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SAM Friday Fact 05/10/2024: The rate of violent behavior in daily marijuana users aged 18-34 was nearly twice the violent behavior rate of non-users

The study “Associations of cannabis use, use frequency, and cannabis use disorder with violent behavior among young adults in the United States” was recently published by Nora D. Volkow and the team at NIDA. The study found that the rate of violent behavior in daily marijuana users aged 18-34 was nearly twice the violent behavior rate of non-users.  […]

A Bird’s Eye View of The Negative Effects of Marijuana on Mental Health 

By Dr. Christian Thurstone  We’ve learned a lot about marijuana in the past decade. First, the marijuana available today is about 10 times more potent than it was in the 1980s and 1990s. This means that today’s marijuana is more likely to cause panic attacks, psychosis, and cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS). CHS is a new […]

SAM Friday Fact 05/03/2024: Percentage of Colorado Students Who Used Marijuana via Vaporization in the Past 30 Days

The Healthy Kids Colorado Survey, conducted by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, assessed trends in tobacco, drug, and alcohol use among high school students in the Centennial State. Notably, beyond asking students whether they used marijuana, it asked how they used it, finding that many vaped it. Among past-month marijuana users, the […]

BIDEN AFFIRMS MARIJUANA’S ILLEGAL STATUS, BUT MARIJUANA RESCHEDULING DECISION TAINTED BY INDUSTRY INFLUENCE, POLITICS

Decision To Reschedule Marijuana Could Have Far-Reaching Consequences for Public Health and Safety (WASHINGTON, DC) – Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) President Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former White House drug policy advisor to Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton, issued the following statement today in response to reporting that the Administration has proposed a decision to reverse decades […]

Exposing Colorado’s psychedelic conflicts of interest

As Colorado develops its regulatory framework for the psychedelics industry, we now see that it is being undermined by many of the same competing interests that have taken hold of the state’s profit-driven THC drug and marijuana industry. Read the entire article HERE.

Kevin A. Sabet: The harm-reduction movement has lost sight of what truly matters

Those who prioritize safe supply and MAID over treatment and recovery have given up on improving the lives of people struggling with addiction Now, as the drug crisis has further spiralled out of control, some people want to double down on these policies, including decriminalization, expanding safe supply and allowing MAID for drug users. Harm-reduction […]

SAM 04/26/2024 Friday Fact: Marijuana Use Disorder Rates by Race in 2021 and 2022

Table 5.5B in the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health report showed the marijuana use disorder rates by race, for people aged 12 and older, in 2021 and 2022. Between 2021 and 2022, the rates increased for Asians, Hispanics, Whites, the America National Trend (ANT), and African Americans. The race where the rate […]

Weed the people: recreational marijuana on the ballot in November

The Florida Supreme Court ruled the proposed constitutional amendment could stay on the ballot, despite pushback from attorney general Ashley Moody who argued the amendment would confuse voters. Getting Amendment 3 on the ballot was expensive. More than $40 million to back the amendment came from Trulieve, the medical marijuana company with a big footprint […]

El Paso County continues to lead Colorado in medical marijuana cardholders and sales

Opponents, including the group Smart Approaches to Marijuana, say legalization of marijuana has undermined physical and mental health, with data that shows such effects as IQ loss, depression, suicide, psychosis, stroke and schizophrenia. Also of concern, the organization points to consequences to public safety, such as impairment while driving, and negative effects on education and employment, particularly […]

It’s time to stop celebrating April 20 as a day for marijuana

“Increased car crashes. More kids and adults high every day,” Sabet told me. “The stench of highly potent ‘skunk-weed’ permeating our major cities. 4/20 isn’t something to celebrate.” Sabet knows a thing or two about drugs, specifically marijuana. He is a former White House drug policy adviser to Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and […]

Republicans’ War Against Pot Is Back On

Marijuana advocates have seen years of progress on legalization. But three of the most prominent Republicans in the country are signaling the fight’s not done. Years of progress in the push for legal marijuana is hitting a sudden wall of opposition, thanks to a trio of potential future Republican presidential candidates. Over the last month, […]