SAM in the Press

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Arkansas Supreme Court ordered disputed signatures be verified and an expedited hearing be held for the medical marijuana question that supporters hope to place on the November ballot. Several groups have filed with the court since Monday when Secretary of State John Thurston advised the medical marijuana ballot law change […]

UPDATE: Late this afternoon, the Arkansas Supreme Court ordered Secretary of State John Thurston to keep counting signatures collected in support of a constitutional amendment that would expand the state medical marijuana program.  Thurston must file a report by Friday, the court said. Here’s the order. On Monday, Thurston said the marijuana group’s petition fell 2,664 signatures short of […]

Opponents of legalization say public perception hasn’t caught up with mounting health concerns Before the 1990s, a typical marijuana joint contained less than 2 percent of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)—the psychoactive component that gives cannabis users a high. Today, individuals smoke or vape plants with a 17 percent to 28 percent THC potency, and many edibles, oils, […]

Motion Follows Ruling by the Arkansas Secretary of State that Found Legalization Proponents Did Not Follow Election Rules (LITTLE ROCK, AR) – This week Protect Arkansas Kids, in conjunction with national public health policy organization Smart Approaches to Marijuana Action (SAM Action), filed legal motions to intervene in the pending Arkansas Supreme Court case over whether the […]

When the Florida Supreme Court in April approved a measure for the November statewide ballot that would legalize recreational marijuana use, the stage was set for a monumental battle between those who think legalization is long overdue and those who oppose it on constitutional, health, safety or other grounds. If Amendment 3 on the Florida […]

Robert Gebelhoff’s Sept. 18 op-ed misses a critical point: Aligning federal and state laws is not about opening new markets but ensuring existing ones are safer. The bipartisan States 2.0 Act offers a pragmatic solution by allowing states to regulate cannabis as they see fit, while keeping it out of states that oppose legalization. It’s easy to argue that […]

The rise of state-sanctioned cannabis markets amid the absence of federal regulation has prioritized politics intended to launch marijuana sales over those focused on public health….. Read more HERE.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump are trying to convince American voters that their vision for the future of the nation should be the chosen path forward. Whether it’s the ballot measures to legalize recreational marijuana in Florida, South Dakota, and North Dakota; ballot measures related to medical marijuana in Nebraska and Arkansas; or the Biden […]

Kevin Sabet, a former White House drug policy adviser who worked with three presidents, said the impact of legal marijuana had been disastrous. “We expected negative consequences to pile up over a 20 to 30-year time span,” he said. “Now, in ten years, we’re seeing what we thought we were going to see in two […]

The ballot measure voters will see Nov. 5 is known as Amendment 3. If it receives enough “yes” votes, adults 21 and older can legally possess up to three ounces of marijuana. A “no” vote opposes legalizing marijuana for adult use in Florida. “Smoking and using marijuana is not safe at all,” Luke Niforatos, of Smart […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump has signaled support for a potentially historic federal policy shift to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, putting his position in line with that of his Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris. The commonality reflects a major shift toward broad public support for legalization in recent years and marks the first time that both major-party presidential […]

The former president suggests he wants to see marijuana reclassified as a Schedule III drug, the first time Trump has endorsed the easing of federal restrictions. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has expressed support for loosening federal restrictions on marijuana, aligning himself with the Biden administration’s ongoing efforts to do exactly that. In a social media post Sunday, Trump […]

ATLANTA — An Atlanta-based parking company is under fire for a controversial promotion giving away free cannabis products. Channel 2 investigative reporter Ashli Lincoln got action from the company. ParkMobile sent out emails offering a gift card that could be used at several places. One of them is Five CBD, an online store that sells Delta […]

A national parking service provider that operates in Little Rock, Fayetteville and elsewhere in the state has directed its rewards program to remove cannabis products from its available rewards.  ParkMobile, which allows users in cities across the country to pay for parking on streets or in lots through a smartphone app, provides users with rewards […]

Listen to the entire radio segment here: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1248-dakota-mornings-143672613/episode/dakota-mornings-81324-9am-205933350/?cmp=ios_share&sc=ios_social_share&pr=false

The federal government is looking at rescheduling cannabis, meaning fewer restrictions for the plant and the industry. The proposal received thousands of comments and now experts are weighing in.  According to the DEA, the drugs currently are classified on a scale of one to five. President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, Dr. Kevin Sabet, said rescheduling […]

City submitted its official public comment as federal officials move toward rescheduling marijuana from schedule I to schedule III drug As the federal government takes steps toward rescheduling marijuana, Denver wants to make sure it’s part of the conversation. Before the federal government can reschedule marijuana, it must go through a lengthy rulemaking process, which […]

A woman in California who became a killer while gripped by psychosis says companies selling the drug legally are hiding the truth about its effects When Bryn Spejcher watched the police bodycam footage, she did not recognise the woman she saw. The 33-year-old saw herself, deranged and frenzied, stabbing her body and then her service […]

The National Public Health Organization has announced a partnership with Arkansans to protect children against marijuana addiction-for-profit industry.  Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) action joins local residents to establish the “Protect Arkansas Kids” Committee to oppose the state’s marijuana commercialization ballot measure. Protect Arkansas Kids and Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) Action launched today to […]

A national group that worked to defeat a recreational cannabis measure in Arkansas two years ago announced today it will oppose a proposed expansion of the state’s medical marijuana program this year.  Smart Approaches to Marijuana said in an email today that it formed a committee called “Protect Arkansas Kids” to oppose the Arkansas Medical Marijuana […]

Marijuana isn’t medicine. So says the FDA, the AMA, and countless other medical and scientific professionals. The North Carolina Medical Society announced they have “not supported the legalization of medical marijuana,” yet out-of-touch legislators in Raleigh are again trying to legalize so-called “medical marijuana.” And this time they’ve paired it with a radical legalization of other dangerous, […]

Listen to the interview, HERE.

As the Biden administration attempts to move full speed ahead in its efforts to loosen federal restrictions around marijuana, Americans should avail themselves of the opportunity to make their voices heard. Given the pot and tobacco industry’s long history of spreading misinformation and downplaying the harms associated with high-potency psychoactive THC drugs, we need to […]

The governor of the US state of Maryland has pardoned 175,000 people convicted of cannabis offences. Listen to the interview HERE.