| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 27, 2023 | Media Contact: Bob Driscoll bob@learnaboutsam.org 716-307-7406 |
PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY EXPERTS URGE STATE SENATE TO REJECT BILL PACKED BY BIG POT
(ST. PAUL, MN) – Smart Approaches to Marijuana Action (SAM Action) President Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former Obama drug policy advisor, released the following statement today in response to the Minnesota House of Representative’s vote to permit commercial marijuana dispensaries in communities across the state, despite the well-known scientific, public health, and safety dangers associated with today’s high-potency marijuana products.
“The Minnesota House members have been made aware of the real health and safety impacts of marijuana, yet they voted in favor of the industry anyway. The State Senate should look at the data and the increasingly settled medical science as detailed in our recent report and see this for what it is: another addiction-for-profit industry.“
“Big Marijuana has more than quadrupled the potency of its products to create more users and addicts. It victimizes young people and communities of color like Big Tobacco before it. More THC-infused products bring more drugged driving fatalities, emergency room visits, hospitalizations, accidental exposures, youth use, and mental health consequences.“
“Parents, law enforcement, health care professionals, and every major medical association have all opposed legalization because they know formalizing the commercial marijuana marketplace will only bring harm to Minnesota’s communities. Senators have a chance to show they are not controlled by this for-profit industry. Many of their colleagues in the House clearly failed that test.”