General

(Alexandria, VA) – Today, the annual Monitoring the Future (MTF) Survey, a record of national youth drug and alcohol use and attitudes data, conducted by the University of Michigan and funded by the National Institutes of Health, found that due to the pandemic causing decreased social interactions, youth drug use rates have dropped among almost […]

(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 […]

Today, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) — the nation’s leading organization dedicated to educating lawmakers and the general public to the potential harms of the normalization of marijuana use and opposing the commercialization of the substance — is proud to announce it has been awarded a grant from Daniel’s Fund, an organization dedicated to improving […]

Yesterday afternoon, the United States House of Representatives passed a massive spending bill loaded with pot industry giveaways. Notably, the bill would allow the marijuana industry to set up pot shops in Washington D.C. by removing a long-standing provision in spending bills that expressly prohibited this from occurring. This is in direct defiance of the […]

Today, a much-anticipated discussion draft of a bill to legalize marijuana at the federal level has been officially released by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. The draft’s release is intended to further conversations around the eventual formal introduction of the bill at an undetermined future time. “While we applaud Senate Majority Leader Schumer, as well […]

Laments Historically Low Rate of Perceived Harm from Marijuana Use in U.S. Youth Yesterday, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released the latest edition of the annual World Drug Report, which highlighted the fact that while use of marijuana among young people has increased to levels not seen since the early nineties, […]

Today, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed SB 1201 into law, expanding the commercial marijuana industry into the state. In response, a group of public health and safety advocates in the state have sent the governor a comprehensive list of action items they deem essential to “mitigate the worst of the harms” that have been seen […]

A new study published in the journal Emerging Trends in Drugs, Addictions, and Health examined the relationship between marijuana use among those in short-term recovery from an opiate use disorder and relapse. The study found that adolescents/young adults with opioid use disorder who used marijuana as a harm reduction strategy were not successful as their […]

Lends Further Evidence President Biden Does Not Support Federal Marijuana Legalization Efforts The Biden-Harris Administration recently released the President’s Budget Request for the fiscal year 2022. The budget requests the Congress dramatically increases funding for public health and safety in response to the ongoing drug overdose epidemic, specifically earmarking an unprecedented $41 billion to address […]

The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, a bill to federally legalize, commercialize, and tax the use of marijuana, was re-introduced in the House of Representatives by Representative Jerry Nadler. Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and a former senior drug policy advisor to the Obama Administration, released the following […]

A new release of data from national drug testing organization Quest Diagnostics shows that drug positivity rates in states with “legal” marijuana far outpaces such rates in states that have not legalized marijuana. According to the data, marijuana positivity in states that have legalized has increased 118% since 2012, whereas such positivity in states with […]

SAM’s “Turn a Lemon into Lemonade” approach prevails; New law bans advertising, limits pot shops, and caps THC levels. (Helena, MT) Today, in a major state victory for Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed HB 701, a bill outlining the regulations for marijuana commercialization, into law. SAFE Montana & SAM were […]

Today, the first-ever regulatory overhaul of Colorado’s federally illegal marijuana industry was introduced as a bill in the Colorado State Assembly. The bill seeks to implement much-needed public health guardrails and promote public health, reigning in a marijuana industry that has been allowed to run free. The bill, being led by House Speaker Alec Garnett […]

Urges Senators to Heed the Guidance of Public Health & Safety Experts on the Potential Harms Associated with Federal Marijuana Legalization Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) recently announced the launch of advertisements targeted toward United States Senators who have recently expressed their reluctance to support an effort being led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer […]

An explosive study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics and conducted by prominent researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including the head of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, found that teenage marijuana users (aged 12-17) have double the prevalence of a use disorder (addiction) than nicotine, alcohol, and, in most categories of […]

A bill legalizing marijuana and establishing a commercial market for the substance was passed by the New Mexico State Legislature after a special session dedicated to passing the bill was called by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) released the following statement in response: “The result of […]

Both houses of the New York State legislature approved a standalone bill to legalize marijuana and establish a commercial market for its sale. The bill now heads to the desk of Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has promised to sign it into law. Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and its New […]

A new study found that secondhand marijuana smoke could be more hazardous to one’s health than secondhand smoke from cigarettes. The study compared emissions of fine particles, or particulate matter (PM 2.5) from tobacco smoke and marijuana smoke and found that the PM 2.5 emission rate of pre-rolled marijuana joints was 3.5 times higher than […]

The so-called “SAFE Banking Act,” a bill that would grant the marijuana industry access to the federal banking system and open the doors to Wall Street investment, was introduced in the United States House of Representatives. Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and a former senior drug policy advisor to the […]

Both houses of the Virginia Legislature agreed to a finalized version of the bill to commercialize marijuana in the commonwealth. If this bill is to be signed into law, Virginia will become only the third state in the nation to commercialize marijuana via the legislative process. Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana […]

On his 1,133rd day in office, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed a bill to implement marijuana commercialization into law. Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and its New Jersey affiliate, New Jersey Responsible Approaches to Marijuana Policy (NJ-RAMP), released the following statement in response: “We’ve fought against an extremely well-funded […]

Smart Approaches to Marijuana New York (SAM New York) President & Co-Founder Dr. Kevin Sabet testified in opposition to a proposal to legalize and commercialize marijuana through the New York State Budget as part of a Joint Legislative Public Hearing. In his testimony, Dr. Sabet laid out why the proposal to legalize marijuana should be […]

A coalition of experts on drug policy, medical professionals, prevention workers, law enforcement, and education advocates held a virtual press conference outlining their opposition to the effort to legalize marijuana in NYS. Click here to view a recording of the press conference. Quotes from Speakers: Dr. Kevin Sabet, author of Smokescreen, president of Smart Approaches […]

A comprehensive report compiled by the United States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control outlined the latest research on marijuana use and mental health and highlighted issues related to the explosive growth in THC potency and marijuana-impaired driving. “It’s refreshing to see a committee of the United States Senate recognize the reality that both today’s […]