News
NEW REPORT DEMONSTRATES CONTINUED DANGERS OF PSYCHOACTIVE DRUG COMMERCIALIZATION
(WASHINGTON, DC) – A new report released today by the Common Sense Institute finds that state-level normalization and legalization of drugs—especially marijuana—is having profound consequences on use rates, overdose rates, and perceptions of harm, as well as costing states billions. According to the report’s findings, early adopters of marijuana legalization like Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska each […]
SAM APPLAUDS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S APPOINTMENT OF HON. MIKE STUART AS GENERAL COUSEL FOR HHS
(WASHINGTON, DC) – Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) President Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former three-time White House drug policy advisor, today offered praise for the Trump Administration’s appointment of SAM ally and former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia and West Virginia State Senator Mike Stuart (R-Kanawha) as General Counsel to the U.S. Department […]
NATIONAL DRUG POLICY EXPERTS, PARENTS, LAWMAKERS, AND LAW ENFORCEMENT CONVENE TO ADDRESS STATE OF AMERICA’S DRUG AND ADDICTION CRISES
(WASHINGTON, DC) – With the new Trump Administration taking shape,Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and the Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions (FDPS) brought together Members of Congress, parents, medical professionals, law enforcement, former White House drug policy officials, and other experts in Washington for a two-day conference to discuss solutions to the nation’s drug crisis. The conference addressed the state of the drug crisis and how […]
Sabet in Washington Times: A new vision is needed to tackle the drug crisis
Cutting government waste is a good aim, but to tackle the drug crisis, we need a bold new vision and priorities. After the nation was losing more than 100,000 Americans to overdoses each year, this number is finally beginning to decline. This is promising. The Trump administration’s focus on curtailing government spending should lean into what is […]
SENATORS ON KEY COMMITTEES INTRODUCE BILL TO PREVENT $2 BILLION MARIJUANA INDUSTRY TAX BREAK AHEAD OF BUDGET RECONCILIATION
(Washington, DC) — Today, Senator James Lankford (R-OK) of the Finance Committee introduced Smart Approaches to Marijuana Action (SAM Action)-drafted legislation alongside Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) of the Budget Committee to prevent a $2.3 billion marijuana industry tax cut. Their bill (S.471) would amend Section 280E of the tax code to include marijuana by name. According to […]
Anti-Legalization Group Vows To Go On ‘Offense’
Law360, National Harbor, Md. — The head of a leadinganti-drug nonprofit on Thursday pledged to go on the offensive by lobbying to undo thefederal law legalizing intoxicating hemp, fighting a pending proposal to loosen federalcannabis restrictions and attempting to reverse state-level legalization. Kevin Sabet, president and CEO of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, kicked off theorganization’s […]
Retail marijuana sales bill passes in Virginia Senate
Retail marijuana sales are one step closer to becoming a reality in the Commonwealth. For the second time, a marijuana bill is making its way through the General Assembly. The bill would allow for marijuana licenses to be issued to business owners by the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority beginning this September. “Every year that we […]
MISSOURI’S COMMERCIAL POT SALES CONTINUE TO DAMAGE PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY
(WASHINGTON, DC) – Dr. Kevin Sabet, President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and a three-time White House drug policy advisor, released the following statement in advance of the anniversary of commercial marijuana sales in Missouri on February 3: “Trends across the nation have universally shown that sales of today’s high-potency marijuana and THC-infused drugs are resulting […]
NEW YORK’S LEADERS MOCK THOSE SUFFERING FROM ADDICTION WITH “CELEBRATION” OF $1 BILLION IN SALES OF DANGEROUS PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGS
Hochul Administration, Legislators Ignore the Science and Harms Being Inflicted by NYS Pot Sales (ALBANY, NY) – New York Lawmakers are ignoring the science and celebrating addiction in Albany. Nearly four years after New York’s politicians legalized the sales and use of high-potency, psychoactive marijuana and THC drug products, the science and the consequences keep getting worse. That’s the message Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), a group co-founded […]
The Poisoning: RFK Jr.’s Influence on Drug Policy: What to Expect From Trump’s New Administration
Luke Niforatos on “The Poisoning” Podcast. View the episode HERE.
Sabet in New York Times: Kennedy’s Plan for the Drug Crisis: A Network of ‘Healing Farms’
In dark bluejeans and work shirt, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stood in a Texas farm field, faced a camera and outlined his plan to combat drug addiction. “I’m going to bring a new industry to these forgotten corners of America, where addicts can help each other recover from their addictions,” he said in a 45-minute […]
TRUMP CAN’T MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN AND SUPPORT ADDICTIVE DRUGS IN OUR COMMUNITIES
(WASHINGTON, DC) – Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions (FDPS) President Dr. Kevin Sabet, a three-time White House drug policy advisor, released the following statement today upon the inauguration of Donald J. Trump as the 47th President of the United States of America: “In November, voters across red and blue states rejected the legalization of drugs like marijuana […]
ARIZONA’S COMMERCIAL POT SALES CONTINUE TO DAMAGE PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY
(PHOENIX, AZ) – Dr. Kevin Sabet, President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM)and a three-time White House drug policy advisor, released the following statement in advance of the anniversary of commercial marijuana sales in Arizona: “Trends across the nation have universally shown that sales of today’s high-potency marijuana and THC-infused drugs are resulting in more THC-related […]
DOORDASH’S DRUG DELIVERY SERVICE SKIRTS FEDERAL DRUG POLICIES, RISKS PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY
(WASHINGTON, DC) – Parents whose children have been negatively impacted by today’s commercially-produced THC drugs are sounding the alarm after national online delivery service DoorDash announced it is now offering on-demand delivery of hemp-derived THC and CBD products, including gummies and beverages – substances known to be associated with mental and physical health consequences, especially […]
Newsweek: ‘Making America Healthy Again’ Must Start With Better Drug Policy
The Trump-Vance administration has the opportunity to take decisive action to curb the devastating effects of drug normalization and addiction. Americans, meanwhile, are waking up to the harms of the failed experiment of pot legalization—voters rejected 7 of the last 10 ballot measures to legalize the drug. Prevention is key, and we cannot forget that […]
Another Voice: Let’s not prop up lie on ‘Big Pot’
New Yorkers aren’t stupid, but apparently Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes thinks we are. The architect of the state’s dubious marijuana “social equity program,” is proposing we throw more taxpayer dollars at the pot industry to prop up the insidious lie that commercial weed would be an economic boon to minority communities. Her “social equity loans” have […]
CONNECTICUT’S COMMERCIAL POT SALES CONTINUE TO DAMAGE PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY
(HARTFORD, CT) – Dr. Kevin Sabet, President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM)and a three-time White House drug policy advisor, released the following statement in advance of the anniversary of commercial marijuana sales in Connecticut: “Trends across the nation have universally shown that sales of today’s high-potency marijuana and THC-infused drugs are resulting in more THC-related […]
The Beacon: Kansas City cannabis companies’ wish for the new year: Lower federal taxes
Luke Niforatos, executive vice president at Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a nonprofit that opposes marijuana legalization, is staunchly against rescheduling cannabis. He agreed that the move would likely help the industry’s bottom line. And as far as he’s concerned, that’s the problem. “Marijuana, if anything, has gotten more harmful since states started legalizing it,” Niforatos […]
CALIFORNIA’S COMMERCIAL POT SALES CONTINUE TO DAMAGE PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY
(SACRAMENTO, CA) – Dr. Kevin Sabet, President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and a three-time White House drug policy advisor, released the following statement in advance of the anniversary of commercial marijuana sales in California: “Trends across the nation have universally shown that sales of today’s high-potency marijuana and THC-infused drugs are resulting in more THC-related […]
ILLINOIS’ COMMERCIAL POT SALES CONTINUE TO DAMAGE PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY
(SPRINGFIELD, IL) – Dr. Kevin Sabet, President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and a three-time White House drug policy advisor, released the following statement in advance of the anniversary of commercial marijuana sales in Illinois: “Trends across the nation have universally shown that sales of today’s high-potency marijuana and THC-infused drugs are resulting in more THC-related […]
MONTANA’S COMMERCIAL POT SALES CONTINUE TO DAMAGE PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY
(HELENA, MT) – Dr. Kevin Sabet, President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM)and a three-time White House drug policy advisor, released the following statement in advance of the anniversary of commercial marijuana sales in Montana: “Trends across the nation have universally shown that sales of today’s high-potency marijuana and THC-infused drugs are resulting in more THC-related […]
COLORADO’S COMMERCIAL POT SALES CONTINUE TO DAMAGE PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY
(DENVER, CO) – Dr. Kevin Sabet, President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM)and a three-time White House drug policy advisor, released the following statement in advance of the anniversary of commercial marijuana sales in Colorado: “Trends across the nation have universally shown that sales of today’s high-potency marijuana and THC-infused drugs are resulting in more THC-related […]
LATEST FEDERAL DATA SPOTLIGHTS MARIJUANA AS A LEADING CAUSE FOR DRUG-RELATED EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT VISITS
(Washington, D.C.) – New data released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) in its 2023 Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) report shows that marijuana is now second in frequency for emergency department (ED) visits, only after alcohol. The report further finds that there were more instances of marijuana ED visits in 2023 than […]