Tag Archives: Smart Approaches to marijuana

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SAM Report shows devastation to children, young adults

Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) recently released a “Lessons Learned” report showing what we’ve known all along: there’s no good way to legalize marijuana.  The time has come for states to repeal this policy and put Pandora’s evils back into the box.  Data continues to show the damaging effects of marijuana legalization.

 SAM’s 2023-2024 report presents a different reality than the narrative advanced by BIG POT, which considers only money.   SAM’s President and Executive Vice President will explain the report in a webinar on June 16th.  We encourage you to attend to hear  Kevin Sabet and Luke Niforatos.

Legalization has had a devastating impact on children and young adults, not only because of the poisonings described previously, but several other problems. Continue reading SAM Report shows devastation to children, young adults →

Parents, Politics

Marijuana Industry targets center of country in 2022 ballots

Several marijuana legalization ballots have been proposed for the 2022 election in November, including Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, North Dakota and South Dakota.  Although the marijuana industry did not achieve its goal of nationwide legalization by 2020, its current strategy targets the center of the country.   Then the rest of the nation will need to follow suit, so they think.   

If Missouri passes legalization and Wisconsin activists get their way, it will mess up Governor JB Pritzker’s plan to make Illinois the cannabis capital of the Midwest.   He depends on out-of-staters, who purchase at least 30% of the weed in Illinois, to prop up his struggling program.   Cannabis stores near the borders of Wisconsin, Missouri, Indiana and Kentucky can make the most money. Continue reading Marijuana Industry targets center of country in 2022 ballots →

Politics

Senator Harris’ bill, like Prop 64, is another gimmick

Yesterday Senator Kamala Harris and Representative Jerrold Nadler introduced the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, a bill to federally legalize, commercialize, and tax the use of marijuana.

Senator Harris owns much responsibility for the marijuana problems that plague the state of California.  When she first ran for Attorney General in 2010 she promised not to go after the marijuana industry.  She kept the hands-off approach, allowing illegal growers whose plants continue the destruction of the environment in California. Four federal district attorneys still prosecuted marijuana growers, despite Harris’ opposition. Continue reading Senator Harris’ bill, like Prop 64, is another gimmick →

Addiction

Don’t Believe the False Claim that Marijuana Reduces Opiate Deaths

Today SAM issued a statement refuting the notion that states with medical marijuana have fewer opiate deaths.  We have noticed that marijuana is an adjunct to opiate dependence and abuse, not a replacement.   Here is what the SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) statement said:

Top-Line Understanding (Download Full PDF Here):

A recent study found that before 2009, the existence of legally protected pot dispensaries in a state correlates with a lower number of opiate deaths in that state.

This correlation disappears after 2009. Authors interpret this as the “post-Ogden memo era” and surmise that pot dispensaries were more strictly controlled after 2009.

The study does not control for naloxone distribution Continue reading Don’t Believe the False Claim that Marijuana Reduces Opiate Deaths →