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ILLINOIS’ COMMERCIAL POT SALES CONTINUE TO DAMAGE PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY
(SPRINGFIELD, IL) – 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 anniversary of commercial marijuana sales in Illinois: “Trends across the nation have universally shown that sales of today’s high-potency marijuana and THC-infused drugs are resulting in more THC-related […]

MONTANA’S COMMERCIAL POT SALES CONTINUE TO DAMAGE PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY
(HELENA, MT) – 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 anniversary of commercial marijuana sales in Montana: “Trends across the nation have universally shown that sales of today’s high-potency marijuana and THC-infused drugs are resulting in more THC-related […]

COLORADO’S COMMERCIAL POT SALES CONTINUE TO DAMAGE PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY
(DENVER, CO) – 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 anniversary of commercial marijuana sales in Colorado: “Trends across the nation have universally shown that sales of today’s high-potency marijuana and THC-infused drugs are resulting in more THC-related […]

SAM Friday Fact 12/20/2024: Marijuana-Related Emergency Department Visits Continue to Increase
Between 2022 and 2023, the number of marijuana-related emergency department (ED) visits increased by 4.6%, from 857,289 to 896,418, according to the federal Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN). This represents an 11.5% increase compared to the 804,285 marijuana-related ED visits in 2021. In 2023, marijuana was the second most frequently cited drug in ED visits, surpassing the number of […]

LATEST FEDERAL DATA SPOTLIGHTS MARIJUANA AS A LEADING CAUSE FOR DRUG-RELATED EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT VISITS
(Washington, D.C.) – New data released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) in its 2023 Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN) report shows that marijuana is now second in frequency for emergency department (ED) visits, only after alcohol. The report further finds that there were more instances of marijuana ED visits in 2023 than […]

DANGEROUS AND PERVASIVE POT USE CONTINUES DESPITE INDUSTRY CLAIMS IT ISN’T MARKETING TO YOUNG PEOPLE
As the addiction industry and its pro-drug allies continue to spend big on commercial pot and THC drugs, the annual Monitoring the Future (MTF) Survey conducted by the University of Michigan and funded by the National Institutes of Health, shows that young people across the nation are starting to heed warnings the dangers by increasingly abstaining. However, […]

SAM Friday Fact 12/13/2024: The CDC Warns of a Drug 100 Times Stronger than Fentanyl
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a report that warned that carfentanil has “reemerged in the U.S. drug supply.” Carfentanil is a synthetic opioid that is 100 times more potent than fentanyl and 10,000 times more potent than morphine. Between the periods of January–June 2023 and January–June 2024, the number of overdose […]

SAM/FDPS ADDRESS AFRICAN UNION, MEET WITH WORLD LEADERS IN ARUSHA
International Drug Policy Experts Share Warnings About the Dangers of Drug Legalization and Promote Good Policy in the African Continent (ARUSHA, TANZANIA) – As leaders from dozens of members countries convene at the African Union’s Continental Consultation on Drug Demand, international drug policy experts from Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and the Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions (FDPS) are […]

HOUSE DITCHES MISGUIDED MARIJUANA TESTING BAN FOR MILITARY RECRUITS IN NDAA
(WASHINGTON, DC) – This weekend, the House and Senate jointly agreed to cut a controversial provision prohibiting marijuana testing for military recruits out of the National Defense Authorization Act. After the House included the ban, led by former Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Smart Approaches to Marijuana Action (SAM Action) worked to neutralize the language in the […]

SAM Friday Fact 12/6/2024: Students Who Are Exposed to Marijuana Advertising on Billboards Are More Likely to Use Marijuana
According to the 2023 Monitoring the Future survey, 8th and 10th graders who reported seeing advertisements for marijuana on billboards were more likely to have used marijuana in the past year and the past month. Compared to those who never saw these marijuana billboards, those who reported seeing them more than once a day were […]

Voters say no more marijuana — Congress should take note
On Nov. 5, voters in red and blue states alike delivered historic election results and rightfully rejected marijuana and psychedelic legalization ballot measures. In Florida, legalization was defeated by 4 points despite pro-marijuana groups investing over $150 million in the race. North Dakotans refused legalization by 5 points, giving addiction to marijuana its third loss in a […]

Trump’s promise to fix the fentanyl crisis appealed to voters and alarmed experts
Over the last four years, as street fentanyl overdose deaths surged, the Biden administration scrambled to fund addiction treatment programs and expand use of opioid-treatment medications like buprenorphine and naloxone. There are signs those efforts may be helping, with fatal overdoses dropping 14.5% over the last year. But during the campaign that led to President-elect Donald Trump’s […]