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Latest Developments
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Huge Victory: Legalization Bills Defeated in New Hampshire
This week, by a vote a 14-7, the New Hampshire House Criminal Justice & Public Safety
Committee voted to "retain" two bills to expand marijuana use in the state, effectively
ending any chance at either bill passing this year.
The move represents a multi-year trend of public health and safety advocates defeating
the efforts of the marijuana industry to expand into the Granite State.
SAM Releases Drug Policy Recommendations for Biden Administration; Congratulates
Regina LaBelle
SAM recently released a comprehensive roadmap for the Biden Administration centered
on the President-Elect's marijuana policy position and the platform of the Biden-Sanders
Unity Task Force.
The release of the report coincided with the swearing-in of former White House Office
of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Chief of Staff, Regina LaBelle, as Acting
Director and Deputy Director of ONDCP.
SAM commends this appointment.
California Upholds Judge's Ruling Banning Marijuana Billboards; SAM Rejoices
A California judge affirmed a recent ruling stating marijuana companies in the state
will no longer be able to advertise their products on billboards along interstate
highways.
Given the overwhelming amount of research that finds that exposure to marijuana
advertising greatly increases the likelihood of youth marijuana use, this should
be considered a significant win for public health advocates, who have long fought
to restrict advertising for addictive substances.
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Action Needed
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With the new Congress getting under way, 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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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recently unveiled his proposed state budget, which
featured a projection of $300 million in revenue from marijuana commercialization.
Dr. Kevin Sabet, issued a statement urging lawmakers to focus instead on the response
to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A coalition of Virginia substance abuse prevention professionals, health and safety
advocates, and representatives of state law enforcement hosted a virtual press conference
announcing the launch of their combined opposition to an effort to commercialize
marijuana in this year's legislative session.

1/19/21 VA Coalition Press Conference [[link removed]]

1/19/21 VA Coalition Press Conference
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New Study Continues to Show Marijuana Users Display Withdrawal Symptoms
A study focusing on more than 500 "medical" marijuana users in Michigan who have
received recommendations for marijuana due to issues with chronic pain found that
these users experienced mild to severe symptoms of withdrawal in between uses of
the drug.
The symptoms included "restlessness, depressed mood, aggression, irritability, anxiety,
increased anger, shakiness, sleep difficulties, strange dreams, decreased appetite,
nausea, sweating, headache, and stomach pain."
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Op-Ed Corner
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The Right Path Forward on Drug Policy Under Biden-Harris [[link removed]]
In his latest monthly column for Newsweek, SAM President Dr. Kevin Sabet lays out
the roadmap of the way forward on drug policy for the Biden-Harris Administration.
The piece explains that as the nation has just witnessed the worst year on record
for drug overdose deaths, the new administration must have a solid plan on drug
policy, and must listen to the evidence, not empty rhetoric.
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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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