Marijuana news, research highlights, and a recap of our April SAM Summit! SAM Monthly Update A brief rundown of marijuana news, research highlights, and SAM events SAM in the News Newsweek: Don't Downplay the Risks of Rising Teen Marijuana Use “Kids are getting mixed messages. While teen alcohol use and smoking rates have steadily declined, marijuana use rates have increased––and there's no doubt that legalization has played a part.” Click here to read the rest of the column by SAM President and CEO Dr. Kevin Sabet Growing Marijuana in New York City Public Housing is a Form of Social Injustice In April, the New York City Mayor floated the idea of growing marijuana on top of public housing. A robust discussion ensued. Watch more here: Click here to watch the interview CBS New York: N.J. authorities sound alarm on pitfalls of recreational marijuana and edibles; "This isn't Woodstock weed" “New Jersey Poison Control is issuing a strong warning: if you have edibles at home, lock them up. For the fourth year in a row, the call center has gotten more calls about children who accidentally consumed cannabis edibles. More than 150 kids required treatment last year. “Kevin Sabet from Smart Approaches to Marijuana says packaging is a problem.” Click here to read the entire story SAM Summit Recap The 2022 10th Annual SAM Summit was held this past month on April 21st in Atlanta, GA, marking the first in-person conference held by SAM since our 2019 Summit. The event was a huge success and got kicked off with a special message from SAM President & CEO, Dr. Kevin Sabet. Here are some of the highlights from the SAM Summit presenters: Dr. Yngvild Olsen, Acting Director of SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, provided the opening keynote, where she discussed marijuana and the challenges facing those on the frontlines of the addiction epidemic. Additional topics included youth use, marijuana’s effects on pregnant women, and SAMHSA’s work to address cannabis use disorder. Former Congressman, founder of The Kennedy Forum, and Co-founder of SAM, Patrick Kennedy, provided a welcome message and got the crowd fired up to continue their advocacy in support of safer, fairer marijuana policies. Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), provided an update on the increasing acceptance and normalization of marijuana use by Americans. Dr. Volkow covered wide-ranging topics, including the increase in high THC products, the effects of drugs on brain development, prenatal cannabis exposure, and marijuana's relationship with psychiatric illnesses. SAM also distributed two awards at the Summit. Kent C. “Oz” Nelson, former Chairman and CEO of UPS, received the SAM Lifetime Achievement Award, and Teresa Haley, NAACP Springfield President and NAACP Activist of the Year, received the SAM Advocate of the Year Award. We are grateful to them both for attending the 10th Annual SAM Summit and their continued efforts in support of our mission where we envision a society where marijuana policies are aligned with the scientific understanding of marijuana’s harms, and the commercialization and normalization of marijuana are no more. Dr. Gary Kirkilas from Phoenix Children’s Hospital spoke and discussed his work to expand medical services, treatment, and support for vulnerable youth populations with substance use disorder. His office is a 40-foot mobile medical unit that travels to various homeless shelters in Phoenix providing free medical care to families as part of Phoenix Children’s Homeless Youth Outreach program in the General Pediatrics Department. Robyn Oster, Senior Research Associate with Partnership to End Addiction, provided a presentation on how states legalizing marijuana for recreational use can design their laws to best protect youth. Will Jones III, Director of Community Engagement & Outreach for SAM, provided a highly sought-after presentation, Marijuana Legalization: A Social Justice or Social Experiment?, that exposed the false promises often repeated by the marijuana industry. Lauren Davis, a member of the Washington House of Representatives (D-32nd District) discussed her efforts to more appropriately regulate the marijuana industry in Washington, including her leadership to implement a THC potency cap. Ruth Bowdish, Managing Director with Demand Occupational Medicine, provided a presentation on workplace-related issues with marijuana and its overall impact on America’s Jobs. Dr. LaTisha Bader, Chief Clinical Officer at Women’s Recovery, presented on Cannabis & Sport: Changes in the League Influence the World, where she highlighted how changes in sport culture and athlete’s perception of risk are impacting the cannabis conversation. Jordan Davidson, Communications & Legislative Affairs Officer for SAM, gave a powerful and inspiring presentation on his own story and overcoming cannabis use disorder. Highlights included how we can change the narrative at home, work, in schools, with friends, and in the political sphere to make this all-too-common problem more visible to the public. Pete Nielsen, President & CEO of the California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals, delved into each stage of cannabis recovery and helped attendees understand the journey one embarks on when seeking treatment and recovery. Finally, Luke Niforatos, SAM Executive VP, announced the launch of SAM’s new initiative, the Parent Action Network. Multiple families from across the country joined Luke on stage to discuss the newly formed program. PAN’s goal is to mobilize parents and other family members to raise their voices about marijuana issues in society. PAN regularly engages with lawmakers, government decision makers, and the media. PAN is an all-volunteer army of concerned loved ones, many of whom have lived experience with how marijuana use detrimentally affects the family, who want to make a difference. SAM would like to thank the following sponsors for providing their support to the 10th Annual SAM Summit: Let’s Get Clear Georgia Breath Free Oregon Winbigler Medical Upcoming Events SAM Special Event with Sam Quinones Please join SAM for a special event on May 20, 2022, beginning at 1 p.m. EST with former Congressman and the founder of The Kennedy Forum, Patrick Kennedy, and the author of Dreamland and The Least of Us, Sam Quinones, for a discussion on the unintended consequences of rushing to legalize marijuana. Sam Quinones will discuss what we should have learned from the opioid epidemic, when a very powerful prescription drug was made widely available, similar to what we are now seeing with “legal” marijuana products. This SAM webinar will be moderated by Dr. Kevin A. Sabet, President & CEO of SAM. Registration is required with a suggested donation in the range of $69.00 to $129.00. (Any donation is appreciated. In order to complete the registration process, you must checkout with any dollar amount you wish). Sign up for the event here! SAM Resources SAM Communications and Legislative Affairs Officer, Jordan Davidson published a white paper in American University’s Undergraduate Research Journal entitled “Marijuana Liberalization and Drinking Behaviors.” “Do increases in marijuana liberalization increase rates of alcohol dependence or abuse and binge alcohol use? Findings suggest that there is no significant relationship between marijuana liberalization and rates of alcohol dependence or abuse and binge alcohol use.” Click here to read the entire paper SAM Training Sessions Do you want to educate your community and/or employees on all issues surrounding marijuana? Hold a SAM training session with one of our credentialed speakers! Click here to view our list of available speakers To reserve a SAM Speaker please email us at [email protected] New Research Journal of the National Medical Association: United States marijuana legalization and opioid mortality epidemic during 2010–2020 and pandemic implications “Opioid deaths have increased more where marijuana was legalized. This correlation is highly statistically significant for all opioids and fentanyl subgroup. The COVID-19 pandemic increased marijuana use and worsened opioid mortality.” Click here to read the entire study Journal of the American Medical Association: Fine Particulate Matter Exposure From Secondhand Cannabis Bong Smoking “Cannabis bong smoking in the home generated 4 times greater fine particulate matter concentrations than cigarette or tobacco hookah (waterpipe) smoking” Click here to read the entire study The Impact of Recreational Marijuana Legalization on Simple Assault in Oregon A study published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence examines the impact of legalization on simple assault: “[T]his study found that counties in [Oregon] have experienced increases in simple assault rate following legalization, relative to rates in the 19 non-legalized states.” Click here to read the entire study Psychiatry Research: Geographical variation in hospitalization for psychosis associated with cannabis use and cannabis legalization in the United States "Hospitalizations for psychosis/cannabis use more likely in areas where cannabis legalized. Recreational cannabis legalization associated with greater rate of hospitalization for psychosis associated with cannabis use.” Click here to read the entire study Preventative Medicine: Cannabis legalization and cannabis-involved pregnancy hospitalizations in Colorado "In Colorado, there was more than a two-fold increase in cannabis-involved pregnancy hospitalizations between 2011 and 2018. Counties with no baseline exposure to medical cannabis had a greater increase than other counties, suggesting the recreational market may influence cannabis use among pregnant individuals." Click here to read the entire study Marijuana in the News Washington Examiner: Washington state Democrats declare 'marijuana' racist "Today, most people know the drug as marijuana, which is why the National Institutes of Health continues to use the word 'marijuana.’ Since cannabis is far less known, there's also a practical component to this issue. Also, pro-legalization activists and the pot lobby have used the word 'cannabis' to make the drug sound scientific and medicinal in all circumstances." Click here to read the entire story Cannabis Black Market Thrives Despite Legalization Rutgers Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies: “Years after the first legalization of recreational cannabis in 2012, the illegal markets should be fading into obscurity...But many attentive residents of legalized states know that this promise hasn’t panned out. Cannabis’ illegal market is anything but dying; in some cases, it’s more active than it has been in years.” Click here to read the entire story New York Times: Is Driving High as Dangerous as Driving Drunk? "During the past decade, car accidents involving cannabis have been rising, and recreational use of the drug continues to climb. A recent analysis of U.S. public safety data showed that from 2000 to 2018, the percentage of motor vehicle fatalities involving cannabis more than doubled from nine percent to about 22 percent." Click here to read the entire story Child cannabis-exposure calls to Illinois Poison Center have increased 243% since 2019 "During the past decade, car accidents involving cannabis have been rising, and recreational use of the drug continues to climb. A recent analysis of U.S. public safety data showed that from 2000 to 2018, the percentage of motor vehicle fatalities involving cannabis more than doubled from nine percent to about 22 percent." Click here to read the entire story One man’s message about cannabis-induced psychosis “‘I had what’s called cannabis-induced psychosis. It’s a break from reality after ingesting too much high potency marijuana. I was having schizophrenia-like symptoms, like seeing things and hearing things weren’t there. I was super paranoid that people were following me,’” Click here to read more of Andrew’s story Overdose Deaths Continue Rising, With Fentanyl and Meth Key Culprits “New data shows a surge in overdose deaths involving fentanyl and methamphetamine. Overall, the nation saw a 15 percent increase in deaths from overdoses in 2021.” Click here to read the entire story Keep SAM Moving SAM relies on the generous financial support of our partnerships and donors to keep providing the service of our mission, which is to educate citizens on the science of marijuana and to promote health-first, smart policies and attitudes that decrease marijuana use and its consequences. Donate to SAM Cryptocurrency Donations As SAM continues to expand, we are always finding ways to engage our supporters and donors through a variety of options to help us continue operating and growing. As cryptocurrency continues to evolve, we are now accepting donations in the form of cryptocurrency through our new online donation widget. Immediately after donating through our new widget, a tax donation receipt will be emailed to you. Making cryptocurrency donations through our widget will help create a longer, brighter future for SAM! Tell Us Your Story Stories allow people to share information in a way that creates an emotional connection and allows us to gain a deeper understanding of other people's experiences. SAM works with a remarkably diverse network of people, all of whom come from different avenues within the work we do. Our work is life changing. Please consider sharing your story or testimonial on how SAM has helped you by following this link and scrolling to the bottom of the page! Please consider taking the time to donate through this link or connecting with Garrett via email [email protected] for more ways to support SAM! About SAM Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) is a nonpartisan, non-profit alliance of physicians, policy makers, prevention workers, treatment and recovery professionals, scientists, and other concerned citizens opposed to marijuana legalization who want health and scientific evidence to guide marijuana policies. SAM has affiliates in more than three dozen states. Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) | 107 S. West Street, 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!