SAM’s News

Washington, DC—Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) today announced that it has filed a Notice of Appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, challenging a district court judgment entered that upheld the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Substance Access Beneficiary Engagement Initiative (BEI)—a pilot program that would let Medicare […]

Washington, DC—Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) applauds the state attorneys general from Nebraska, Louisiana, and Indiana for filing a joint legal challenge to the Administration’s final order reclassifying state-legal medical marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III. These challenges were subsequently consolidated with SAM’s petition in the D.C. Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. “We welcome […]

Washington, DC—Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) announced it has formally filed notice of its intent to participate in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s rescheduling hearing, scheduled to begin June 29, 2026, and will oppose the agency’s proposed rule to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. “This fight is not […]

Washington, DC—Today, in the District Court of Appeals of Washington, D.C., Trump-appointed Judge Trevor McFadden dismissed SAM and its co-plaintiffs’ challenge to the CMS BEI (“low dose hemp-THC”) program for lack of standing. Kevin A. Sabet, President and CEO of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), issued the following statement: “We fundamentally disagree with the court’s […]

RICHMOND, VA—Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) applauds Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, for vetoing legislation that would have opened a commercial marijuana market in the Commonwealth of Virginia. “While President Trump is caving to corporate interests by approving flavored vapes, Governor Spanberger is saying no to a new Big Tobacco,” says SAM CEO Kevin […]

Washington, DC—Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) applauds the House Appropriations Committee for passing landmark anti-marijuana legislation in its Fiscal Year 2027 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies appropriations bill. The package prohibits the Department of Justice from rescheduling marijuana and includes report language demanding enforcement of the 2025 ban on intoxicating hemp. The Committee also […]

Washington, DC—Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) applauds Burke Law Group and many other domain experts for their historic lawsuit against the marijuana industry. This is the first lawsuit of its kind and a major step forward in efforts to defend public health.   “For years, the marijuana industry has operated with impunity—downplaying risks and leaving families […]

Washington, DC—Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) condemns in the strongest possible terms the Trump administration’s illegal move to skip procedural requirements and reschedule marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III without following federal law. SAM has also learned today the President is officially urging Congress to reverse the federal ban on hemp intoxicants, an echo […]

AUSTIN, TX — Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) has sent a formal letter to Governor Greg Abbott urging him to sign Texas’ Senate Bill 3 into law, a bill that would end the sale of all THC products in the state. In the letter, SAM detailed how the unregulated sale of intoxicating THC products, like […]

Report Underscores SAM’s Position That Prevention Must Remain Top Priority   WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a powerful new report published today in JAMA Psychiatry, two of the nation’s foremost experts in public health and law dismantle the federal government’s rationale for rescheduling marijuana. Authored by Harvard Medical School professor Dr. Bertha Madras and Heritage Foundation legal […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The FDA has put anybody selling food and beverages adulterated with Delta-8 THC on notice. Delta-8 is an intoxicating derivative of hemp previously permitted for sale under a legal loophole. The agency has now made public a March warning letter to marketplace Puredozo; the letter informs the company that what they sell is illegally adulterated, […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House leaders struck a blow for long-overdue sanity in U.S. drug laws.    The House Appropriations Committee released its FY 2026 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Bill. Included in the legislation’s base text is language banning dangerous hemp-derived THC products, including Delta-8 THC. The Appropriations Committee highlighted the […]

(WASHINGTON, DC) – Dr. Kevin Sabet, President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), and Luke Niforatos, Executive Vice President of SAM, released the following statement congratulating Doug Simon on being named the new director of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy Compliance (ODAPC): “On behalf of SAM, we want to extend our […]

SAM Applauds the Texas State Senate, House for Passing Critical Reforms to Eliminate Hemp-Derived THC Drug Products  (AUSTIN, TX) – Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) President Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former three-time White House drug policy advisor, released the following statement upon the Texas House of Representative’s passage of SB3, which would prohibit sales of hemp-derived THC drug […]

New Legislation Bans Sales of Drugs with THC-A Levels Above 0.3% (NASHVILLE, TN) – Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) President Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former three-time White House drug policy advisor, released the following statement today applauding Governor Bill Lee’s signing of HB1376, which severely restricts the addiction industry’s ability to sell dangerous, psychoactive hemp-derived cannabinoid products in […]

New DEA Report Finds Rise in Marijuana Potency Increasing, Expansion of the Illicit Market, Growing Concerns about Youth Vaping and Environmental Damage (WASHINGTON, DC) – The rapid-expansion of state-legal marijuana marketplaces across the United States has been an unequivocable failure according to new data released by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) 2025 National Drug Threat […]

SAM Applauds Senate Committee for Voting Down HB 1200, Cites Major Public Health Risks  (HARRISBURG, PA) – Today, the Pennsylvania Senate Law and Justice Committee rightly rejected HB 1200, a radical proposal that would have made Pennsylvania the first state in the country to establish a government-run recreational marijuana program, in violation of federal law. The […]

Pot-Pushing Politicians Are Trading Young People’s Futures For More Government Spending (HARRISBURG, PA) – Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) 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 Pennsylvania General Assembly voting to pass HB1200, which would flood the state with […]

Increased ER Visits the Latest Consequence of New York’s Embrace of Commercial Marijuana (NEW YORK, NY) – Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) President Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former three-time White House drug policy advisor, released the following statement today in response to new reporting by LoHud that found cannabis-related ER visits in New York spiked 131% from 2019 to […]

Letter Rightly Threatens Enforcement of Federal Controlled Substances Act, Penalties for Illicit Drug Sales in a School Zones to Both Pot Profiteers and Property Owners Where Businesses Are Operating (WASHINGTON, DC) – Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) President Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former three-time White House drug policy advisor, issued the following statement today applauding the U.S. Attorney […]

SB478 Risks Public Health and Safety By Legalizing, Normalizing Dangerous THC Drugs (INDIANAPOLIS, IN) – Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) President Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former three-time White House drug policy advisor, is imploring Governor Mike Braun and members of the Indiana General Assembly to reject efforts create a legal marketplace for hemp-derived THC drug products and […]

On the Third Anniversary of Commercial Drug Sales, It’s Time Lawmakers Embraced the Science and Admit the Damage Being Done (TRENTON, NJ) – 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 third anniversary of commercial marijuana sales in New […]

Lawmakers Starting to Understand the Damage Being Done, But More Reforms are Needed (SANTA FE, NM) – Dr. Kevin Sabet, President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and a three-time White House drug policy advisor, released the following statement upon the third anniversary of commercial marijuana sales in New Mexico:  “New Mexico’s commercial pot marketplace has been […]

Statement from Dr. Kevin Sabet on President Donald Trump’s Nomination of Sara Carter as ONDCP Director (WASHINGTON, DC) – Today, the Trump Administration announced that Sara Carter will be nominated to lead the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). Dr. Kevin Sabet, co-founder and president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and […]