News

New Bill Peddles Big Pot’s Fantasy about Big Revenue, Ignores Massive Costs (NASHVILLE, TN) – Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) President Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former three-time White House drug policy advisor, released the following statement in response to HB0703, the “Tennessee Pot for Potholes Act,” which would legalize commercial sales of high potency marijuana to use the […]

A recent study published in JACC Advances, which is affiliated with the American College of Cardiology, found that marijuana users under the age of 50 were six times more likely than non-users to experience a heart attack (myocardial infarction). The study, which analyzed data from more than 4.6 million individuals, also found that the risks […]

When marijuana legalization first started gaining momentum in the United States, it was heralded as a progressive step toward criminal justice reform, economic growth and public health benefits all at once. Advocates promised that legal cannabis would eliminate the illicit market, generate tax revenue and ensure a safe, well-regulated industry. That is not how things have turned […]

A recent study in Addiction Science & Clinical Practice analyzed 43,553 urine drug screens that were given in 25 jails in the United States in 2023, finding that 75% tested positive for at least one drug. Among the tests that were positive, 69% were positive for marijuana, 55% for stimulants, 30% for opioids, and 12% […]

Pot Profiteers Seek Future Generations Hooked on Addiction to Fuel Corporate Profits (VIENNA, AUSTRIA) – As nations around the world continue to deal with the repercussions of the addiction industry’s efforts to inject more dangerous, psychoactive drugs into populations, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions (FDPS) President Dr. Kevin Sabet heads to the 68th Session […]

Albany’s celebration of $1 billion in commercial marijuana sales earlier this year must have been music to Big Pot’s ears. “Let us celebrate the individuals, businesses, and communities in cannabis who drive our state’s economic engine,” exulted Felicia A. B. Reid, acting executive director of the state Office of Cannabis Management. No one would expect state health commissioner James […]

A study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Innovations, Quality & Outcomes found that many state-level qualifying conditions for medical marijuana lack supporting evidence, as contrasted by the conclusions of a 2017 report about marijuana from National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM).  The report from the NASEM assessed the potential therapeutic effects of marijuana […]

Seven Republican representatives have introduced a bill to block businesses from claiming tax marijuana deductions for expenses, even if the substance is federally rescheduled. Republican Rep. Jodey C. Arrington, Chairman of the House Budget Committee, introduced a bill last week—co-sponsored by six colleagues—to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and uphold the ban on […]

(Washington, DC) — Today, U.S. House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Jodey Arrington introduced Smart Approaches to Marijuana Action (SAM Action)-drafted legislation to prevent a $2.3 billion tax cut for the marijuana industry.  Arrington’s legislation (H.R. 1447) a companion bill to S.471 introduced recently by Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Pete Ricketts (R-NE), would amend Section 280E […]

INDIANAPOLIS– Despite a record amount of marijuana bills filed by both Indiana Republicans and Democrats this legislative session, all efforts to legalize and decriminalize weed failed. ”This is really just not a priority for people; it’s also not a priority for the leaders of Indiana,” said Jaime Zerbe with Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM). SAM […]

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) Opponents of marijuana legalization have often cited safety concerns, a point brought up by Jordan Davidson, who serves as the Government Affairs Manager for Smart Approaches to Marijuana. “We want people to have safe and effective medicine that’s able to be prescribed by doctors that go through (rigorous scientific) review. Unfortunately, that […]

A recent study in JAMA Network Open, reported on in The New York Times, found that individuals who received hospital-based care (i.e., an emergency department visit or hospitalization) for cannabis use disorder (CUD) were 2.8 times more likely than the general population to die within 5 years.  The study, based on data from 11.6 million […]

(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 […]

(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 […]

(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 […]

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 […]

(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 […]

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 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 […]

(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 […]

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 […]

According to data from Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the illicit market for marijuana has been expanding. In fiscal year 2024, CBP seized 174,991 pounds of marijuana, up from 149,582 in FY 2023 and 154,797 in FY 2022.  The number of individual seizure events––as opposed to total weight––has also been increasing. In FY 2024, there […]

Luke Niforatos on “The Poisoning” Podcast. View the episode HERE.

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 […]