News

What does marijuana rescheduling mean for my state?   Moving marijuana to Schedule III will not legalize marijuana. It will provide the marijuana industry with a significant tax reduction and will normalize the drug to many Americans, which could increase marijuana use and harms nationwide. To address this, common-sense regulations must be implemented on the industry […]

A Harvard Medical School study found that recovery housing residents were twice as likely to remain abstinent (65% vs. 31%). Additionally, they had an incarceration rate of a third of what it was for those not in recovery housing (3% vs. 9%). The findings suggest that incentives matter, not only for staying off drugs but also for staying […]

WASHINGTON, DC—Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) released a letter addressed to President Trump Monday, signed by a wide spectrum of SAM coalition partners, including the Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions, Family Research Council, Concerned Women for Legislative Action Committee, National Narcotic Officers’ Associations’ Coalition, and Drug Enforcement Association of Federal Narcotics Agents (DEAFNA). “President Trump […]

In the latest edition of “what we’ve been saying all along,” a study by researchers from the University of Ottawa found that individuals who visited the ER due to marijuana use are 14.6 times more likely to develop schizophrenia. And here’s the big one: individuals who visited the ER due to cannabis-induced psychosis are a dizzying 241.6 times more […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and 1000 Feet today announced they have sent a joint letter to President Donald J. Trump, Attorney General Pamela J. Bondi, and U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine F. Pirro urging immediate enforcement of the Federal Drug-Free School Zones Act against marijuana retailers that DC officials have […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Smart Approaches to Marijuana President, Kevin Sabet, released the following statement today in response to President Donald Trump’s remarks at a White House press briefing, where the President confirmed that his administration is “looking at” a proposal to reclassify marijuana under federal law and expects to make a decision in the “next few […]

Everyone knows smoking marijuana isn’t great for your oral health, and now we have evidence proving it. A study out of the UC San Diego School of Medicine found that Individuals with cannabis use disorder (CUD) are more than three times likely to develop oral cancer within five years compared to those without CUD. Worse, as with this earlier study […]

New SAM Action television ads, to air on Fox News and Fox Business Network, warn that moving marijuana to Schedule III would let CCP-backed and Mexican cartels launder profits, in addition to unleashing a nationwide public health crisis while weed industry barons receive tax breaks. WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, SAM Action, the (c)4 arm of Smart […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On July 29, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its recommendation that 7-OH, a component of the plant kratom, be moved to Schedule I. The agency also released a report on kratom and its harm profile to justify the decision.   Kevin Sabet, president & CEO of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and […]

Marijuana rots your teeth, makes you more likely to die from heart problems, screws up your genetic expression, and causes severe mental illness. Next up in the list of its bad effects? It makes you older, faster. A recent study from Chinese researchers evaluated the association between marijuana use and levels of α-Klotho, a protein linked […]

Researchers from the Sorbonne found that among adolescents, marijuana use was linked to 46% higher odds of experiencing suicidal ideation and 85% higher odds of attempting suicide. Their research method accounted for pre-existing depression; the data they gathered shows marijuana use independently harms mental health.  This comes on top of an avalanche of evidence showing that weed is connected to […]

Think all that canna-mom messaging around marijuana is harmless? Think again. A new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine from researchers at UNLV and UT-San Antonio found that marijuana use prevalence was 6.8% among pregnant women—and that first-trimester use was highest at 10.1%, peaking at 14.2% in 2022.  (The first trimester is a key developmental phase […]

Compared with people who do not use marijuana frequently, people reporting frequent marijuana use had 41% higher odds of having severe tooth loss. For cavities, the likelihood is 17% higher, and for decay at the roots it’s 55% higher odds. These troubling findings, from the Journal of the American Dental Association, reveal yet another negative impact of weed […]

***CLICK HERE TO CONTACT THE PRESIDENT OR THE VICE PRESIDENT. COPY AND PASTE THE TEXT BELOW INTO THE LINKED FORM AND THEN SEND.*** Dear President Trump/Vice President Vance,  I write to urge you not to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III. This was a dangerous idea when the Biden White House suggested it […]

HARRISBURG, PA – Today, Senate Bill 120 was unveiled, which would force Pennsylvania municipalities to host recreational marijuana dispensaries with no freedom to opt out of retail stores, strip local governments of any authority to ban or restrict them, and even allow up to “1,000 milligrams of THC contained in cannabis-infused edible products or cannabis-infused nonedible […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — SAM Action applauds the Senate Appropriations Committee’s decision to include language banning Delta-8 THC in the base text of its appropriations bill for the first time, closing a dangerous hemp-derived intoxicant loophole created by the 2018 Farm Bill. SAM Action is proud to have provided sustained and active guidance on this crucial issue to […]

A team of researchers from the University of Southern California found that being exposed to frequent marijuana posts made kids 60% more likely to initiate marijuana use within the year. And it’s not just ads for weed driving the teen health crisis. Seeing e-cigarette TikToks made adolescent viewers 74% more likely to initiate marijuana use […]

Gay men are almost twice as likely to have used marijuana in the past month than straight individuals (27.1% vs. 14.8%), according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Lesbians and bisexuals have an even larger discrepancy. These numbers confirm that marijuana use is significantly higher in the LGBTQ+ community compared to their straight […]

SAM Urges Zohran Mamdani To Prioritize Addressing Growing Concerns Over Weed Legalization New York City – A new Emerson College poll commissioned by Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) paints a clear picture: New Yorkers are fed up with the realities of marijuana legalization.  Despite promises of safety, equity, and tax revenue, the majority of New Yorkers now say […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) condemned the House of Representatives’ approval of two amendments to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs (MilCon-VA) Appropriations bill—Amendment #84 and Amendment #32. Amendment #84, sponsored by Reps. Brian Mast (R-FL) and Dave Joyce (R-OH), would allow VA doctors to recommend medical marijuana to veterans. Amendment #32, […]

AUSTIN, TX – Dr. Kevin Sabet, President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and a former White House drug policy advisor to Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton, released the following statement after Governor Greg Abbott vetoed SB3, which would have banned intoxicating hemp-derived THC products in Texas: “Governor Abbott’s decision to veto SB3 is a […]