her father, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, He also spoke badly of the cannabis industry.
In a video last fall urging voters to reject legalization, Huckabee said, “I’m not the one who’s going to make money, the drug cartels are going to do it.”
And the former governor added, “And if you’re one of those people who can sell drugs, maybe you’ll make a profit on gullible people who will somehow convince themselves that this is absolutely harmless.”
Medical cannabis is legal in Arkansas, however, and Senator Jonathan Desmange, one of the sponsors of the bill banning Delta 8 and other cannabis products, insisted that the measure would not affect that program.
“I mean, you have to have your card and there are benefits, you know, for these patients, it’s not about that,” Desmang said. THV11. “I mean, a kid in high school can now buy. Again, I think that’s wrong.”
Arkansas legalized medical cannabis in 2016, when a majority of voters approved an amendment allowing the treatment.
According to the state health departmentPatients with the following conditions may be eligible for a prescription for cannabis: “Cancer; Glaucoma; HIV/AIDS positive status; Hepatitis C; Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Tourette’s syndrome; Crohn’s disease; Ulcerative colitis.” Post-traumatic stress disorder Severe arthritis Fibromyalgia Alzheimer’s disease Cachexia or wasting syndrome Peripheral neuropathy Intractable pain which is pain that has not responded to regular medications, treatment or surgical procedures for more than six (6) months Severe nausea Episodes including These include, but are not limited to, those characteristic of epilepsy; severe and persistent muscle spasms including but not limited to those characteristic of multiple sclerosis; and any other medical condition or treatment approved by the Ministry of Health.
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