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Friends,

I would like to share a recent research article ([link removed]) published in The American Journal of Addictions that looks at the potential effects the marijuana legalization movement has had on adolescent drug overdose death rates. It found that adolescent drug overdose death rates significantly increased after marijuana legalization. The researchers compared death rates between jurisdictions that had legalized marijuana with those that had not.

Between 2019 to 2021:

1. Jurisdictions that legalized marijuana had a significantly greater jump in death rates than those that did not legalize marijuana;
2. Jurisdictions that legalized recreational use had the greatest increases in death rates;
3. This trend holds across male and female, white and Black adolescents.

Read the article in full here. ([link removed])

This research is without question a tragedy. Our nation faces a drug crisis, the answer is not “more drugs” or “different drugs.”

The marijuana industry has been claiming for decades that marijuana would solve the opioid epidemic, but that has not been the case. Instead, the commercialization and normalization of marijuana has led to higher rates of use and the use of more potent products, which has led to more devastating consequences, including normalized drug use overall.

This research article was recently released, but its findings did not come to me, or any of us at SAM for that matter, as a surprise. A basic tenet of our argument since our inception is that the legalization and normalization of any drug, including marijuana, normalizes substance use. We have seen this for generations with alcohol and tobacco use; for most people, substance use is related. This is why investing in all drug prevention, especially for young people, is a worthwhile investment.

Thank you for your support, and please help us continue this crucial work. ([link removed])
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Dr. Kevin A. Sabet

CEO & President

Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM)
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Smart Approaches to Marijuana ([link removed]) (SAM) is an alliance of organizations and individuals dedicated to a health-first approach to marijuana policy. We are professionals working in mental health and public health. We are bipartisan. We are medical doctors, lawmakers, treatment providers, preventionists, teachers, law enforcement officers and others who seek a middle road between incarceration and legalization. Our commonsense, third-way approach to marijuana policy is based on reputable science and sound principles of public health and safety.

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Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) . 107 S West St. Ste. 757 . Alexandria, VA 22314 . USA