Dear Friend, Could marijuana legalization be a gateway to heroin legalization? It appears so. And should we conflate criminal justice reform with legalization? Why not. That’s certainly what Dr. Carl Hart, a tenured professor at Columbia University, does in his new book, Drug Use for Grown-Ups. Dr. Hart’s book is just the latest piece arguing that drugs must be legalized and normalized nationwide. His thesis, essentially, is this: “I am able to responsibly use marijuana, heroin, methamphetamine, and other designer drugs. Therefore, everyone should be able to do so.” But if you know SAM’s Will Jones, you know he won’t stand for that. In a segment with the Emmy Award-Winning television show “The Doctors,” SAM’s own Communications and Community Outreach Associate confronted Dr. Hart on this. In a poignant clip, Will calls out Dr. Hart for failing to see how his privileged position does not match up with the reality of most drug users in the United States: “Not everyone is a tenured professor with discipline instilled in you from a history of military service. As a drug user, that is a very unique and privileged position. So, when we talk about this normalization of drug use, that is going to hurt the most vulnerable communities that we have in our country.” Click here and here to see Will debating Dr. Hart. Friend, the simple fact is this: the boardrooms of Big Tobacco and Big Alcohol are cheering Dr. Hart and others on as they push to legalize all drugs, whether Hart purposefully works with them or not. As we see it today with the marijuana industry, these addiction profiteers still disproportionally target & harm vulnerable communities — why should we believe anything will be different with more drugs? We know that some 70% of profit for the alcohol industry is derived from less than 20% of users. And we are seeing similar trends already from the marijuana industry. The legalization and normalization of drug use will not help the issues our country is facing. As it stands, we are already in the midst of a five-alarm fire in terms of drug use. 2020 was the worst year on record for drug overdose deaths, and it’s time we hold those who are promoting ideas that will continue this trend accountable, just as Will did in this interview. Click here to chip-in to our fight against those who wish to profit off drug normalization. Donate to SAM Today No matter the size of your gift, it will help us continue our fight against the marijuana industry and its investors Big Tobacco, Big Alcohol, and Big Pharma. Thank you for all that you do, Kevin Dr. Kevin Sabet, President & Co-Founder Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) Smart Approaches to Marijuana | www.learnaboutsam.org ‌ ‌ Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) | 107 S. West St, Suite 757, Alexandria, VA 22314 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected] powered by Try email marketing for free today!