Politicians Wasted Time With Their Push to Inject More Drugs into New Hampshire’s Communities
Smart Approaches to Marijuana Action (SAM Action) President Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former White House drug policy advisor to Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton, issued the following statement today in response to the New Hampshire State House voting to table Senate-passed legislation, backed by Governor Chris Sununu, that would have injected dangerous high-potency THC drugs into the Granite State:
“The tabling of marijuana legalization is a victory for public health and safety, and all those suffering from addiction. New Hampshire politicians wasted time with their back-and-forth over marijuana legalization — tantamount to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. At the end of the day, Big Marijuana has spent millions telling people that its products are safe and even ‘recreational’ because it means more profits for their Wall Street investors. The industry has told politicians and the public commercialization will be a windfall for revenue and social justice for marginalized communities. Facts and data demonstrate those are lies.
“Injecting more dangerous, psychoactive drugs into communities, worsening public health and safety, and risking an influx of illicit foreign drug cartels like those plaguing communities across Maine, won’t make New Hampshire a place where people want to live, work, and raise their families.
“Now it’s time for voters to make it clear to their elected officials that they don’t want to see high-potency psychoactive drugs that medical science links with depression, IQ loss, suicidality, psychosis, schizophrenia, and heart conditions, among other consequences, on their streets and in their homes.”
Dr. Sabet’s comments were echoed by former State Representative Susan Homola, chair of SAM New Hampshire, who said, “Today is a victory for public health and safety, even if New Hampshire legislators were only battling over which legalization model they preferred. Commercialization of marijuana will only make New Hampshire’s drug problem worse, and any new drug addiction tax will not help to fund our state. This issue will unquestionably come back again next year, but SAM NH will continue to fight for safe, drug-free communities for all Granite State families, and particularly, our youth.”