1. New York rejects marijuana legalization. With SAM's efforts hailed by the New York Times as the "well-coordinated opposition," the decision by the legislature of the State of New York to say "No" to the marijuana industry was an historic moment in drug policy.
Above: New York State PTA President joining SAM for our press conference in Albany
2. New Jersey - and several other states - again rejected marijuana legalization.Two years after the Governor demand legalization, a determined, hard-fought campaign by SAM's New Jersey affiliate NJ-RAMP defeated it. We copied this successful strategy in a handful of other states and won.
3. In congress, the STATES Act went nowhere. Widely seen by pot lobbyists as the surefire way to lure skeptical Republicans and Democrats into legalizing this predatory industry, the STATES Act did not even receive a vote and is dead for 2019.
Above: SAM's VP of Government Affairs Garth Van Meter with our youth and parent volunteers on Capitol Hill.
4. The industry's prized jewel, the SAFE (or as we call it, "VAPE") Banking Act did not move. Despite giants like the American Bankers Association supporting it, SAM's ramped up efforts with key Senators in their home states stopped this in 2019.
5. The marijuana industry didn't get away with the #PotVapingCrisis. SAM worked hard throughout the vaping crisis to educate the press and public on the facts of the vaping crisis and the groundbreaking op-ed from the Wall Street Journal, initiated by SAM's meetings with the newspaper, turned the tide.
