A brief rundown of marijuana news, research highlights, and SAM events | |
Recap of the 2023 SAM Summit and Good Drug Policy Conference | |
The 2023 SAM Summit and Good Drug Policy Conference was held on April 20 at the historic Miracle Theater in Washington, D.C., which welcomed advocates and activists from across the country. The event aimed to raise awareness about the health-related harms of marijuana and featured a wide-ranging lineup of speakers, including U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts, former DEA Administrator Karen Tandy, former White House Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske, former Congressman Patrick Kennedy, Illinois NAACP President Teresa Haley, Florida Drug Czar Doug Simon, and many others. | |
U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (NE) addresses the crowd and receives SAM's Champion for Public Health Award from SAM CEO Dr. Kevin Sabet | |
Former DEA Administrator Karen Tandy | |
Former White House Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske | |
At the Summit, SAM formally released its 2023-2024 Impact Report, which summarized the unintended consequences of legalization across the country, ranging from an increase in marijuana-related emergency department visits to higher rates of cannabis use disorder. | |
Illinois NAACP President Teresa Haley | |
To increase awareness about the findings of the Impact Report, Sabet, Kennedy, Haley, Dr. Gary Kirkilas, Dr. Drew Pinsky, and Paulina Pinsky held a press conference where they each spoke about different aspects of drug policy, from concerns about mental health and racial equity to the expansion of the marijuana industry. | Special guests Dr. Drew Pinsky and his daughter, Paulina Pinsky, shared their personal story. Paulina has been clean and sober from marijuana for over 16 months and shared about how marijuana addiction is real. | |
SAM Presented Dr. Gary Kirkilas with the 2023 SAM Advocate of the Year Award for his tireless work to prohibit marijuana advertising to children | |
Dr. Wilson M. Compton, the Deputy Director of NIDA, presented on marijuana and psychedelics | |
Paul Demko, the Cannabis Editor of Politico Pro, shares on the Marijuana and the Media panel, alongside Dr. Kirkilas and Emma Beall | |
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Attendees enjoy the speakers; attendees are greeted by SAM CEO Dr. Kevin Sabet; attendees at registration
The SAM Summit was an overwhelming success, and we thank everyone who attended. We look forward to welcoming attendees back next year.
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"Marijuana products, which are often sold without warning labels, are currently promoted in TikTok ads with cartoon characters and on billboards near schools. It shows the industry has fewer restrictions than alcohol or tobacco in some states. But that’s already begun to change in some places, and more regulation is coming."
Click here to read the article
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Voters Rejected Marijuana Legalization in Yet Another State. Is the Movement in Trouble? | |
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“I think we’re reaching a fever pitch in terms of the harms of these new marijuana products and the overreach of the industry,” says Niforatos. “I think what we’re seeing is a backlash to industry overreach, a backlash to an industry that is targeting kids with child friendly products, an industry that is advertising everywhere, just like Big Tobacco did. I think people in Oklahoma were really sick of that.”
Click here to read the entire article
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Lankford and Sabet: More marijuana is bad for Oklahoma | |
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In preparation for the Oklahoma special election, SAM CEO Dr. Kevin Sabet and Oklahoma Senator James Lankford co-authored an op-ed urging Oklahomans to reject marijuana legalization.
"It is a simple question: will more marijuana in Oklahoma make our families stronger, our streets safer, or our workplaces more productive? The debate for or against increased marijuana access in Oklahoma really comes down to that answer."
Click here to read the rest of the op-ed
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SAM EVP Luke Niforatos joins Tom Basile to call on Congress to close the Delta-8 loophole | |
As Weed Legalization Momentum Falters, Activists Look Elsewhere | |
"The defeat of these initiatives––which should be understood as a win for public health––reveals a new political reality."
Click here to read the rest of the op-ed by SAM President and CEO Dr. Kevin Sabet
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Pot for Profit Industry Overgrowing New Mexico | |
"New Mexico has the most marijuana dispensaries per capita in the nation – i.e. more than 26 per 100,000 people – compared to second-place Oregon, with 16.5 per 100,000. We need to slow down. If we don’t, our kids will suffer."
Click here to read the rest of the op-ed by SAM EVP Luke Niforatos
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SAM's Director of Community Engagement and Outreach, Will Jones, and Paul Armentano, the Deputy Director of NORML, joined Vox for a fact-checked debate about marijuana legalization.
Click here to watch the entire video
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Parent Action Network (PAN)'s May Webinar: The Low-Down on High-Potency THC and the Associated Mental Health Risks | |
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Families suffering the consequences of marijuana-induced psychosis are turning their tragedies into learning experiences so that others might not have to face what they have. This important webinar will feature Dr. Libby Stuyt, and two warrior moms –– Laura Stack, founder of Johnny’s Ambassadors, and Donna Thomas, founder of James’s Warriors, as they share their tragic stories about how marijuana contributed to the death of their sons by suicide and how they are lifting the mask on these high-potency marijuana products.
The webinar will be held on Tuesday, May 16th, at 7:00 p.m. EST and is free to attend.
For more information, including a registration link, please email Crissy Groenewegen, PAN Director, at [email protected].
If you’d like to learn more about the Parent Action Network and how you can get involved, please click here.
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2023 Johnny’s Ambassadors Youth Marijuana Prevention Conference | |
Schedule a SAM Training and learn what to say and how to say it | |
In-person and virtual trainings are now available for all age groups associated with non-profit organizations, corporations, healthcare, clinicians, social workers, counselors, schools, law enforcement, and local community groups around the country who want to educate their communities and employees on all issues surrounding marijuana.
SAM Trainings go beyond slogans and clichés to give you a data-driven and tested approach to marijuana use and its consequences.
To schedule a SAM training, please contact us at: [email protected].
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SAM and our affiliates have been hard at work in several key states this year, including Arkansas, Delaware, Nebraska, North Carolina, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Kansas, Montana, New Mexico, and Hawaii.
In Arkansas, coming off our win against legalization in November, we are working to keep marijuana out of the state. We recently helped lead a successful ban of Delta-8 THC in the state.
In both Nebraska and North Carolina, we are running a grassroots-grasstops campaign to stop marijuana for purported medical purposes.
In early March, the citizens of Oklahoma defeated State Question 820, the ballot measure that would have legalized recreational marijuana. Not only was legalization rejected by more than 23 points statewide, but all 77 counties in the state rejected it. This was a major victory for public health and a resounding loss for the marijuana industry and supporters of legalization.
For more details, please click here
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2023-2024 SAM Impact Report | |
The newest edition of SAM's Impact Report is now out! The Impact Report is a compilation of research, statistics, and information on marijuana legalization. It includes information on potency, marijuana, hospitalizations, and the co-use of marijuana with other substances. It also examines the impact on youth, young adults, communities of color, impaired driving, the illicit market, and more. The Impact Report is our most thorough publication and is updated every few years.
Click here to view and download the SAM Legalization Impact Report
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Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) is a nonpartisan, non-profit alliance of physicians, policy makers, prevention workers, treatment and recovery professionals, scientists, and other concerned citizens opposed to marijuana legalization who want health and scientific evidence to guide marijuana policies. SAM has affiliates in more than three dozen states. |
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