Parent Action Network · A program of SAMYou are not alone. And your story can change the law.
A community of families harmed by today’s high-potency marijuana, who turned that experience into advocacy. We will help you find your footing, your voice, and the people who need to hear it.
Parents on the Hill, Washington, D.C.Sources: SAM Impact Report; NSDUH.
Most people still picture the marijuana of the 1970s.
A different drug, sold as harmless
Today’s marijuana is engineered for potency and delivered in concealable vapes, edibles, and concentrates. Families are told it is natural, safe, even medicine. Then they meet cannabis-induced psychosis, dependence, and hyperemesis in their own homes.
Decision-makers rarely hear from those families. The industry makes sure they hear from lobbyists instead.
Educate. Empower. Engage.
PAN is a grassroots initiative of Smart Approaches to Marijuana that raises the voices of families harmed by legalization and commercialization. We arm parents with science-based facts, train them to tell their stories, and put them in front of the people who write the laws.
We are a diverse group of parents and family members with one goal: make sure no one else endures what we have.
Our mission is to equip these families with the tools and resources they need to tell their stories and enact change.
Bring your story to Capitol Hill.
PAN 2027 Training Conference and Hill Day · February 2 to 3, 2027 · Washington, D.C.
Two days of training, then meetings on Capitol Hill with parents from across the country. You don’t need policy experience. You need your story, and we’ll help you tell it.
You won’t remember that number.
You’ll remember their names.
“It is heartbreaking to say that Randy was bright, hardworking, and energetic… Instead, we should be saying he is. He should still be here today.”
Randy started using marijuana at 15. At 21, cannabis-induced psychosis took his life. His parents, Heather and Randy, now carry his story to Capitol Hill.
Read Randy’s story →
“My soul is already dead. Marijuana killed my soul + ruined my brain.”
The note he left in 2014. An 82nd Airborne veteran who served in Iraq, Andy told his family that week he had to quit, but couldn’t.
Read Andy’s story →
“I don’t care how much people say you don’t get addicted to weed, I definitely am.”
Haley wrote this in her goodbye letter. She had been vaping marijuana for a year, and her parents had no idea. Her mother, Cindy, now warns other parents: never think it can’t happen to you.
Read Haley’s story →“Your story belongs here.”
Every parent on this page started by reaching out once. PAN will walk with you from your first email to the committee room.
If you or someone you love is in crisis, call or text 988.
+Hundreds of families. In their own words.
Loss, psychosis, addiction, and recovery. Read every story, and share the one that stays with you.
From your first email to the committee room.
Reach out
Take the short interest survey or email pan@learnaboutsam.org. A PAN staff member follows up personally.
Get the facts
Talking points, one-pagers, and briefings on potency, mental health, delta-8, rescheduling, and impaired driving.
Train to tell it
Coaching on testimony, letters to the editor, legislator visits, and media, plus webinars with experts on key issues.
Act together
Parents on the Hill, state hearings, rapid-response alerts when a vote is imminent, and a community that shows up for each other.
Fortitude: Turning Tragedy into Action
Each episode is one family’s story, told to educate and to mobilize. Thirty-five episodes, including a South Dakota mother whose daughter’s path ran from marijuana to fentanyl.
WebinarPresident Trump’s Executive Order on Rescheduling Marijuana: What Does It All Mean?Experts break down what rescheduling means for familiesWatch →
WebinarSo the Hemp Loophole Is Closed: What’s Next?What the change means and where advocacy goes from hereWatch →
WebinarThe Blunt Truth: Building Collaborative Voices and Strong PartnershipsRecorded with PAN parents and partnersWatch →
ArchiveAll PAN webinarsExperts and parents on the issues that matter nowBrowse →
Every PAN newsletter, in one place.
Monthly expert features, parent stories, and the latest on policy. Open any issue, or download the feature article.
Feature: Looking Back: Another Year of PAN by Newsletter Retrospective
Feature: No One Walks Alone: Breaking the Silence, Building Hope by Donna Thomas
Feature: When Grief Found a Place to Land by Angela Kennecke
Feature: Marijuana Myth-Busting by Matt Poling, MD
Feature: From Trauma to Purpose: Healing Through Resilience and Advocacy by Laura Broome
Feature: Behind the Mask: Youth THC Use, Mental Health, and Parenting by Nicolle Goldfinger, PsyD
Feature: Why Your Voice Matters by Dr. Kevin Sabet
Feature: High THC, Young Brains, and a Public Health Reckoning by Amy Turncliff, PhD
Feature: Tips for Better Meetings by Luke Albee
Feature: Engaging Young People to Rethink Their Relationship with Cannabis Through Breaks by Fred Muench, PhD
Feature: One Collective Movement to End Alcohol and Drug Impaired Driving by Paige Carbone
Feature: Dogs, Comfort, and the Awkward Zone by Jen Marr
Feature: Going Local: Engage Where You Live to Reduce Cannabis Harms by Lynn Silver, MD, MPH
Ready to put your story to work?
The monthly PAN newsletter with expert features and parent stories. Text alerts before key votes. Invitations to webinars, trainings, and Parents on the Hill. And a staff member who knows your name.
- Monthly newsletter
- Alerts when your voice is needed
- Training and Hill Day invitations
Join PAN
The documents PAN families use most.
Talk to a person, not a form.
Former executive director of a substance use prevention agency in Dutchess County, NY, and a specialist in building grassroots coalitions.
A “mom with a story” who brings the perspective of a parent who fought to find treatment for cannabis use disorder.
You’re joining a movement.
Stories move people more than numbers ever will.
Add your voice, or help the families who are already using theirs.
