420 with CNW — Arkansas Governor Wants a More Ag
Post# of 419
Arkansas Gov. William Hutchinson states that the national government’s casual approach to cannabis is the reason why many more states are legalizing the drug. During a recent interview with the Washington Post, the governor of Arkansas explained that where the government’s stance on cannabis legalization is unclear, the legalization of drugs will continue, which brings about more measures for the legalization of cannabis at the state level.
Jeff Sessions, the first attorney general under outgoing President Donald Trump’s administration, revoked the counsel that was put in place by former President Barack Obama’s administration, which directed that state attorneys shouldn’t intrude on any state marijuana laws. However, apart from revoking former counsel, the Trump administration did not launch any extensive clamp down on people who complied with these local policies or the policies themselves.
Hutchinson explained that as long as the national government had a hands-off policy on all things marijuana in terms of legalization of marijuana in states, then the pressure for marijuana legalization will only grow. A lot of funds are used in that sector, which could result in additional initiatives to legalize the drug. Furthermore, increased funding poured into advertising these legalization initiatives and the lack of a clear position by the national government only furthers the cause. This is despite the fact that voters from Arkansas approved a measure on medical marijuana on their ballots in 2016.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise, given that the Hutchinson was the Drug Enforcement Administration head during the President George. W. Bush administration. The governor also mentioned that earlier this year, activists of reform from the state had tried placing an initiative that would legalize cannabis on the ballot of the state. However, they did not succeed as they were unable to gather the number of signatures needed to qualify for placement on the ballot because of the social-distancing measures implemented after the COVID-19 pandemic began. He added that while the activists had not been successful, they would try again.
Two decades ago, Hutchinson had the DEA raid various medical marijuana dispensaries in California, despite the fact that the dispensaries were legal. At the time, California was among the few states that had legalized medical cannabis.
When the governor was asked about the election victories seen in the states such as Oregon, which had legalized cannabis, he criticized the victories. It should be noted, however, that clinical studies have disproven many “reasons” that are cited by prohibitionists as reasons why cannabis should not be legalized.
The increase in the number of states with regulated cannabis markets has created a chance for many companies to grow. An example of such a company is The Alkaline Water Company Inc. (NASDAQ: WTER) (CSE: WTER). WTER’s signature premium alkaline water as well as CBD-infused products can be found on the shelves of a minimum of 70,000 leading retail outlets around the United States.
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the CannabisNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by CNW420, wherever published or re-published: http://CNW.fm/Disclaimer