![]() The ballot question committee that supports Issue 4, Responsible Growth Arkansas, has spent several millions of dollars to advocate for its passage on television and radio. “Our leadership decided we should make an all-out commitment to see it defeated.”įarm Bureau has made a statewide radio buy to run ads in opposition to Issue 4. “The membership of Farm Bureau determines the policy that we will champion or try to defeat,” he said. Stanley Hill, VP for Public Affairs & Government Relations, said that opposing marijuana legalization has been a long-standing Farm Bureau policy that originated from its thousands of members. The Arkansas Farm Bureau also joined Hutchinson at the governor’s press conference. ![]() ![]() It didn’t fall in 2016, and it won’t fall once Arkansas voters pass Issue 4,” McLarty added. “Like an old scare tactic of the Halloween sequel, today’s press conference repeats yesterday’s claims that the sky will fall. “With all due respect to the Governor, Fact: 3 of the 5 top manufacturing states in the country have adult-use cannabis or medical cannabis or both,” he said. Robert McLarty, campaign director for Issue 4, said the workforce arguments presented at the news conference have been made before and haven’t borne out in reality. “The question to ask is: would we really be better off as a state if we pass this?” ![]() “This measure would compound this problem making it nearly impossible to have a safe workplace,” Zook said. Arkansas has some of the lowest workers compensation rates in the nation and has had decades of stability on this front. Randy Zook, president and CEO of the State Chamber of Commerce, emphasized that workforce issues would be severely challenged, and he noted that legalization would drive workers compensation insurance higher for businesses. Newton cited statistics from Nevada and Washington that showed 162% and 190% increases in workers testing positive for marijuana in recent years since legalization occurred in those states. “The potential negative impact on our industry’s ability to recruit and retain the woefully-needed professional drivers to continue to deliver the standard of living that we all enjoy, should be obvious,” she added. “Issue 4 threatens the fair growth of business, by enriching marijuana monopolies and hamstringing industries like trucking that have long-served as the foundation for our state’s economy,” said Shannon Newton, President of the Arkansas Trucking Association.Ĭiting a shortage of nearly 78,000 truck drivers nationwide and as many as 2,400 in Arkansas, Newton added that permitting recreational marijuana would make it even harder to recruit drivers to an industry that already has a limited pool of candidates. “We will have a challenge determining who can come to work… we don’t know how to handle it and no one else does either.” “It’s a nightmare for the industry, for the people we have to work on the highways and buildings around the state,” said Haskell Dickinson, former chairman of the Associated General Contractors of Arkansas. Leaders from the trucking, construction and agricultural industries joined Hutchinson in condemning the proposal. Issue 4 supporters said the arguments were no different than when medical marijuana was proposed in 2016, and that Arkansas businesses have not suffered since its passage. At a news conference at the headquarters of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce in Little Rock, the industry representatives said legalizing recreational marijuana would compound problems for workforce recruitment and safety. Asa Hutchinson Monday in calling for voters to oppose Issue 4, the general election ballot measure that would legalize adult use cannabis.
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