(Washington, DC) – Project SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) held a briefing today at the House Rayburn building (room 2203) to discuss the link between marijuana and mental illness. They also presented almost 40,000 signatures to the House and Senate leadership in support of marijuana prevention and in opposition to marijuana legalization.
“Science has revealed more about the link between mental illness and marijuana use in the last ten years, and it is important that the American people understand that as we make critical policy decisions in the coming years,” commented SAM co-founder Patrick J. Kennedy.
Kennedy was also joined by Dr. Christian Thurstone, medical director of one of Colorado’s largest youth substance-abuse-treatment clinics and an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Colorado Denver. “Colorado is already seeing the deleterious effects of a very loose medical marijuana system,” he commented. “Now, with legalization, we are witnessing how ‘Big Marijuana’ – that is a new industry dedicated to profiting off legal marijuana use – is influencing youth behavior.”
Former White House drug advisor Dr. Kevin Sabet also discussed how the science of marijuana should lead policy makers to take a more nuanced view of policy moving forward. “We are on a 100 mile-per-hour freight train heading right towards legalization, and yet we have not, as a country, had a reasonable discussion about the possible negative consequences of such a policy. Such consequences will hit the most vulnerable first, like young people, communities of color, and those predisposed to mental illness. Don’t we at least owe it to ourselves to carefully weigh any gains of such a policy with the potential risks?”
Finally, treatment leader Carmen Fernandez, of Mexico, discussed how legalization would hurt the Mexican people. “Marijuana legalization in the US will destabilize our country,” she commented. “That is why nearly 40,000 people have signed a petition to the US Congress to not legalize marijuana but rather focus on reducing the insatiable demand for the drug.”