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Latest Developments
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Altria Phillip Morris Officially Lobbying on Marijuana;
SAM Submits FOIA Request to Uncover Depth of Influence on Virginia Marijuana Legalization
Proposal
On the heels of breaking news that Altria Phillip Morris - the maker of Marlboro
cigarettes, has officially begun lobbying in support of marijuana legalization
in Virginia, SAM announced they would submit a Freedom of Information Act request
to further unveil the influence the addiction giant has had on the development of
Virginia's commercialization push.
"In Virginia, the legalization effort has been sold as a move for social justice,
but how can we take that seriously if Altria has had its thumb on the scale this
whole time behind the scenes?", asked Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of SAM and a former
senior drug policy advisor to the Obama Administration. "With this FOIA request,
we are demanding a disclosure of what involvement Altria has had in the shaping
of the commercialization proposals and what communications Altria has had with
legislative staff from both houses of the legislature as well as with the governor
and his staff."
Report, funded by Scotts Miracle-Gro, suggests marijuana could bring billions to
New York
A report released Wednesday by James Parrott, a longtime supporter of legalization,
of the Center of NYC Affairs at The New School argued that marijuana legalization
could provide significant relief to the the economic and budget shortfalls caused
by the coronavirus pandemic across the state.
SAM President Dr. Kevin Sabet responded:
"We've seen similar reports out of New York and every other state where the marijuana
industry is trying to expand and they all tend to look the same after awhile. Here
are the facts: you cant promulgate a report touting the economic benefits of marijuana
commercialization without also looking at the associated costs. Will commercialization
create jobs and revenue? Sure, but it will also lead to increased drugged driving
and subsequent fatal crashes, hospitalizations, increased substance abuse and addiction,
and more issues with the illicit market than currently exist.
"Should we seriously be even considering for a second doing something that could
potentially push hospital capacity at this time?
"Finally, James Parrott has a long history of being on the record supporting legalization,
so it is not surprising his report failed to account for the negative aspects of
legalization."
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Action Needed
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With the new Congress now 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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Huge New Study: Youth Initiation of Marijuana Use Linked to Greater Likelihood of
Future Illicit Drug Use/Alcohol Abuse
A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Queensland and published
in the journal Drug and Alcohol Review found that those who initiate regular marijuana
use as a teenager were 20.4 times more likely to be illicit drug users and 3.7 times
more likely to be a high-risk alcohol drinker.
Furthermore, the study found that, by age 35, marijuana users who began at any age
were at least three times more likely to be high-risk alcohol drinkers, seven times
more likely to smoke cigarettes daily and 20 times more likely to use other drugs.
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Op-Ed Corner
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Connecticut doesn't need Big Pot [[link removed]]
In his latest piece for the Connecticut, SAM Communications and Outreach Associate
Will Jones lays out why Connecticut lawmakers should consider decriminalization
rather than commercialization.
As lawmakers begin their third year of consideration of a bill to commercialize
marijuana, SAM President Dr. Kevin Sabet explains that the reasons to oppose commercialization
haven't gone away, and have in fact gotten worse as more data has shown harms continuing
to proliferate.
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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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