Latest News
Colorado Speaker of the House Alec Garnett Receives Patrick J. Kennedy Advocate of the Year Award
(Alexandria, VA) – Today, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), the nation’s leading organization opposing the commercialization of marijuana, is proud to announce that Colorado Speaker of the House Alec Garnett is a recipient of the 2021 Patrick J. Kennedy Advocate of the Year Award, given to an advocate at the state-level who best champions the […]
New Grant Allows SAM to Establish Statewide Education Campaign in New Mexico
Today, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) — the nation’s leading organization dedicated to educating lawmakers and the general public to the potential harms of the normalization of marijuana use and opposing the commercialization of the substance — is proud to announce it has been awarded a grant from Daniel’s Fund, an organization dedicated to improving […]
U.S. House Passes Spending Bill Full of Pot Industry Giveaways
Yesterday afternoon, the United States House of Representatives passed a massive spending bill loaded with pot industry giveaways. Notably, the bill would allow the marijuana industry to set up pot shops in Washington D.C. by removing a long-standing provision in spending bills that expressly prohibited this from occurring. This is in direct defiance of the […]
Federal Marijuana Legalization Discussion Bill Unveiled; Marijuana Researchers Urge Public Health and Safety Regulations
Today, a much-anticipated discussion draft of a bill to legalize marijuana at the federal level has been officially released by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. The draft’s release is intended to further conversations around the eventual formal introduction of the bill at an undetermined future time. “While we applaud Senate Majority Leader Schumer, as well […]
UN World Drug Report Calls for Global Ban on Marijuana Advertising & THC Potency Caps
Laments Historically Low Rate of Perceived Harm from Marijuana Use in U.S. Youth Yesterday, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released the latest edition of the annual World Drug Report, which highlighted the fact that while use of marijuana among young people has increased to levels not seen since the early nineties, […]
Connecticut Health and Safety Group Calls on Governor and Legislative Leaders to Implement Strict Marijuana Regulations
Today, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed SB 1201 into law, expanding the commercial marijuana industry into the state. In response, a group of public health and safety advocates in the state have sent the governor a comprehensive list of action items they deem essential to “mitigate the worst of the harms” that have been seen […]
New Study: Marijuana Use Leads to Opiate Use Relapse in Young Adults
A new study published in the journal Emerging Trends in Drugs, Addictions, and Health examined the relationship between marijuana use among those in short-term recovery from an opiate use disorder and relapse. The study found that adolescents/young adults with opioid use disorder who used marijuana as a harm reduction strategy were not successful as their […]
Biden-Harris Presidental Budget Request Makes Significant Investments in Combating Addiction Crisis
Lends Further Evidence President Biden Does Not Support Federal Marijuana Legalization Efforts The Biden-Harris Administration recently released the President’s Budget Request for the fiscal year 2022. The budget requests the Congress dramatically increases funding for public health and safety in response to the ongoing drug overdose epidemic, specifically earmarking an unprecedented $41 billion to address […]
National Marijuana Policy Organization Slams the Reintroduction of Bill to Federally Legalize Marijuana
The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, a bill to federally legalize, commercialize, and tax the use of marijuana, was re-introduced in the House of Representatives by Representative Jerry Nadler. Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and a former senior drug policy advisor to the Obama Administration, released the following […]
New Quest Diagnostics Data Show Workplace Marijuana Positivity Rates Continue to Increase in “Legal” States
A new release of data from national drug testing organization Quest Diagnostics shows that drug positivity rates in states with “legal” marijuana far outpaces such rates in states that have not legalized marijuana. According to the data, marijuana positivity in states that have legalized has increased 118% since 2012, whereas such positivity in states with […]
Montana Governor Signs Some of the Tightest Marijuana Regulations in the Country Into Law
SAM’s “Turn a Lemon into Lemonade” approach prevails; New law bans advertising, limits pot shops, and caps THC levels. (Helena, MT) Today, in a major state victory for Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed HB 701, a bill outlining the regulations for marijuana commercialization, into law. SAFE Montana & SAM were […]
Groundbreaking New Bill Seeks to Massively Reign In Colorado’s Marijuana Industry
Today, the first-ever regulatory overhaul of Colorado’s federally illegal marijuana industry was introduced as a bill in the Colorado State Assembly. The bill seeks to implement much-needed public health guardrails and promote public health, reigning in a marijuana industry that has been allowed to run free. The bill, being led by House Speaker Alec Garnett […]