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Action Needed
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With the new Congress slated to get underway later this month, it's crucial that
you take a moment to remind your representatives in Washington that legalizing
the commercial sale of marijuana is a reckless ploy that will only benefit the marijuana
industry and its investors from Big Tobacco, Big Pharma, and alcohol conglomerates.
Big Pot has spent millions of dollars on lobbyists who have written bills to help
turn the industry into the next Big Tobacco, all at the expense of public health,
safety, social justice, and common sense.
All this, while the country is reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic - which has already
taken several hundred thousand American lives.
Write your Member of Congress now and urge them to oppose the expansion of Big Pot.
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Upcoming Events
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Click the ticket below to register for our next webinar:
Using Local Control to Push Back on the Marijuana Industry -- Part II
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Latest Developments
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As part of the rollout of his agenda for the year, Governor Andrew Cuomo has renewed
his call to commercialize marijuana in New York State. Click the link below to view
SAM President Dr. Kevin Sabet's statement sent to New York media.
In Connecticut, Governor Ned Lamont also renewed his call call to institute a commercial
marijuana market in the state. Click the link below to view Dr. Sabet's statement
sent to Connecticut media and lawmakers.
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Massive Study: Marijuana Use in Vets Overwhelmingly Associated with Negative Outcomes
A systematic review of over 500 studies on marijuana use and military veterans published
in the journal Clinical Psychology Review - the first of its kind - found that marijuana
use among veterans was associated with primarily negative outcomes such as other
substance abuse, mental health issues, and instances of self-harm/suicidality.
The review stated that "very few studies have examined the therapeutic efficacy
of medical cannabis in veterans and those that have are of low quality methodologically."
Smoking marijuana exposes users to many of the same harmful toxins as smoking tobacco.
According to a new study published this week in EClinicalMedicine, marijuana users
has higher levels of smoke-related toxins in their blood and urine than non-smokers.
Marijuana users were found to have higher levels of dangerous toxins such as naphthalene,
acrylamide, and acrylonitrile than those who do not smoke marijuana or tobacco.
These toxins are associated with severe harms such as cancer, anemia, and liver
and mental health damage.
Even higher levels of these toxins were found in smokers who combined tobacco and
marijuana.
Density of Marijuana Storefronts Linked to Increased Youth Marijuana Use
A new study published in the American Journal of Addiction found that higher densities
of marijuana storefronts as was associated with an increased likelihood that youth
would use marijuana and consume more of it.
Additionally, the study identified 430 marijuana storefronts in Los Angeles County,
of which more than 60 percent were unlicensed. This further undercuts the argument
that legalization will eliminate the illicit market.
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Near the end of December, two important sets of data were released: the National
Survey on Drug Use and Health State Comparisons and the latest results of the Monitoring
the Future survey.
According to the Monitoring the Future study, daily marijuana use has increased
among high school seniors while daily use among 8th graders remains 50 percent higher
than it was just two years ago.
Furthermore, the survey found that among 8th graders, annual use of marijuana vaping
rose 15.7 percent over the previous year while 4.2 percent reported past-month use
(a 7.7 percent increase).
Click here to read our full analysis of the 2020 Monitoring the Future data. [[link removed]]
State-level data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the most authoritative
study on drug use conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration
(SAMHSA), found significant increases in youth marijuana use in several recently
legalized marijuana states versus last year.
At the same time, mental illness indicators worsened across the country while alcohol,
cocaine, and tobacco use dropped, especially among young people.
According to the data, adolescents aged 12-17 using marijuana in the past year significantly
increased versus last year in the legalized states of Nevada, Oregon, and California.
Click here to read our full analysis of the 2020 NSDUH State Comparisons data. [[link removed]]
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Op-Ed Corner
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Op-Ed: A Year After Legalization, Illinois' Pot Industry is a Mess [[link removed]]
Congress Should Remove Obstacles to Marijuana Research [[link removed]]
Four Takeaways After More States Legalize Marijuana [[link removed]]
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MARIJUANA: PREVENTING ANOTHER BIG TOBACCO MEDIA CAMPAIGN TOOLKIT NOW AVAILABLE
Big Marijuana is borrowing the playbook of Big Tobacco in search of the same deep
profits at the expense of addicted users. It is time to combat their game with the
facts! To help you do so, Smart Approaches to Marijuana [[link removed]]
(SAM) has partnered with Communities for Alcohol and Drug Free Youth [[link removed]]
(CADY) to offer a comprehensive media campaign prevention toolkit [[link removed]].
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As always, thank you for being a SAM supporter. If you can, please chip-in with
a small donation by clicking here [[link removed]].
If you can't chip-in, then at the very least, please click here to share this with
a friend [[link removed]]
and help grow the SAM community.
All the best,
Colton Grace
Communications Associate
Smart Approaches to Marijuana
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