Election Results November 2016
“The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment, also known as Issue 6, is an amendment to Arkansas’ state constitution that officially legalizes the distribution and possession of medical marijuana.”
HERE IS ONE OF MANY ARTICLES YOU CAN FIND ON THE INTERNET ABOUT THE NEW LAW.
2016 UPDATE:
The Arkansas Hemp and Marijuana Legalization Amendment may appear on a 2016 ballot in Arkansas as an initiated constitutional amendment. One may see the legislation by going to THIS LINK.
When I know more, I will try and keep this post current.
CR
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I posted the entire article because I had problem with THIS LINK.
Richard Morton, head of the Arkansas TeaPot Party, is asking state lawmakers to legalize marijuana when the legislature convenes for its 2014 budget session.
Morton, of Shirley, is proposing the Willie Nelson Act, a law that would totally legalize marijuana in all forms. In addition, the law would release anyone from jail who is there on a nonviolent marijuana conviction. Since his law would allow the state to tax the marijuana, he believes it is an appropriate measure for lawmakers to consider during the budget session.
In previous legislative sessions, lawmakers have avoided introducing even limited marijuana measures, so it is unlikely that such a far-reaching measure would have any support among Arkansas lawmakers. And let’s not forget no matter what law a state legislature passes, marijuana is still 100% illegal to grow, sell, or possess under federal law.
More than half a dozen efforts are underway to make marijuana legal in Arkansas. This latest effort shows us where things are headed. Morton and the TeaPot Party are on the fast track. The “medical” marijuana folks are on a slower track, but they all end up at the same place—total legalization of marijuana. The states of Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana for “medical” purposes a few years ago. The drug got so out of control there that they finally threw in the towel and made it totally legal.
While Morton’s “Willie Nelson” law would be the most wide-open marijuana law in the country, at least his intentions are out in the open. Backers of other efforts to legalize marijuana in Arkansas seem to share Morton’s view, but veil their marijuana proposals behind a “medical” smoke screen of helping the sick and dying.
Posted By Jerry on 02/03/2014 | Filed under: Marijuana
My comment:
HERE and HERE are articles that give reasons to, like Jerry and I, fight against recreational marijuana usage.
The third article states that: “This implies, but does not establish, that smoking marijuana may lead to some of the same results as smoking cigarettes. It is notable that several reports indicate an unexpectedly large proportion of marijuana users among cases of lung cancer and cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, and larynx. Thus, it appears that the use of marijuana as a medicine has the potential to further harm an already ill patient in the same way that taking up regular cigarette smoking would, particularly in light of the fact that those patients for whom marijuana is recommended are already poorly equipped to fight off these infections and diseases.”
The second source listed is from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). It also states that the results of medical marijuana are far from conclusive:
“Is Marijuana Medicine?
Many have called for the legalization of marijuana to treat conditions including pain and nausea caused by HIV/AIDS, cancer, and other conditions, but clinical evidence has not shown that the therapeutic benefits of the marijuana plant outweigh its health risks. To be considered a legitimate medicine by the FDA, a substance must have well-defined and measurable ingredients that are consistent from one unit (such as a pill or injection) to the next. As the marijuana plant contains hundreds of chemical compounds that may have different effects and that vary from plant to plant, and because the plant is typically ingested via smoking, its use as a medicine is difficult to evaluate.”
The fourth source is from a former marijuana smoker. It states:
“As a recovering drug addict, I’ve known lots of other addicts in my life. What most of them have in common is that they started off with alcohol and cigarettes, then marijuana, before they moved on to harder drugs.”
These are all good sources, but the last one is from someone who has been there and done that.
From a spiritual standpoint, God’s Word says that our bodies are His temple. After reading these four articles and from personal experience of those I know who use(d) marijuana recreationally, I could never support the legalization of the drug.
Chris Reimers
Corinthians 6:19:
“…Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?”
Posted by Chris 
THE FRUIT FLY
March 26, 2014By Jeffrey Tomkins, Ph.D. *
The humble fruit fly that has been at the heart of genetic studies for nearly 100 years continues to amaze scientists and defy simplistic evolutionary predictions. A research team recently evaluated the diversity of gene expression across the insect’s genome in much greater detail than previous studies, and the results revealed incredible complexity and design.1
One of the key features that is emerging across the spectrum of research in plant and animal genomes is the fact that nearly all DNA is expressed (copied into RNA).2 This expressed RNA makes up what is called the transcriptome. The different types of RNA molecules that are produced can be placed in a wide variety of functional categories that include noncoding RNAs (short and long) and protein-coding RNAs. The various noncoding RNA molecules greatly outnumber the protein-coding segments. Noncoding RNA regions of the genome act like an overlying informational system controlling the usage of protein-coding areas.
In this new study published in the journal Nature, the authors captured and analyzed the expressed RNA from many different fruit fly tissues using advanced sequencing technology.1 The researchers discovered more than 1,200 new genes that were previously unknown. These results show that even in well-studied, small-size genomes, much still remains to be understood and cataloged.
Another amazing discovery was the dramatic prevalence of overlapping genes encoded in two different directions. DNA is a double-stranded molecule and genes are found on both strands (running in opposite directions) with segments that can overlap each other. One strand may contain a protein-coding gene, while the other strand may encode what are labeled as antisense RNAs.3 These antisense RNAs help regulate their forward-sense protein-coding counterparts and appear to play a major role in controlling gene expression in the fruit fly genome at much higher levels than previously anticipated.
Another finding was that alternative splicing is considerably more complex and common than previously known. Both protein-coding and noncoding RNA genes contain regions called exons and introns. After a gene is copied into an RNA transcript, the introns are often spliced out and the exons are spliced together. In many genes, the exons are alternatively spliced to form variable and diverse gene products. In humans, it has been estimated that about 95 percent of genes are alternatively spliced.4,5 In fruit flies, alternative splicing was found to play a major role specifically in gene regulation during both the development and functioning of neural cells.
Much of the unexpected complexity in the fly transcriptome is due to many newly characterized control features that not only regulate gene function but also alter the RNA transcript after it is made. The authors of the study stated, “The fly transcriptome is substantially more complex than previously recognized, with this complexity arising from combinatorial usage of promoters, splice sites and polyadenylation sites.”1
Even what was originally thought to be a simple animal genome continues to startle scientists with its incredible complexity. The more we discover about the genome, the more we realize that biocomplexity is much greater than ever imagined. While evolution does not predict this, a creationist view of an infinitely wise and omnipotent Creator does.
(my emphasis..cr)
References
1. Brown, J. B. et al. 2014. Diversity and dynamics of the Drosophila transcriptome. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature12962.
2. Tomkins, J. 2013. Explaining Organismal Complexity with Non-Coding DNA. Acts & Facts. 42: (11) 19.
3. Pelechano, V. and L. M. Steinmetz. 2013. Gene regulation by antisense transcription. Nature Reviews Genetics. 14 (12): 880-893.
4. Wang, E. T. et al. 2008. Alternative isoform regulation in human tissue transcriptomes. Nature. 456 (7221): 470-476.
5. Pan, Q. et al. 2008. Deep surveying of alternative splicing complexity in the human transcriptome by high-throughput sequencing. Nature Genetics. 40: (12) 1413-1415.
* Dr. Tomkins is Research Associate at the Institute for Creation Research and received his Ph.D. in genetics from Clemson University.
THE ORIGNAL ARTICLE MAY BE FOUND HERE or by going to icr.org.
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