(SACRAMENTO, CA) – Dr. Kevin Sabet, President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and a three-time White House drug policy advisor, released the following statement in advance of the anniversary of commercial marijuana sales in California:
“Trends across the nation have universally shown that sales of today’s high-potency marijuana and THC-infused drugs are resulting in more THC-related traffic crashes, more youth-use, more workplace accidents, a larger illicit market, and lower than expected tax revenue. For yet another year California has been no different. Lawmakers at the state and federal level – many of whom count pot profiteers among their donors – refuse to acknowledge the damage being done and have been resistant to advance policies that can save Californians from physical, psychological and economic clutches of this predatory industry.
Since THC drug sales started in 2018, California has seen:
- Significant instances of contaminated products being sold in state-legal dispensaries, withone study finding that almost 72% of the samples contained residual solvents, including isopentane, butane, and propane and One third of those samples also contained pesticide residues. This year, the LA Times reported that nearly 60% of legal marijuana products in California had pesticide levels above either state limits or federal tobacco standards. Lab results suggested that the state has 250,000 contaminated vapes and joints sold in dispensaries;
- Notable increases in hospitalizations and emergency department visits by children who had some sort of marijuana exposure. Researchers found that 43% of patients presented with complaints of suicidal ideation; and
- Little benefit to state coffers. Despite some of the highest taxes in the country, the FY21-22 marijuana tax revenue was only 0.49% of the state’s entire budget.
“The last year has demonstrated again that states cannot effectively regulate this industry. Big Marijuana will stop at nothing to hook a new generation of users on increasingly potent pot products. Significant reforms are needed, including requiring clear warning labels that spell out the harms associated with these dangerous psychoactive drugs. Those labels should make clear to the public that THC drugs are increasingly medically associated with depression, suicidality, IQ loss, psychosis and schizophrenia, especially for young people. Lawmakers should also advance strict potency caps, enact bans on advertising that can be seen by those under 21, and invest greater resources in prevention and treatment programs to help those who are bearing the consequences of the state’s failed experiment with marijuana legalization.”