Pot-Pushing Politicians Are Trading Young People’s Futures For More Government Spending
(HARRISBURG, PA) – Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) President Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former White House drug policy advisor to Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton, released the following statement today in response to the Pennsylvania General Assembly voting to pass HB1200, which would flood the state with dangerous, psychoactive marijuana and THC drugs:
“While state-operated marijuana stores may sound better than privately run operations, they still come with significant harms, not to mention the fact that we know the pot lobby will move the goal posts and push for privatization and commercialization the first chance they can.
“Despite knowing the harms and the risks that have followed in every other state that has experimented with THC drug sales, those pushing for legalization in Pennsylvania’s Assembly have cast aside public health and safety for completely debunked promises of tax revenue. Across the country when states have passed marijuana commercialization it has instead universally harmed public health, increased youth use, spurred more drugged driving fatalities, and victimized minority communities – and the story will be no different in Pennsylvania. Today’s marijuana and THC drug products come with significant risks and serious health consequences, including addiction, IQ loss, depression, suicide, psychosis, and schizophrenia, especially for young people, but pot pushing politicians in the state Assembly seem willing to trade it all in hopes of making a quick buck.
“This new bill, drafted, introduced, and forced through committee with little public input, also comes with serious questions. It gives limited recourse to communities that don’t want pot shops, and it perpetuates the myth that marijuana legalization brings social justice. Instead, what has been seen repeatedly is that the industry continues to victimize communities of color and those with less means. The bill also fails to acknowledge the legal uncertainty around having a state directly trafficking in federally illegal substances. Despite all the noise, marijuana remains federally illegal, and having state-operated pot shops is legally questionable, at best.
“Members of the State Senate must make a choice. Do they stand on the side of public health and safety, or do they cave to a deep pocketed industry that’s just looking to make million in profits at the expense of everyday Pennsylvanians?”
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