General

Key reasons for opposition include unregulated THC concentrations, impaired driving, youth-targeted marketing and marijuana-induced mental health concerns What: SAM to hold day long Summit at annual Rx Summit on marijuana policy issues Who: Patrick J. Kennedy; Kevin Sabet, Co-Founders of SAM; Head of Illinois NAACP Teresa Haley; Nora Volkow, Director of NIDA; Washington State Rep Lauren […]

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the SAM-supported Medical Marijuana Research Act. The bipartisan bill would remove some barriers that prevent researchers from adequately evaluating the potential risks and benefits of the use of marijuana and its derivatives. Notably, more than 30,000 research studies have been done on the drug under […]

[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text](Washington, D.C.) – Today, the United States House of Representatives passed the MORE Act, a bill to federally legalize and commercialize marijuana. Despite […]

(Alexandria, VA) – Sticking to campaign promises, President Biden’s new budget, released minutes ago, rejected marijuana commercialization in several major ways. It does not extend Justice Department protections to legal marijuana states, meaning federal resources can still be used to enforce marijuana laws. Additionally, the budget does not give the District of Columbia latitude to […]

(Alexandria, VA) – Today, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) released a rebuttal to a new report from the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education, and Regulation (CPEAR), a group funded by Molson Coors, Altria (Philip Morris), private cash and other companies. The report asserted that marijuana legalization is not tied to increases in youth marijuana use–something not supported by their evidence […]

(Alexandria, VA) – Today, a bill to establish a commercial marijuana market in Virginia died in a House of Delegates Subcommittee. This tremendous victory for public health follows a year-long push by the marijuana industry to pass a bill supported by the industry and its investors, including the Big Tobacco giant Altria. A broad coalition […]

(Pierre, SD) – Today, a bill to legalize marijuana in South Dakota died in the House State Affairs Committee. This tremendous victory for public health follows a year-long push by the marijuana industry to pass a bill supported by the industry and its investors. A broad coalition including Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), law enforcement […]

SAM remains active in more than three dozen states, in addition to our work federally (check out our Webinar last week with NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow). Today alone, we are in Ohio speaking with a dozen legislators and on TV, conducting three radio interviews in three different states, meeting with top federal drug officials […]

(Concord, NH) – According to a new state Emerson College poll, 53% of New Hampshire voters do not support legalizing marijuana when presented with other, non-legalization policy options. This poll is significant to state lawmakers as the marijuana industry has renewed its annual push to expand into The Granite State, which allows for possession of the drug, but […]

(Annapolis, MD) – According to a new state Emerson College poll, 55% of Maryland voters do not support legalizing marijuana when presented with other, non-legalization policy options. This poll is significant to state lawmakers as the marijuana industry has renewed its annual push to expand into the Old Line State, which allows for possession of the drug, […]

(Alexandria, VA) – According to a new national Emerson College poll, 62% of registered voters do not support legalizing marijuana when presented with other, non-legalization policy options. Polls touted by promoters of the marijuana industry as showing widespread support for legalization offer a false dichotomy by perpetuating the myth that there are only two options, full legalization […]

(Alexandria, VA) – Today, following negotiations between the House and Senate, the “SAFE” Banking Act was defeated yet again, as it is now officially excluded from the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, a large annual bill that sets policy for the Pentagon. Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) released the […]

(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 […]