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Today, a new Colorado report compiled by the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area finds marijuana-positive traffic fatalities, hospitalizations, marijuana use, and illegal market activity have exploded since marijuana legalization. “This report, coming on the heels of the Surgeon General’s health advisory on marijuana and in the midst of a marijuana vaping crisis, piles […]

By Jon Collins, Published: April 21, 2015 Police chiefs across the state are preparing for the launch of Minnesota’s medical marijuana program this summer. Minnesota passed one of the country’s most restrictive medical marijuana laws last year. It prohibits personally growing marijuana or smoking marijuana and can be prescribed for less than a dozen conditions. Kevin […]

SAM Director Kevin Sabet explains many of the dynamics figuring into the debate about marijuana legalization. 

DENVER — Five months after Colorado became the first state to allow recreational marijuana sales, the battle over legalization is still raging. Law enforcement officers in Colorado and neighboring states, emergency room doctors and legalization opponents increasingly are highlighting a series of recent problems as cautionary lessons for other states flirting with loosening marijuana laws.

The world of marijuana is changing. And that means the world of marijuana-related news stories is also changing. With two states having legalized the drug, there is certainly a lot to write and talk about.

“The legalization of marijuana is moving fast in parts of the United States and it looks as though the domino effect could quickly move to other states such as Hawaii,” said former U.S. Congressman Patrick Kennedy, Project SAM chairman. “We decided to bring SAM to Hawaii to spur discussions about marijuana use and misuse.”

SAM Co-founder Kevin Sabet, a former senior White House drug policy advisor, responds to The Washington Post’s publication of Doug Fine’s column, headlined: “Five Myths About Legalized Marijuana:” In recent years, The Washington Post has managed to strike a balance between pro- and anti-legalization opinion pieces (e.g. Rauch’s “Let’s Go Down the Aisle Toward Legalized […]

An Organization of American States study is calling for a serious discussion about marijuana policy. The report, issued today, is a good first step, but should not be construed as an endorsement of marijuana legalization or policies outside United Nations drug control treaties, said two former top U.S. drug policy officials who served on the […]

At meeting with state legislators in Atlanta, Ga., today, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said the dichotomy of “punishment versus rehabilitation” oversimplifies the issue of marijuana legalization. He said he worries about legal marijuana being marketed to kids; presumes marijuana revenues will be outweighed by the costs of abuse; and favors arrests for users that […]

Kevin Sabet and Dr. Drew spoke in 2011.

SAM Director Kevin Sabet debates Ethan Nadelmann of the Drug Policy Alliance on July 17, 2012 on CNN Newsroom with Carol Costello.

Prohibition — America’s notoriously “failed social experiment” to rid the country of alcohol — took center stage this week as PBS broadcast Ken Burns’ highly acclaimed series on the subject. And already, it has been seized on by drug legalization advocates, who say it proves that drug prohibition should be abandoned. But a closer look […]

When discussing drug policies and their enforcement, the war analogy is not a particularly useful one.

Project SAM directors Patrick Kennedy and Kevin Sabet wrote this column, published Jan. 12, 2013 in The Denver Post.

Project SAM Director Kevin Sabet recently discussed marijuana in a roundtable discussion you don’t want to miss.

This column by Project SAM director Kevin Sabet appeared in The Huffington Post Jan. 24.

Two members of SAM’s board of directors, Kevin Sabet and David Frum, have been named “legalization’s biggest enemies” by Rolling Stone.

Today, the Associated Press reported on the launch of Project SAM, and here are a few passages and quotes that help tell our story:

Project SAM Chairman Patrick Kennedy recently spoke with The Washington Post. As the news organization noted Jan. 8:

As Alex Dobuzinskis of Reuters reports today in the first news story about Project SAM:

We’re not doing well providing work for our young people. When they do find work, they’ll probably earn less than their parents, probably form less stable intimate relationships, and age into more uncertain retirements. But, hey, don’t say we do nothing for our kids. Instead of work, marriage, and security, we can offer pot, porn, […]

On Election Day, marijuana enthusiasts rejoiced as Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana. (Ballot initiatives in Oregon and a medical initiative in Arkansas did not fare so well.) From the federal government’s perspective, however, marijuana remains illegal. It is anyone’s guess what the Obama administration’s next move will be, but it is important to understand that […]

Tomorrow, voters in three states will decide whether marijuana should be legal. For some people, even those in recovery, marijuana use presents a net benefit in society. They believe others can enjoy a joint once in a while without suffering significant consequences. For others, marijuana represents a serious health and social problem. I was senior […]