Latest News

Wednesday, former New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito announced an ill-advised proposal to use marijuana legalization in New York to fund improvements to the New York City subway. A coalition opposed to legalization in the state and city of New York, Smart Approaches to Marijuana New York (SAM-NY) reacted to the statement. “There is […]

Today, as a result of the election on November 6th, the use of recreational marijuana is now legal in the state of Michigan. While the personal use of the drug will be legal for adults over the age of 21, retail stores will not be opening anytime soon as the state must first set guidelines […]

Legal States Use Rates Nearly 45% Higher Than Other States; Alcohol Use Also Up in Colorado (Alexandria, VA) – More young people are trying marijuana for the first time in Colorado, the first state to allow recreational marijuana, than anywhere else in the nation, according to the nation’s most authoritative study on drugs, conducted by […]

(Denver, CO) – Today, a new study on the impact of marijuana legalization in Colorado conducted by the Centennial Institute found that for every one dollar in tax revenue from marijuana, the state spends $4.50 as a result of the effects of the consequences of legalization. This study used all available data from the state […]

North Dakota Rejects Legalization; Michigan Passes It, But Opposition Vows Local and Legal Battles After a hotly contested year of campaigning, Smart Approaches to Marijuana Action (SAM Action) and its affiliates went one for one in ballot initiatives. In North Dakota, voters overwhelmingly defeated legalization, while in Michigan, a late surge of funds from Big […]

Today, a group of new supporters gathered in Detroit in opposition to Proposition 18-1. This group includes: Reverend Horace Sheffield, Detroit Association of Black Organizations Yvette McElory Anderson, Field Director, Fannie Lou Hamer PAC Reverend Dr. Wendell Anthony, President, Detroit Branch NAACP Kamilia Landrum, Deputy Director, Detroit Branch NAACP Bishop Corletta Vaughn Dr. Kevin Sabet, […]

The expanded use of marijuana has demonstrated harms to public health through increased drugged driving fatalities, workplace accidents, development of mental health problems, and public exposure to second-hand smoke. The harms are particularly acute for children and adolescents, those with mental illness, those with predisposition to addictions, and pregnant women. The commercialization of marijuana leads […]

Today, despite international treaties outlawing the legal sales of marijuana, Canada became the largest sponsor of marijuana in the world, legalizing the commercial sales of the drug. In response, concerned citizens, activists, and public health experts gathered in Vancouver to announce the launch of a watchdog group dedicated to counting the costs of marijuana commercialization […]

US Attorney for Colorado, Bob Troyer, signaled potential prosecution of “state legal” marijuana operations and their investors in an op-ed written last Friday in the Denver Post. The piece signaled a new approach to reigning in Big Marijuana in states that have legalized. In the editorial, Troyer stated that his office would begin taking legal […]

(Alexandria, VA) – SAM today applauded the rescheduling of Epidiolex, an FDA-approved medication derived from the marijuana plant that contains 99.9% pure cannabidiol (CBD).   The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) published a notice in the Federal Register that moves FDA-approved drugs that contain CBD derived from marijuana and no more than 0.1 percent tetrahydrocannabinols (THC) from […]

Yesterday, Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a bill that would have allowed marijuana operations in the state to deduct business expenses from their state taxes, effectively allowing them greater movement to to advertise, promote, and commercialize their products. Smart Approaches to Marijuana founder and president, Dr. Kevin Sabet, released the following statement: “Governor Brown did the […]

There are now twice as many daily or near daily marijuana users in the US than just a decade ago, according to the most comprehensive survey on drug use released today by the federal government. There are also now 8,300 new marijuana users each day, and 22% of 18 to 25 year olds are currently […]