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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 […]