Arkansas lawmakers recently submitted to Governor Asa Hutchinson a bill proposing using medical marijuana tax revenue to finance free school breakfast programs for all children enrolled at public schools across Arkansas.
On Monday afternoon, the Senate voted 24-1 in support of legislation sponsored by Sen. Jonathan Dismang (R), days after it had already cleared through both chambers with some minor tweaks. SB 59 now awaits Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders who previously supported it and approved this proposal as it headed toward her desk for approval.
Legislation being proposed would supplement federal free and reduced-price meal funds with money from a state Food Insecurity Fund paid for through cannabis taxes as well as private grants or general fund funds in each state.
Students would receive meals regardless of eligibility for free or reduced-cost foods under federal law, eliminating stigma that often prevents families from availing themselves of these programs, leaving children hungry.
Governor Walker introduced her bill at her State of the State Address last month and former Trump press secretary Sarah Sanders has long opposed reform to cannabis policy reform efforts.
“With these funds we plan to offer school breakfast free for any Arkansas student that chooses to participate,” she announced during her speech, noting how using medical marijuana funds could ensure its sustainability for years.
MedCAN24 has been following hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills introduced this year across state legislatures and Congress, offering our Patreon supporters who pledge $25/month access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments in these bills. Learn more about MEDCAN24’s marijuana bill tracker by becoming one of our supporters pledging $25 or more each month on Patreon – don’t miss any legislative developments by becoming part of it yourself!—-
Before November’s elections, Sanders actively opposed a ballot initiative which would have expanded Arkansas’ medical marijuana program – ultimately being shot down by its Supreme Court. A poll indicated that most likely Arkansas voters supported such an expansion initiative.
Sanders remains open to maintaining and reforming her medical cannabis program while opposing Sanders’ proposal; in 2023 she signed into law legislation clarifying that medical cannabis patients can obtain concealed carry licenses despite federal prohibition of the same.
Since it became legal to sell medical cannabis in 2019, its implementation in Florida has proven hugely popular, with officials recently reporting that over 102,000 residents registered patient cards – exceeding expectations significantly.
However, Arkansas voters rejected a ballot initiative seeking to broadly legalize marijuana for adults by 2022.North Dakota Lawmakers Approve Bill to Broaden Decriminalization by Making Low-Level Possession A $150 Citation.
MEDCAN24’s mission relies heavily on reader support. If our cannabis advocacy journalism keeps you informed, consider becoming one of our monthly Patreon pledgers – we accept any size pledge! (function(d,s,id) >
Var js = D fJs, Js is created using Ds getElementByTagName (s); If it returns 1 then D can createElement (ds.createElement ). And set its ID value;
At Connect Facebook Network in En-US we use SDK 2.4 which has two components, SDK.js (init) and SDF(‘facebook-jssdk’). For each we are inserting before an existing node before inserting or editing one (see Ad_2].