News

Members of Law Enforcement, Parents, Addiction Treatment Providers and More Must Unite to Keep the Predatory Industry from Abusing Florida Communities (TALLAHASSEE, FL) – In response to the Florida State Supreme Court’s announcement today validating the signatures collected to amend the State Constitution to legalize marijuana and THC drugs (Initiative #22-05), Smart Approaches to Marijuana […]

Check out the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) latest video featuring Dr. Kevin Sabet as he dives into the legalization debate in Germany and beyond. Watch now!

Recently Vice President Kamala Harris convened a roundtable about marijuana and criminal justice reform with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D), rapper Fat Joe, and individuals previously convicted of the offense of simple possession of marijuana who have been pardoned by President Biden. The message Harris delivered was simple: the Biden administration believes that “no one should be jailed for simply using” […]

On Thursday, Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin vetoed a bill that would have allowed the recreational retail sales of marijuana to begin next year. Gov. Youngkin said legalizing the recreational sale of marijuana would only hurt the Commonwealth. “Cannabis is bad for Virginia and in all other states that have had an extensive retail market, what […]

Governor’s Veto Puts Public Health Over Corporations, Caps Bold Effort by Coalition to Defeat Commercial Pot (RICHMOND, VA) – Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) President Kevin A. Sabet, Ph.D., a former Obama White House senior drug policy advisor, released the following statement today in response to Governor Glenn Youngkin’s veto of legislation that would have allowed commercial […]

Read the article HERE.

(WASHINGTON, DC) – Today, in his role as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Mitt Romney sent a letter to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram expressing concerns over reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule III drug. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jim Risch and Senator Pete Ricketts also signed the letter. Dr. Kevin Sabet, President […]

Vice President Kamala Harris looked up from prepared remarks in the White House’s ornate Roosevelt Room this month to make sure the reporters there could hear her clearly: “Nobody should have to go to jail for smoking weed.” Harris’ “marijuana reform roundtable” was a striking reminder of how the politics have shifted for a onetime […]

Read Dr. Kevin Sabet in Newsweek: Now Is Congress’ Chance To Close Its Hemp Loophole—And Save Lives | Opinion Read SAM Executive Vice President Luke Niforatos in The Denver Gazette – Perspective: Missing the mark on marijuana

As the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate draft their versions of the Farm Bill, closing a loophole that has facilitated the nationwide proliferation of intoxicating hemp-derived THC products, like Delta-8 THC, should be a top priority. For America’s kids, the stakes could not be higher. Delta-8 THC is one of hundreds of cannabinoids found in the […]

President Joe Biden recently chose a few seconds of his State of the Union address to laud the progress his administration has made in pardoning marijuana offenses and his controversial rescheduling review that is now being conducted by the DEA at his request. True, people should not be imprisoned for simple marijuana possession (the fact […]

Sabet: “The biggest challenge we are all facing is turning our backs to the vision of a society where we prevent drug use before it starts and celebrate recovery.” (VIENNA, AUSTRIA) – In a rousing speech to the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) President Dr. Kevin Sabet warned international leaders gathered […]

Vice President Kamala Harris, with the help of rapper of Fat Joe, held a conversation on marijuana reform at the White House. “When the Vice President calls me, I stop everything,” said Fat Joe. Harris hosted the roundtable to highlight the administration’s efforts to free individuals jailed for nonviolent marijuana possession and expand opportunities once […]

THE HOUSE recently passed HB 1633-FN, a bill to legalize recreational marijuana. This is a commercialization sales model, which is directly opposite from the state-run system that Governor Chris Sununu said was the only type of business model he would accept. In 2023, Governor Sununu reversed his long standing promise to drug prevention and law enforcement […]

(WASHINGTON, DC) – Former Congressman and Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) Honorary Chairman Patrick J. Kennedy released the following statement today in advance of Vice President Kamala Harris’ roundtable on criminal justice reform, which is being co-opted by Big Marijuana, the new Big Tobacco: “For more than a decade we have said people should not be incarcerated for […]

Despite the risks, more states continue to legalize marijuana in some form.  Currently, only four states still fully ban it.  They are Idaho, Kansas, South Carolina, and Wyoming.  However, South Carolina is now considering legalizing marijuana for medical purposes. Kevin Sabet, Ph.D., president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, told CBN News he opposes that legislation. “I […]

By Connor Kubeisy, Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions  For years, advocates for the legalization of marijuana have been telling skeptical voters that dispensaries would not sell their products to minors. Their primary arguments have remained unchanged: legalizing and regulating marijuana is the only way to ensure that it will not end up in the hands of […]

(WASHINGTON, DC) – Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and the Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions (FDPS) President Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former White House drug policy advisor to Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton, released the following statement today in response to the Biden Administration’s budget request. Two key highlights as it relates to marijuana policy 1) the White House Office of National […]

When, in the waning days of the Obama administration, the government concluded that marijuana would continue to fall under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, scientists weren’t surprised. After all, marijuana, according to the administration, “does not meet any of the five elements necessary for a drug to have a ‘currently accepted medical use.’” […]

Bill to Legalize Marijuana Has Previously Been Defeated At Least 10 Times (HONOLULU, HI) – Smart Approaches to Marijuana Action (SAM Action) President Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former White House drug policy advisor to Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton, released the following statement today in response to the Hawaii State Senate voting to flood the […]

It’s rare for policymakers to get a preview of the consequences of pending policies, but the descheduling of hemp-derived THC products has provided a preview of what is to come if marijuana is rescheduled and commercialized. As the federal government considers rescheduling marijuana, policymakers should learn from the mistakes that were made in the 2018 Farm […]

Kevin Sabet is the President and CEO of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a political organization opposed to marijuana legalization and commercialization. He said today’s marijuana that you buy on the street is stronger than ever. “It’s much more harmful than it used to be. It’s been genetically bred to have the component that gets you […]

As a man is jailed for life for the murder of four members of the same family, the case highlights the link between cannabis and psychosis. Read the entire article HERE.

Measure 110 was passed by voters back in 2020 in the hopes of addressing addiction as a health issue rather than a legal one. It decriminalized the possession of many drugs, including small amounts of hard drugs like methamphetamine, fentanyl and heroin. But since its passage, data shows Oregon’s drug problem has gotten worse. Dr. Kevin Sabet, President and CEO of the Foundation […]