General

Today, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced his fall legislative agenda, which included a call for the legislature to commercialize marijuana to fund “business grants and restorative justice.” Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former Obama Administration advisor and president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), the nation’s largest non-profit dedicated to opposing marijuana commercialization, released the following […]

Today, new data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBS), an annual survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Prevention (CDC) confirms concerning trends when it comes to substance abuse, especially marijuana use, in high school students. Notably, the data finds that lifetime marijuana use is the number one risk factor for prescription opioid […]

Today, a study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that among pregnant women surveyed in 2017, those who gave live birth in marijuana-legal states Alaska and Maine had the highest rate of marijuana use, followed by medical marijuana states Illinois, New Mexico, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. “Marijuana use […]

According to a new Canadian study published in Nature Medicine, women who use marijuana during pregnancy have a more than 50 percent greater chance to give birth to a child with autism versus non-users. The study also found the risk for other neurodevelopmental disorders was heightened. “This is an extremely concerning development,” said Dr. Kevin […]

Today, a new survey released by the state of Colorado finds that marijuana use has skyrocketed in the last two years with nearly 21% of young people in the state reporting past-month use. Notably, use in young teens (aged 15 and younger) has increased to 15.5%, up from 2017 (the last time data was collected). […]

A study recently released by the University of Washington finds that marijuana legalization and commercialization may have begun a reversal of previous downward trends in teen marijuana use. The study, which followed 230 teens and young adults, found that young people may be more likely to use marijuana after commercialization, due to normalization as a […]

A broad, diverse group of renowned scientists, led by the first Black United States Magistrate Judge and researchers from Johns Hopkins and Harvard Medical School, sent a letter to former Vice President and current presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, commending him for his unwavering commitment to a well-reasoned approach to marijuana policy. The researchers, members […]

In partnership with the NAACP Illinois State Conference and other social justice groups and individuals, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), the largest, non-profit, non-partisan marijuana policy organization, co-founded by Congressman Patrick Kennedy and a former Obama Administration advisor, launched a national social justice campaign focused on educating lawmakers and the public on smart marijuana reforms, […]

A new study compiled by the Public Health Institute, a California-based nonpartisan organization promoting strong public health policy, programs, systems, and best practices, found that regulations on the marijuana industry in California have fallen well short of protecting youths from the drug. The study also found several hypocrisies in marijuana regulations when compared to regulations […]

Today’s highly potent marijuana drastically increases the risk of mental health issues according to a new study published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry. The study, conducted with 1,087 twenty-four-year olds who reported recent marijuana use, found that users of high potency marijuana were four times more likely to abuse the substance and twice as likely […]

Two new studies published in JAMA Internal Medicine added to the preponderance of data showing that the legalization of marijuana at the state level has been associated with an increase of traffic fatalities caused by marijuana-impaired drivers. “While much information on the long-term impact of the normalization of today’s marijuana won’t be known for years, […]

Leadership of the United States House of Representatives recently unveiled the latest stimulus package as part of the continuing effort to deal with the economic fallout from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Baked into the package is language similar to the SAFE Banking Act, which would grant the federally-illegal marijuana industry access to the federal financial […]

According to a new report released by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), daily users of today’s high potency marijuana in the Centennial State believe that driving while high on the drug is safe and are skeptical of laws, policies, and data regarding stoned driving. “Marijuana commercialization has pushed the normalization of the drug beyond […]

  This week, the leadership of the House of Representatives’ Transportation and Infrastructure Committee introduced the INVEST in America Act, a bill focusing on the completion of many infrastructure projects. A provision of this bill would mandate states that have “legalized” marijuana to raise awareness around the dangers of operating a vehicle while under the […]

By Rosa Goldensohn 08/31/2018 06:21 AM EDT A national marijuana policy activist is seeking to stem budding legalization efforts in New York, with high hopes of smoking out an industry that he says is bogarting the conversation. Kevin Sabet, who founded the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana with former Rep. Patrick Kennedy after Colorado legalized […]

According to new data from the federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), there was a 42 percent increase in marijuana plant seizures from illegal grows in 2019 over the previous year with more than four million plants being seized. Of the plants seized, nearly 3.2 million were seized in California, where marijuana has been legal since […]

It has been reported that leadership of the Connecticut Legislature have agreed to adjourn the 2020 legislative session and will meet later in the year only to consider top legislative priorities. This means the effort to legalize marijuana in the state will not move forward in 2020. Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to […]

A study conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a group that has endorsed marijuana legalization and commercialization, finds that liberalizing marijuana policies has not delivered on one of its key promises: social justice.   The study states that while marijuana decriminalization and legalization may reduce the overall amount of people arrested for possession […]

This week, two important studies were published that continue to build upon the body of evidence that marijuana legalization and subsequent commercialization is an affront to public health and safety. The first, a review and meta-analysis with over 23,000 participants conducted by researchers from Queen’s University in Ontario and the University of Calgary and published […]

The FDA  took enforcement action against a marijuana company for making unsubstantiated claims, including that their products had the power to cure and prevent the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and a former senior drug policy advisor to the Obama Administration, released the following statement praising the […]

New York State legislative leaders released a budget containing only essential line items pertaining to the operations of the state in response the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, state lawmakers refrained from including marijuana legalization as a part of the budget. Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana New York (SAM NY) and a […]

A new study published in PLOS One, a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Public Library of Science, finds that THC concentrations in marijuana products sold in marijuana storefronts in the United States are not effective for neuropathic pain relief as they are too potent — featuring THC levels two to three times higher than […]

Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) announced the rollout its Local Control Resource Center, the second wave of its initiative aiding communities looking to exert local control by banning commercial marijuana operations. “Our ‘Towns and Cities Initiative’ arms local communities with the resources they need to keep their neighborhoods free of marijuana shops and large scale […]

Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), released the following statement urging state governors to close marijuana storefronts in attempts to both prevent the spread of COVID-19 and help mitigate potential harms to public health: “We are in contact with numerous governors across the country and have a simple message for them: […]