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Unless you are on the Marijuana Policy Project\’s (MPP) email list, you may have missed this. You know MPP – the national legalization group ran by the pot industry, known for calling legalization \”inevitable,\” and holding positions inconsistent with the National Academy of Sciences. They sent out a fundraising email trying to raise money off of the recent slew of victories WE have had across the country defeating legalization bills.
MPP resorted to distorting the facts and slandering SAM and SAM staff in the email. We\’re not shocked, but this time we responded to their baseless claims in a twitter thread you can view by clicking here.
MPP states that SAM has \”plenty of resources,\” implying we are the deep pocketed group in the debate over marijuana commercialization. In reality, MPP and its fellow pot industry promoters are touting an industry actively racking in billions from vice industries such as Big Tobacco, Big Alcohol, and Big Pharma.
As you know, SAM\’s funding comes mostly from small family foundations and concerned parents who have seen firsthand the result of legalization and want to save others from its negative impacts. We take no Pharma money.
2019 has been a banner year for SAM. MPP\’s email, in fact, proves it.
We will never stop working to put public health and safety above addiction-for-profit schemes. But we need supporters like you to help by chipping in today to help us combat the lies and slander of groups like MPP, the Drug Policy Alliance, and the National Cannabis Industry Association. These groups take the profits of the industry and put them towards expanding Big Marijuana and rolling back regulations.
If you can, please click here to chip in $100, $250, $500, or $1,000 to help us continue winning the fight for public health, safety, and commonsense.
Thank you for believing in us. Let\’s continue putting people before profit.
Dr. Kevin Sabet,
Founder and President, Smart Approaches to Marijuana
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 30 states.
Evidence shows that marijuana – which has skyrocketed in average potency over the past decades – is addictive and harmful to the human brain especially when used by adolescents. In states that have already legalized the drug, there has been an increase in drugged driving crashes, youth marijuana use, and costs that far outweigh pot revenues.These states have seen a black market that continues to thrive, a black market that continues to thrive, sustained disparities in marijuana arrest rates, and tobacco company investment in marijuana.
For more information about marijuana use and its effects, visit www.learnaboutsam.org
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SANews Roundup
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July 2019
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Here is a brief rundown of marijuana news as well as an update on what we have been up to over the last month.
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Rejection of Commercial Weed Biggest Blow Yet to Big Marijuana
![\"\"](\"https://files.constantcontact.com/d75ceb5f201/b8a6a04d-2771-4905-b32d-95e2111aaa66.jpg?a=1132850123614\") Despite massive spending and lobbying by Big Marijuana and its allies, the New York State Legislature rejected commercial marijuana. This is a massive victory for SAM as we spearheaded the opposition to the bill and led a massive grassroots coalition.
\”New York legislators learned that commercializing marijuana brings along a host of significant health, safety and societal costs that result in no tax money and no social justice,\” said SAM president Dr. Kevin Sabet. \”The predatory pot industry wanted legislators to believe that this was simple. Like they did in New Jersey, they said it was inevitable. The industry told people it would rain money for a host of pet projects, that our young people wouldn\’t be at risk and drugged driving concerns were overblown. Thankfully, New York\’s parents, doctors, law enforcement, teachers and many lawmakers didn\’t fall for the con.
\”New Yorkers can be assured we will continue working to prevent the industry from making gains in further sessions, and we will redouble our efforts to protect young people and those in low income and minority communities who are subjected to relentless in targeting, exploitation and victimization by Big Marijuana. We will continue to work every day to put public health and safety over the profits of this addiction-for-profit industry.\”
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SAM Marks International Day Against Drug Abuse With Special Consultative Status Granted By the United Nations
![\"\"](\"https://files.constantcontact.com/d75ceb5f201/39f36933-f267-443f-a24d-1c7268b7e755.jpg?a=1132850123614\") On the occasion of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) was notified by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) that it received special consultative status to the United Nations. This status allows SAM to designate official representatives to the UN headquarters in New York, Geneva, and Vienna, and submit written and oral statements to the Council.
\”We are immensely grateful for this honor,\” said SAM president Dr. Kevin Sabet. \”This decision speaks volumes to the drug policy work SAM\’s volunteers and staff does at home and abroad. Though we don\’t often tout our international work, we have been honored to be involved with several international organizations, including the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, and we look forward to further helping craft drug policy on the international level.\” |
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New Study Finds Pot Revenue Could Be Largely Wiped Out By Increased Costs to Law Enforcement
![\"\"](\"https://files.constantcontact.com/d75ceb5f201/fe0bd961-2298-4fba-b8dd-b40b8fc1ff7b.png?a=1132850123614\") A new study shows that a huge percentage of New York\’s estimated revenue from legal pot sales would need to be directed toward costs associated with law enforcement and protecting public safety. Smart Approaches to Marijuana New York (SAM NY), in cooperation with theNew York State Sheriffs\’ Association, has released a first-of-its-kind study analyzing costs of marijuana legalization on the state\’s law enforcement and emergency services agencies and local governments.
\”Big Marijuana has told legislators money will basically be falling from the sky if they approve commercial pot,\” said Dr. Kevin Sabet. \”What this study shows is by conservative estimates, just the law enforcement costs of legal pot will require either using much of the state revenue for public safety or local municipalities and property taxpayers getting stuck with a big bill.\” |
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SAM Releases Comprehensive Lessons Learned From Legalization Report
![\"\"](\"https://files.constantcontact.com/d75ceb5f201/71f52587-ad85-4037-99e9-8b3da7d11c2d.png?a=1132850123614\") SAM released its third annual Lessons Learned Report , a comprehensive study of the data outcomes in \’legalized\’ marijuana states. This study, validated by researchers from institutions such as Harvard and Johns Hopkins University and used as primary source material by international, federal, state, and local officials, as well as countless community organizations, finds that states that have legalized marijuana are witnessing rising use rates, thriving black markets, and harms among disadvantaged communities.
\”As a handful of states are considering relaxing their marijuana laws, this report will continue to serve as an eye-opener for lawmakers and slow the rush to legalize,\” said Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of SAM. \”The commercialization of marijuana has been profitable for the industries such as Big Tobacco, yet tax revenues are falling short and serious, costly consequences abound. It is time to admit that marijuana legalization is a failed policy.\”
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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 (SAM) has partnered with Communities for Alcohol and Drug Free Youth (CADY) to offer a comprehensive media campaign prevention toolkit. ![\"\"](\"https://files.constantcontact.com/d75ceb5f201/6df9bb8a-1804-49ef-9165-f4954cb06f41.png?a=1132850123614\") |
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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.
If you can\’t chip-in, then at the very least, and help grow the SAM community.
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Toronto is resorting to giant cement blocks to keep illegal pot shops from reopening
About a dozen illegal dispensaries still operating in Toronto, city official says
CBC News Jun 07, 2019
There\’s a new weapon in the city\’s battle against illegal pot dispensaries: giant cement blocks.
Two photos posted to Reddit show the blocks stacked up in front of alleged cannabis dispensaries, blocking entry.
It\’s the latest move to put a stop to illegal dispensaries that have been able to operate thanks in part to a legal loophole in the province\’s Cannabis Control Act.
That loophole has prevented authorities from barring access to, and removing people from, suspected dispensaries that were also being used as residences.
\”This has proven to be a bit more of a substantial tactic,\” said Mark Sraga, the city\’s director of investigation services for municipal licensing and standards.
Illegal cannabis storefronts have persisted in Toronto despite raids and attempts to bar the stores\’ entryways using other means, including steel doors. Sraga estimates about a dozen are still in operation despite enforcement measures.
Bill to close loophole passes at Queen\’s Park
But on Thursday, a bill aiming to close the loophole – by removing the exception around dispensaries that might also serve as residences – received royal assent, despite objections from some MPPs.
NDP MPP Jeff Burch, for example, raised concerns that a family could be expelled from their home because another relative, or even a visitor, was selling cannabis.
\”We have some concerns on what this will mean for families,\” he said.
\”Cannabis is currently legal, and while the illegal sale of cannabis should be prohibited, giving the ability for a family to be expelled from their home because a family member –or worse, a visitor – engages in an illegal activity is unthinkable.\”
\”Going forward, a residential property that\’s being used to sell cannabis illegally, we will also be able to doing barring of entry at those places,\” said Sraga.
for more go to https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/cement-blocks-toronto-illegal-potshops-1.5166676
Nevada Will Ban Pre-Employment Marijuana Testing On January 1, 2020
June 2019
Beginning on January 1, 2020, it will be illegal to conduct pre-employment drug testing for marijuana in the state of Nevada. Assembly Bill No. 132 was signed into law by the governor on June 5, 2019. This makes Nevada the first state to enact such a law (although New York City became the first city to enact such a law, as we discussed in previous blog posts).
The law provides that it “is unlawful for any employer in this State to fail or refuse to hire a prospective employee because the employee submitted to a screening test and the results of the screening test indicate the presence of marijuana.” A “screening test” is defined to mean a test of a person’s blood, urine, hair or saliva to detect the general presence of a controlled substance or any other drug. The law does not apply to applicants who apply for positions as firefighters, emergency medical technicans, operators of motor vehicles who are required to submit to drug tests, or other positions that “in the determination of the employer, could adversely affect the safety of others.”
For complete article https://www.natlawreview.com/article/nevada-will-ban-pre-employment-marijuana-testing-january-1-2020
SAM’S WORK BRINGS INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION
The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) designated Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) special consultative status to the United Nations. It happened on June 26, the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
This status allows SAM to designate official representatives to the UN headquarters in New York, Geneva, and Vienna, and submit written and oral statements to the Council. SAM representatives have already been discussing marijuana policy at UN meetings since its founding in 2013, but now the organization has become official.
“We are immensely grateful for this honor,” said Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of SAM and a former senior drug policy advisor to the Obama Administration, who has represented both the Bush and Obama Administration at international drug policy meetings in the past. “This decision speaks volumes to the drug policy work SAM’s volunteers and staff does at home and abroad. Though we don’t often tout our international work, we have been honored to be involved with several international organizations, including the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, and we look forward to further helping craft drug policy on the international level.”
SAM has international presence
While SAM’s primary focus is fighting marijuana commercialization in the United States, it has been extremely active at the international level in the past few years. Its side events at the annual Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in Vienna, for example, are among the most widely attended of the meeting. Additionally, SAM has testified in numerous countries, including Canada and in the Caribbean, and regularly consults with organizations and governments in virtually every continent. Just recently, SAM played a key role in preventing Norwegian oil pension funds from investing in marijuana companies.
“Our work knows no boundaries. It’s important other countries learn from both our mistakes and things we should be proud of in US drug policy,” Sabet said.
Recently, Sabet tweeted, “94.5% of the world population do *not* use drugs. ” (The United States and Canada are exceptions, with 54% of the world’s drug users.)
Above photo is from the Global Drug Policy Summit held in Phoenix, Arizona, on June 26, 2019. From left to right: Dr. Robert DuPont, President, Institute for Behavior and Health and first US Drug Czar, Dr. Kevin Sabet and Linda Nilsson, Secretary General, World Federation Against Drugs and Swedish National Association for a Drug-Free Society
https://poppot.org/2019/06/28/sams-work-brings-international-recognition/
RIP THE POT VAN WINKLE WAKES UP
When I was 17 my BFF Lisa was in a single car accident. She was prone to smoking bong hits and driving with her knees. She was in a coma for a year and died. I first smoked pot with her and her mom. Lisa was her only child.
I blamed a faulty car for her death, not pot.
![\"\"](\"http://www.dontlegalizedrugs.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/WEEDRipVanWinkle.jpg\" "\\"WEEDRipVanWinkle\\"")
In my 30s, I partied with a young 20s co-worker from UMass. She had smoked strong pot, AK-47 for years. I stopped hanging out once she became paranoid, delusional and agoraphobic. She later was in a mental hospital for schizophrenia and has been on disability ever since.
I blamed her genes for her debilitating mental illness, not pot.
The rose colored glasses of denial.
![\"\"](\"http://www.dontlegalizedrugs.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/PotRoseColorGlasses.jpg\" "\\"PotRoseColorGlasses\\"")
I dated a patient, also named Lisa, at the dispensary who had extreme psychotic episodes whenever she smoked high potency Sativa. She would almost collapse, regress into a two-year-old state of mind, scream at the top of her lungs and then go into loud, joyous religious rapture singing.
The scariest experience was when in psychosis she uttered in a guttural deep voice so unlike her’s, “Choke her!” It was an alarming Sybil Stephen King moment that sent chills down my spine. I didn’t know if her split personality was talking about choking herself or me.
Needless to say, it was very hard being with her, we were not a good match whatsoever and broke up. I later learned that she committed suicide at 52.
I blamed her diagnosis of bipolar for her suicide, not pot.
Rip the Pot Van Winkle
Bong rips: “A noun that refers to the action of smoking from a bong. So named for the sound that air makes when it bubbles through the bong water.”
One time in college my friends had too much water in a bong — really dirty, unchanged, high potency bong water. The too high water level caused me to unintentionally swallow a huge mouthful of bong water when I released the carburetor.
I immediately started to hallucinate, almost passed out. Was lucky to stay conscious long enough to make it to the bathroom and vomit profusely. Took a heck of a long time for my mind to clear and body to recover. But I saw no problem with continuing to use pot.
For years I discounted all of those signposts showing that marijuana is dangerous because I was so enmeshed in my pot denial.
When, finally, I experienced such terrible physical and mental effects myself, this Rip the Pot Van Winkle woke up out of a pot slumber. The truth could no longer be denied. Horrible psychosis woke me up. I am SO lucky I survived.
I had the epiphany that pot caused my BFF’s death via DUI; pot caused my friend to become schizophrenic, and pot caused psychosis and suicide with my ex-girlfriend. Pot caused me to think violent thoughts like shooting people, and brought me to the brink of suicide.
Pot almost took me out. I couldn’t perceive the damage because I was high on pot.
By Anne Hassel, a new friend of Parents Opposed to Pot.
Mom put fatal dose of fentanyl in baby\’s sippy cup so she could \’relax and smoke marijuana\’: prosecutor (The Monster that is Marijuana A-Motivation; and people what governments to endorse this psychotropic toxin through law??!!)
, AOL.COM June 2019
A woman found guilty of spiking her baby\’s sippy cup with a fatal dose of fentanyl committed the crime in order to quiet the child so she could \”sit back, relax and smoke marijuana,\” a prosecutor said Monday.
Assistant district attorney Diana Page told a Pennsylvania jury that Jhenea Pratt, 23, drugged her 17-month-old daughter, Charlette Napper-Talley, in April 2018 with the \”specific intent to kill,\” according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
\”That baby was getting in the way of her enjoying her pastime,\” Page claimed, referencing the mother\’s drug use.
Pratt was convicted on Tuesday of involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child. She will be sentenced at a later date.
Police responded to a call at Pratt\’s apartment on April 5 of last year about a baby who wasn\’t breathing. First responders rushed Charlette to a nearby hospital where she later died.
Tests received by the Allegheny County medical examiner’s office revealed the presence of fentanyl in the toddler\’s blood. Red liquid inside a pink sippy cup found on the toddler\’s bed also tested positive for enough of the potent drug to \”kill two horses,\” Detective Michael Flynn said during an interrogation.
When asked how the incident may have unfolded, Pratt told investigators,\”I have no knowledge as to how fentanyl got into my daughter\’s sippy cup.\”
For Full story https://www.aol.com/article/news/2019/06/05/mom-put-fatal-dose-of-fentanyl-in-babys-sippy-cup-relax-and-smoke-marijuana/23742430/
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, June 24, 2019 –
CONTACT: Colton Grace [email protected] (864)-492-6719
New National Poll: 62% of Registered Voters Disapprove of Marijuana Commercialization
(Alexandria, VA) – According to a new national poll, 62% of registered voters do not support the legalization and commercialization of marijuana when given more options than prosecuting possession or full legalization. The false dichotomy of legalization versus incarceration is pervasive in national polling, and is promoted by the marijuana industry and its supporters as it makes it seem more popular than it actually is.
The poll, conducted by Mason-Dixon, found that 62% of voters support either keeping current marijuana laws in place, decriminalizing the drug (making it like a traffic ticket), or want to see it legalized for medical use only. Only 38% supported the full commercialization of the drug.
\”Big Marijuana pushes the false narrative that marijuana legalization is supported by the overwhelming majority of Americans,\” said Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and a former drug policy advisor to the Obama Administration. \”The more people learn the truth of what commercial pot looks like, and the more they hear of the negative impacts it has on health and safety, the more they oppose allowing Big Marijuana – who by the way is seeing massive investment from Big Tobacco and Big Alcohol – from setting foot in their state.\”
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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 30 states.
Evidence shows that marijuana – which has skyrocketed in average potency over the past decades – is addictive and harmful to the human brain especially when used by adolescents. In states that have already legalized the drug, there has been an increase in drugged driving crashes, youth marijuana use, and costs that far outweigh pot revenues.These states have seen a black market that continues to thrive, sustained disparities in marijuana arrest rates, and tobacco company investment in marijuana.
