Will Jones

(Alexandria, VA) – Today, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), the nation’s leading organization opposing the commercialization of marijuana, is proud to announce that Connecticut House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora is the recipient of the 2021 Patrick J. Kennedy Advocate of the Year Award, given to an advocate at the state-level who best champions the mission […]

(Alexandria, VA) – Today, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), the nation’s leading organization opposing the commercialization of marijuana, is proud to announce that Colorado Speaker of the House Alec Garnett is a recipient of the 2021 Patrick J. Kennedy Advocate of the Year Award, given to an advocate at the state-level who best champions the […]

Pot Poll: Majority of NJ Opposes Legalized Marijuana TRENTON – Put down the vape. The majority of New Jersey residents oppose legalizing recreational marijuana, according to a recent survey conducted by Fairleigh Dickinson University. This marks the first time a recent poll in New Jersey has found less than 50 percent support for legalization.

Measuring Colorado’s “great experiment” with marijuana We’re far from CLEARING THE SMOKE over recreational marijuana use. A new federal policy announced this past week takes a tough line. It’s a challenge to states that have legalized use, including, most recently, the biggest state of all. Our Cover Story is reported by Barry Petersen: “I’ve never […]

(Alexandria, VA) – SAM today applauded the rescheduling of Epidiolex, an FDA-approved medication derived from the marijuana plant that contains 99.9% pure cannabidiol (CBD).   The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) published a notice in the Federal Register that moves FDA-approved drugs that contain CBD derived from marijuana and no more than 0.1 percent tetrahydrocannabinols (THC) from […]

Jersey City, NJ – Today, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), and it’s affiliate, NJ Responsible Approaches to Marijuana (NJ-RAMP), will be testifying about the impact of marijuana legalization in front of the New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus. You can watch it live here!   WHO:  New Jersey Responsible Approaches to Marijuana Policy (NJ-RAMP) Coalition Members, including Kevin […]

Auto Club and SAM Believe A Collective Pause Needs To Be Taken Before Maryland Considers Legalizing Recreational Marijuana  TOWSON, MD (February 20, 2018) — Mid-Atlantic and Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) are opposing a marijuana legalization bill being heard today at 1:00 p.m. in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee in Annapolis that would impact traffic safety on […]

NEW ILLINOIS MASON-DIXON POLL SHOWS  LARGE MAJORITY OPPOSES LEGALIZING RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA  Poll finds only 23% support the legalization of recreational marijuana; 69% want other options such as maintaining current decriminalization law CHICAGO – The majority of voters in Illinois oppose legalizing recreational marijuana, according to a recent poll conducted by Mason-Dixon and paid for by SAM Action, a non-profit organization sponsoring Healthy & […]

Report by prominent marijuana policy group finds costs would outweigh any tax revenue under legalization HARTFORD, CT – Today, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), in conjunction with the Connecticut chapter of SAM (CT-SAM), released a comprehensive report on the projected costs of legalization in Connecticut — finding that legalization would cost the state $216 million, far outweighing even […]

OHIO VOTERS REJECT  MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION Voters decide against legalizing marijuana in key 2016 swing state;  opponents win despite being outspent by more than 15:1 COLUMBUS, OH – Ohio voters have rejected the legalization of marijuana in their state, sending a strong message from a key swing state to 2016 Presidential candidates and to the rest […]

Amid the headlines highlighting the Pope’s stances on an array of hot button political issues like climate change, immigration, poverty, the death penalty and capitalism, we would like to highlight one of his positions that is perhaps less well-known – “Attempts, however limited, to legalize so-called ‘recreational drugs,’ are not only highly questionable from a […]

PRESS RELEASE    CORRECTED                                                                            Contact: Will Jones September 11, 2015                 […]

For “National Recovery Month”  the Keys to Recovery newspaper is featuring an article written by SAM President Dr. Sabet addressing  common myths about marijuana. You can read the article in its entirety here.  

Firm SmithJohnson Research released poll today finding that 51% of Coloradans would oppose Amendment 64 today. Survey finds Colorado’s marijuana legalization law does not do a good job to prevent children from using marijuana or keep our roads safe.   DENVER, CO- SmithJohnson Research, a polling firm who has worked with Democrats and Republicans, today […]

SAM praises move it had endorsed weeks ago   (WASHINGTON, D.C.) — Today, SAM President Kevin A. Sabet released this statement after the White House decided to eliminate the 1999 Public Health Service (PHS) layer of research review as called for in SAM’s recent research brief: “Today’s action by the Administration is a step forward […]

Denver is home to the most number of marijuana stores – and leads the state with 18.5% of adults as current users (DENVER, CO) – A new statewide study funded by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment found that 13.6% of Colorado adults are regular users of marijuana – almost double the rate […]

UNANIMOUS CO SUPREME COURT: EMPLOYERS DO NOT HAVE TO ACCOMMODATE MARIJUANA USE But challenges remain for employers (WASHINGTON DC) – Today, SAM President Kevin Sabet released a statement on the unanimous ruling of the Colorado Supreme Court establishing that employers do not have to accommodate state marijuana laws: “This is a victory for every community […]

by Kevin Sabet, posted 05/03/ 2015 Botticelli on marijuana: “Just to be clear, this administration, this office, is opposed to legalization. From the time that I have been in this job, the time that I’ve been in Massachusetts, I’ve never been in favor of either medical marijuana or legalization….you can begin to see that the exact […]