General

Biden administration’s recent move to reschedule marijuana could be a big gift The Biden administration’s recent move to reschedule marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III has been drawing criticism from activists on both sides of the issue. For those focused on science and medical efficacy, it’s a move that fails to recognize the growing […]

Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) and Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Andy Harris (R-MD) Lauded for Their Leadership on Critical Public Health and Safety Reforms (WASHINGTON, DC) – Today, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration advanced legislation that bans dangerous hemp-derived THC products. This language is identical to the Farm Bill […]

Banning Marijuana Testing Reduces Military Readiness, Risks Service Members Health and Safety (WASHINGTON, DC) – Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) President Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former White House drug policy advisor to Presidents Obama, Bush and Clinton, issued the following statement today in response to the Biden Administration’s Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) in opposition to the ban on […]

Watch the interview HERE.

Nearly three weeks after the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration proposed loosening a federal prohibition on marijuana, the next phases of policy fights over the drug’s status are starting to take shape. Public comments, which the government is accepting on the proposal until mid-July, will likely include an analysis of the economic impact of more lenient […]

The 2022 Arizona Youth Survey State Report provided the percentage of Arizona’s 8th, 10th, and 12th graders who reported that they acquired marijuana from marijuana stores in 2018, 2020, and 2022.  In November 2010, Arizona legalized medical marijuana and on November 30th, 2020, Arizona legalized and commercialized marijuana. Between 2020 and 2022, the percentage of […]

Defying political expectations, House and Senate negotiators signed off on a deal to legalize recreational marijuana in New Hampshire, making the Granite State the last New England state to allow legal weed. “I’m going to vote against it, but I am going to sign it,” Senate President Jeb Bradley, the upper chamber’s lead negotiator, told […]

A recent study “Changes in self-reported cannabis use in the United States from 1979 to 2022,” published in Addiction by Jonathan Caulkins, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University focuses on changes in the consumption patterns of marijuana. He compared these trends for marijuana to consumption patterns for alcohol. Caulkins found that daily or near-daily use […]

CONCORD, NH) – Smart Approaches to Marijuana Action (SAM Action) President Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former White House drug policy advisor to Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton, issued the following statement today in response to the New Hampshire State House voting to reject Senate-made changes, backed by Governor Chris Sununu, to legislation that would have legalized marijuana […]

This week, the federal government made the formal move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, and it seems people agree, after a new study found more Americans are using marijuana daily. So how would this change in marijuana drug laws impact Phoenix? The reclassification wouldn’t just cut taxes for Mint Cannabis. Molina says it would […]

Agriculture Chairman Rep. GT Thompson (R-PA), Reps. Mary Miller (R-IL), Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) Lauded for Their Leadership on Critical Public Health and Safety Reforms (WASHINGTON, DC) – 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 lauding the House […]

Join us on The Opioid Matrix podcast for an eye-opening discussion with Jaime Zerbe, Chief of Staff at SAM, as we dive into the complex landscape of marijuana rescheduling. Explore the shifts in potency, policy, and public health since the 60s. Don’t miss this enlightening episode! Click here to listen to the podcast with SAM’s […]

Though Marijuana Would Remain Illegal, Election-Year Decision To Reschedule Marijuana Would be a Boon for Pot Investors Pushing a Demonstrably Dangerous Drug (WASHINGTON, DC) – Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) President Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former White House drug policy advisor to Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton, issued the following statement today in response to President Biden’s […]

State-Operated Drug Dealers Will Harm the Granite State (CONCORD, NH) – In response to New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu’s push for state-operated pot shops passing the State Senate, Smart Approaches to Marijuana Action (SAM Action) President Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former White House drug policy advisor to Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton, issued the following […]

This week, Quest Diagnostics released an analysis of workforce drug testing in 2023. Quest Diagnostics processed 10 million drug tests in 2023 and found a  surge in drugs test tampering. Additionally, the company shared their marijuana workforce drug test positivity rate for 2023, highlighting that the marijuana workforce drug test positivity rate is at an […]

New Quest Diagnostics Study Highlights Drastic Measures Being Used to Avoid Testing Positive for Drugs Marijuana Positivity in the U.S. Workforce Increased 45.2% Over Five Years (WASHINGTON, DC) – Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) CEO Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former drug policy advisor to Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton, released the following statement today based on a new […]

Listen to the interview here: https://www.audacy.com/podcast/newell-normand-7db0d/episodes/its-frustrating-when-naysayers-deny-the-data-that-reveal-the-dangers-of-marijuana-bf4af

The study “Associations of cannabis use, use frequency, and cannabis use disorder with violent behavior among young adults in the United States” was recently published by Nora D. Volkow and the team at NIDA. The study found that the rate of violent behavior in daily marijuana users aged 18-34 was nearly twice the violent behavior rate of non-users.  […]

By Dr. Christian Thurstone  We’ve learned a lot about marijuana in the past decade. First, the marijuana available today is about 10 times more potent than it was in the 1980s and 1990s. This means that today’s marijuana is more likely to cause panic attacks, psychosis, and cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS). CHS is a new […]

The Healthy Kids Colorado Survey, conducted by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, assessed trends in tobacco, drug, and alcohol use among high school students in the Centennial State. Notably, beyond asking students whether they used marijuana, it asked how they used it, finding that many vaped it. Among past-month marijuana users, the […]

Decision To Reschedule Marijuana Could Have Far-Reaching Consequences for Public Health and Safety (WASHINGTON, DC) – Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) President Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former White House drug policy advisor to Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton, issued the following statement today in response to reporting that the Administration has proposed a decision to reverse decades […]

As Colorado develops its regulatory framework for the psychedelics industry, we now see that it is being undermined by many of the same competing interests that have taken hold of the state’s profit-driven THC drug and marijuana industry. Read the entire article HERE.

Those who prioritize safe supply and MAID over treatment and recovery have given up on improving the lives of people struggling with addiction Now, as the drug crisis has further spiralled out of control, some people want to double down on these policies, including decriminalization, expanding safe supply and allowing MAID for drug users. Harm-reduction […]