Latest News

Anti-marijuana group says it will fight medical marijuana amendment

A national group that worked to defeat a recreational cannabis measure in Arkansas two years ago announced today it will oppose a proposed expansion of the state’s medical marijuana program this year.  Smart Approaches to Marijuana said in an email today that it formed a committee called “Protect Arkansas Kids” to oppose the Arkansas Medical Marijuana […]

Bill puts marijuana pipe dreams before NC health and safety

Marijuana isn’t medicine. So says the FDA, the AMA, and countless other medical and scientific professionals. The North Carolina Medical Society announced they have “not supported the legalization of medical marijuana,” yet out-of-touch legislators in Raleigh are again trying to legalize so-called “medical marijuana.” And this time they’ve paired it with a radical legalization of other dangerous, […]

NATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH ORGANIZATION PARTNERS WITH ARKANSANS TO FILE COMMITTEE TO PROTECT KIDS AGAINST MARIJUANA ADDICTION-FOR-PROFIT INDUSTRY

Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) Action Joins Local Residents to Establish “Protect Arkansas Kids” Committee to Oppose the State’s Marijuana Commercialization Ballot Measure (LITTLE ROCK, AR) – Protect Arkansas Kids, a committee established by local residents and the nation’s foremost organization dedicated to a health-first approach to marijuana policy, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) Action, […]

MORE DEADLY DRUGGED-DRIVING ACCIDENTS, HIGHER RATES OF MARIJUANA USE AFTER A DECADE OF COMMERCIAL THC DRUG SALES IN WASHINGTON

As the State Marks A Decade of Marijuana Sales, SAM Urges Serious Reforms (OLYMPIA, WA) – 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 advance of Washington’s 10th anniversary of commercial marijuana sales: “Ten years since opening […]

ONE YEAR ON, MARYLAND FEELS THE PITFALLS OF LEGALIZATION 

Support for Commercial Pot Craters as Consequences Grow (ANNAPOLIS, MD) – Dr. Kevin Sabet, President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM)and a former White House drug policy advisor to Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton, released the following statement in advance of the one-year anniversary of commercial marijuana sales in Maryland:  “It should come as little surprise […]

SAM Friday Fact 06/28/2024: Rise in Marijuana Edible Exposures Among Young Children in Illinois Since Legalization

The Illinois Poison Center reported on the number of unintentional exposures to marijuana edibles among young children from 2019 to 2023. Here’s what they found: Number of Marijuana Edible Exposures Among Young Illinois Children by Year  Illinois legalized the personal use of marijuana and commercialized it on January 1st, 2020. Following legalization, the number of […]

NCAA POLICY CHANGE PUTS DRUGS IN THE GAME

NCAA’s Division I Council’s Removal of Marijuana from Drug Testing Regiment Compromises Player Safety and Student-Athletes’ Long-term Brain Development (WASHINGTON, DC) – Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) President Dr. Kevin Sabet released the following statement today in response to reports that the NCAA Division I Council has moved to remove cannabinoids from the banned drug class for championships and […]

Sabet in Newsweek: Marijuana Rescheduling Is High-Risk, Low-Reward

As the Biden administration attempts to move full speed ahead in its efforts to loosen federal restrictions around marijuana, Americans should avail themselves of the opportunity to make their voices heard. Given the pot and tobacco industry’s long history of spreading misinformation and downplaying the harms associated with high-potency psychoactive THC drugs, we need to […]

SAM Friday Fact 06/21/2024: Connecticut Survey Shows Increases in Past-Month Marijuana Use

In the Connecticut Department of Public Health’s recently published a report, “2024 Cannabis Health Statistics Report,” relying on data from the Connecticut Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, conducted in 2017, 2021, and 2022. The Department examined the percentage of past-month marijuana users across different age groups in Connecticut:  Percentage of Past-Month Marijuana Users Among Age […]

MARIJUANA USE UP, PERCEPTIONS OF HARM DOWN IN WAKE OF COMMERCIAL POT SALES

Past-Month Use Rises Among Adults, Minors, Outpacing National Average (HARTFORD, CT) – Marijuana use among adults and children has grown in the wake of Connecticut’s embrace of pot-profiteers and their dangerous, psychoactive drugs. According to a new report from the Connecticut Department of Health, past-year and past-month marijuana use among those 12 and older is higher than […]

BBC: Maryland governor forgives thousands of marijuana-related convictionsBBC:

The governor of the US state of Maryland has pardoned 175,000 people convicted of cannabis offences. Listen to the interview HERE.