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The rise of state-sanctioned cannabis markets amid the absence of federal regulation has prioritized politics intended to launch marijuana sales over those focused on public health….. Read more HERE.

Report Calls on Federal Government, States, Tribal Nations to Advance Policies that Reduce Access to Dangerous, Psychoactive Drugs (WASHINGTON, DC) – Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) President Dr. Kevin Sabet issued the following statement today in response to the National Academies release of its “Cannabis Policy Impacts Public Health and Health Equity” Consensus Study Report: “Despite a […]

The Midwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, a federally-funded coalition of law enforcement agencies, warned, “following medical marijuana legalization in South Dakota, hospitals observed an increase in emergency department visits and hospitalizations for marijuana complications/poisonings.” Specifically, from 2020 to 2022, South Dakota saw a 53% increase in marijuana-related ED visits, a 57% increase in hospitalizations, […]

Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump are trying to convince American voters that their vision for the future of the nation should be the chosen path forward. Whether it’s the ballot measures to legalize recreational marijuana in Florida, South Dakota, and North Dakota; ballot measures related to medical marijuana in Nebraska and Arkansas; or the Biden […]

Kevin Sabet, a former White House drug policy adviser who worked with three presidents, said the impact of legal marijuana had been disastrous. “We expected negative consequences to pile up over a 20 to 30-year time span,” he said. “Now, in ten years, we’re seeing what we thought we were going to see in two […]

Oklahoma legalized medical marijuana in 2018, which has been associated with an increase in the number of marijuana-related exposure reports to the Oklahoma Poison Center. Oklahoma Watch reported, “In 2022, 583 cases of accidental marijuana consumption were reported to the Oklahoma Poison Center. Almost half involved a child under 6 and most involved edibles.” Citing […]

The ballot measure voters will see Nov. 5 is known as Amendment 3. If it receives enough “yes” votes, adults 21 and older can legally possess up to three ounces of marijuana. A “no” vote opposes legalizing marijuana for adult use in Florida. “Smoking and using marijuana is not safe at all,” Luke Niforatos, of Smart […]

Recently, several studies have been released that highlight the physical risks of daily or frequent marijuana use. A study published in JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery and featured on CNN showed that daily marijuana usage was linked to higher risks of certain cancers. Another study published in Atmospheric Environment: X and featured on Americans for Nonsmokers’ […]

Marijuana, Psychedelics, Other Drugs Fuel Suicide Rates Across the U.S. (WASHINGTON, DC) – As the nation gathers to spread a powerful reminder that nearly 50,000 Americans die by suicide annually, making it 11th leading cause of death, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions (FDPS) President and CEO Dr. Kevin Sabet is using National Suicide Prevention Week […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump has signaled support for a potentially historic federal policy shift to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, putting his position in line with that of his Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris. The commonality reflects a major shift toward broad public support for legalization in recent years and marks the first time that both major-party presidential […]

The former president suggests he wants to see marijuana reclassified as a Schedule III drug, the first time Trump has endorsed the easing of federal restrictions. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has expressed support for loosening federal restrictions on marijuana, aligning himself with the Biden administration’s ongoing efforts to do exactly that. In a social media post Sunday, Trump […]

The Monitoring the Future national survey results on substance use highlights the trend in the 30-day prevalence of daily marijuana use from 2013 to 2023:  From 2013 to 2023, there was a statistically significant increase in daily marijuana use for both age groups. The percentage that used marijuana daily for those aged 19-30 increased from […]