Hochul Administration, Legislators Ignore the Science and Harms Being Inflicted by NYS Pot Sales
(ALBANY, NY) – New York Lawmakers are ignoring the science and celebrating addiction in Albany. Nearly four years after New York’s politicians legalized the sales and use of high-potency, psychoactive marijuana and THC drug products, the science and the consequences keep getting worse. That’s the message Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), a group co-founded by former Representative Patrick J. Kennedy, brought to Albany today in response to a planned “celebration” by Legislators and leadership from the Hochul Administration, heralding the sale of $1 billion in drugs to New Yorkers as a “major milestone.”
“Can you imagine if the state was celebrating $1 billion in tobacco sales?” asked Dr. Kevin Sabet, SAM’s President and former Obama Administration official. “Leaders in Albany should not get hooked by this addiction-for-profit scheme. Our kids are worth more than this. It is also unthinkable that the state marijuana regulator is celebrating industry sales – can you imagine if the FDA commissioner celebrated tobacco or alcohol sales?”
SAM, the nation’s leading alliance of organizations and individuals dedicated to informing the public and policymakers about the dangers of marijuana legalization, deployed a mobile billboard that traveled the streets of the capital city broadcasting a message for legislators, state officials, and the public about the true harms being inflicted by the predatory pot industry on New Yorkers.
“We need to count the costs of this reckless experiment: more addicted kids, more psychosis, more car crashes, and more school dropouts won’t create any windfall of cash in New York, “said Sabet, a former three-time White House drug policy advisor who spearheaded the campaign against marijuana legalization in 2019.
“Turns out, pot is expensive and the only people making money are the investors who lobby Albany. The off the chart THC potency in today’s drugs has led to serious health consequences, including addiction, IQ loss, depression, suicide, psychosis, and schizophrenia, especially for young people. New York’s leaders clearly could not care less. However, just like we’ve seen across the country with state-sanctioned sales, these psychoactive drugs are creating serious health and fiscal consequences and failing to meet their ‘social equity’ goals. Rather than ‘celebrating,’ our state’s leaders should be ashamed,” Sabet stated.
While pro-pot politicians and state officials are offering a congratulatory narrative, the science and medical data tell another story. Marijuana-related emergency department visits increased by 44% in New York in recent years, and cannabis-related poisonings continue to rise. New York State Police have also confirmed, “we are seeing an uptick in the number of people driving under the influence of drugs.” Beyond these public health and safety dangers, disciplinary data from New York City schools reflects an increase in alcohol- and drug-related offenses, as well as past-month marijuana use.
State-sanctioned marijuana sales also haven’t been a boon for minority communities, despite predictions from legislators. In fact, the state-sanctioned sales have incentivized the illicit market. In June 2024, the New York Times reported, “Nearly 3,000 unlicensed cannabis stores are estimated to have opened across New York City since 2021.” This compared to 132 licensed dispensaries across the state and only 62 in New York City.
The post-legalization data also does not bode well for the state’s so-called ‘social equity’ initiative. Since legalization, only 21 of the intended 150 social equity dispensaries have opened, and despite Black New Yorkers representing 23% of the state’s population, they accounted for 39% of treatment admissions for marijuana in 2022. Black New Yorkers also had the highest rate of daily marijuana use, at 8.5% in 2021, compared to 5.8% of white New Yorkers.
“Pot profiteers are proving every day that they’ll stop at nothing to hook a new generation of users, especially those from marginalized communities. Just last month, the Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes urged the state to spend even more of its resources to prop up these dangerous, predatory businesses. From top to bottom New Yorkers are losing and no one should be celebrating more addiction,” Sabet said.
For more information about the impact commercial pot sales are having on New York, please visit www.learnaboutsam.org/new-york-state.
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