USA: Smart Approaches to Marijuana – July News Update

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News Roundup

July 2018
The SAM family has been growing and expanding over the last month. New office in Manhattan, new, talented teammates in Michigan…we are working hard to make a difference for public health.

New Poll: More Than Half of New Yorkers Oppose Marijuana Legalization Healthy and Productive Michigan Holds Discussions on Social Justice Impact of Marijuana Legalization
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A recent poll conducted by Emerson College found that a majority of New Yorkers do not support the full legalization of marijuana. A plurality support either decriminalization or the current policy.
A previous New York poll commissioned by pro-marijuana legalization groups pushed the false dichotomy of there only being two options in marijuana policy – full legalization or full prohibition. When respondents are informed of current marijuana laws (legal for medical use and decriminalized) support for legalization drops 27% from those polls.
\”New Yorkers do not support pot legalization. This poll shows us that elected officials need to slow down,\” said Dr. Kevin Sabet.
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SAM Action Outreach Associate Will Jones joined Healthy and Productive Michigan to discuss the impact marijuana legalization would have on communities of color.
\”People often say we should regulate marijuana like alcohol and that\’s actually what frightens me,\” said Jones. To see a video highlighting more about how marijuana legalization would harm these communities, click here.
Healthy and Productive Michigan also recently welcomed former Obama for America campaigner Abu Edwards to the team. Abu, who is coming on as the Detroit Field Director, joins Matthew Yascolt, a longtime prevention advocate, in pushing back against Big Marijuana in Michigan.
Abu brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the fight for public health. As one of five children raised by a single mother, Mr. Edwards is filled with a burning passion to help those who struggle in poverty by fighting for societal reforms that benefit disadvantaged communities.
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SAM Issues Comprehensive Rebuttal to Study Recommending Marijuana Legalization in New York State

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SAM met with its award-winning science advisory board to review the recent study out of New York that recommended the state legalize marijuana. After review, the board found a whole host of major flaws with the study.
In response, SAM released a comprehensive rebuttal and also formally submitted a FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) request to the New York State Department of Health for all records related to their marijuana report.
\”Why weren\’t addiction medicine doctors or the state\’s medical association consulted with on this so-called scientific report?\” said Dr. Kevin Sabet. \”The NYS report reads more like a marijuana industry lobbyist\’s manifesto than a research-based document.\”
To read the comprehensive rebuttal, please click here.
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SAM Action Opens New Office in Manhattan
In response to the efforts of the marijuana industry to expand into the Empire State, SAM Action and its New York affiliate, SAM-NY is happy to announce the opening of a new office in the historic West Village of Manhattan. This office will serve as a critical center of collaboration and work for SAM Action and SAM-NY.
\”SAM has now grown to almost a dozen employees around the country, and we are thrilled to be able to plant a flag in the historic West Village neighborhood of New York. New Yorkers are tired of living with secondhand marijuana smoke, among other problems,\” said Kevin Sabet.
The SAM family has successfully worked hard across the river in New Jersey this year to thwart marijuana commercialization and we intend to do the same in New York,\” said Sabet. \”I look forward to the ways this new office space will allow our team to expand in ways we\’ve never been able to before to better push back against Big Marijuana.\”
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New Data From Washington State Show Marijuana Legalization Leads to Massive Increase in Youth Exposure to the Substance
House Rules Committee Shuts Down Two Marijuana Industry-Backed Amendments
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Marijuana legalization has led to massive increases in youth exposure to the substance, according the 2017 Annual Toxic Trend Report compiled by the Washington Poison Center.
In 2017, there were 378 total marijuana exposures reported to the Washington State Poison Center. This number is an all-time high for reported marijuana exposures and is an increase of 87 incidents from the previous year.
\”This report is extremely troubling,\” said Dr. Kevin Sabet, president and founder of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM). \”As Big Marijuana continues to churn out kid-friendly edibles, more and more young children are ending up in emergency rooms.\”
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Members of the House Rules Committee recently blocked two pro-marijuana industry amendments from consideration. This marks the 34th time pro-pot amendments have been blocked by the House Rules Committee and joins the dozens of failed efforts to loosen marijuana laws this Congress.
The first amendment would have allowed the marijuana industry access to the federal banking system and the second would have allowed the District of Columbia to begin commercial sales of the drug.
\”This is a win for public health,\” said Dr. Kevin Sabet.
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SAM is Proud to Announce the Addition of Ben Cort to the 2018 SAM Summit

We are proud to announce that Mr. Ben Cort has been added to the lineup of speakers at the 2018 SAM Summit. Ben is an excellent addition to the already packed agenda for the day. The author of Weed Inc., an expert on addiction treatment, and member of the SAM Board of Directors, Ben will speak on Colorado\’s commercialization effects from first-hand experiences while living there.
Featured Speakers
  • Candace Lightner, Founder & CEO of WeSaveLives
  • James Francois-Hays & Charmaine O. Francois-Hays, Compton Community Organizers
  • Roneet Lev, MD FACEP, Chief, Emergency Department, Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego
  • Dana Stevens, Grassroots Coordinator, SAM & HighMeansDUI
  • Corinne Gasper, Drugged-Driving Advocate
  • Bari K. Platter, MS, RN, PMHCN-BC, Clinical Nurse Specialist, the Center for Dependency, Addiction, and Rehabilitation – University of Colorado Health
  • Kevin Sabet, PhD, Founder and President, Smart Approaches to Marijuana
Topics to be Covered:
  • Lessons Learned from Marijuana Legalization
  • Community Activism – Fighting Back Big Marijuana
  • Federal Policy Update
  • Adverse Effects on Health Outcomes
  • Marijuana-impaired Driving
  • Marijuana Legalization\’s Harms on Social Justice Efforts
We have a very limited amount of discounted tickets!
If your organization would like to sponsor the summit,  email us at  [email protected]
for more information on how to get involved.
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Big Marijuana Comes to Wall Street
 SAM Founder Dr. Kevin Sabet Sits Down With Cheddar
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The marijuana industry has broken into new territory now that Canadian marijuana growing company Tilray has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
This marks the first time a marijuana growing company has completed an initial public offering on the U.S. stock exchange. The IPO is the latest example of large, internationally run marijuana corporations being listed on U.S. markets, following the listings of Canopy Growth in May and Cronos Group in February of 2018.
\”It is unconscionable – and illegal – to promote the production and commercialization of pot candies, cookies, and other edibles in the US market. We are calling on NASDAQ to immediately stop working with Tilray and other marijuana companies.\”
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SAM founder and president Dr. Kevin Sabet recently sat down with Alex Heath of Cheddar at the Sun Valley Conference in Idaho, a gathering of the world\’s top leaders in business and innovation.
\”Sometimes I feel like I\’m waking up, not in 2018, but in 1918 ー but with tobacco, when we had a relatively new industry that had a product that\’s been around for a long time but that they started marketing and developing into something addictive,\” said Dr. Sabet.
Click the link below to check out the full interview!
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Contemporary Health Issues on Marijuana :
New Book Co-Edited by Dr. Kevin Sabet Available Now
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Hot off the presses of Oxford University, Contemporary Health Issues on Marijuana  is now available for purchase.
This new book, co-edited by Drs. Kevin A. Sabet and Ken C. Winters, comprises chapters by other experts hailing from a wide range of fields including psychology, epidemiology, medicine, and criminal justice. It is a balanced, data-driven volume highlighting new theory and clinical evidence pertaining to marijuana.
The volume features a comprehensive review of research into marijuana\’s impact on public health, including how it affects cognitive and neurological functioning, its medical effects, suggested treatment approaches for marijuana use disorders, marijuana smoking and lung function, and marijuana-impaired driving.
Supplies are limited, so place your order today! 
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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.
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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.

 

In Health,

 

Colton Grace

 

Communications Associate

 

Smart Approaches to Marijuana
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USA: Tesla Trafficking, but not in Cars???

Tesla whistleblower claims its staff in Nevada trafficked cocaine and meth for a Mexican drug cartel and covered up the theft of $37m in raw materials

  • Karl Hansen made the series of extraordinary claims in a public letter Thursday
  • Claims Tesla investigated DEA tip off but did not disclose the findings to officials
  • However, DEA said it would not tell \’non-law enforcement entities\’ about probes
  • Hansen also says employees were told not to report huge thefts to the police
  • Disgruntled former employee has been called \’super nuts\’ by CEO Elon Musk
  • Comes as Tesla shares slumped 8 percent after Musk told of woes in interview

By RORY TINGLE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM August 2018

A Tesla whistleblower is claiming the company covered up drug trafficking at its Nevada gigafactory by employees linked to a Mexican cartel, as well as the rampant theft of raw materials.

Former security guard Karl Hansen says the electric car company launched an \’internal investigation\’ after a May 24 tip-off from the DEA that \’significant amounts\’ of cocaine and crystal meth were being exchanged by staff.

Hansen makes a series of other extraordinary claims in a public letter issued by his lawyers on Thursday, including that Tesla failed to disclose the alleged theft of $37 million in copper and raw materials and spied on staff.

It comes as Tesla\’s shares slumped 8 percent in the wake of a bombshell interview with CEO Elon Musk in which he burst into tears, asked for someone to take his job and admitted he relies on Ambien to sleep.

Musk has dismissed Hansen as \’super nuts\’ and the company issued a statement on Thursday saying some of his claims were \’outright false\’ while others were \’not corroborated\’. They also said Hansen not engaged with their efforts to understand how he had come up with some of the allegations.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6071769/Tesla-whistleblower-claims-staff-Nevada-trafficked-cocaine-meth.html

Was NOT Tweeting whilst on WEED!! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6070421/Elon-Musk-asks-Tesla-job-tearful-interview.html

 

USA: Cannabis Killing Kids!

The PopPot Report on Child Deaths Directly Linked to Marijuana Use.

Use of pot creates victims, including children who die from neglect or violence when parents, mothers’ boyfriends or caregivers use pot. We have been tracking news reports of child abuse and neglect linked to marijuana since November 2012. The columns show official causes of death related to the caregivers’ marijuana use. We found news reports of 112 such deaths in 31 states; actual number could be much higher. Violent neglect includes marijuana DUI (11), guns (5) and pit bulls. The last column includes infants (9) who died shortly after birth.

For DATA http://www.poppot.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/080118-Child-dangers-fact-sheet-FINAL_updated-1.pdf?x47959

 

UK: Middle Class \’Flogs\’ Driving Drug Use Grief

The Team has been challenging this hypocritical mindset for over 5 years now, in both seminars and papers.
You can\’t expect much else from drug induced self-justification – strip a hectare of rainforest for a \’hit\’ of Coke, ah, but self congratulate with a \’slactavism\’ post on SM about \’saving the planet\’ – If you\’re serious about saving the environment, and we should be, then you\’d NEVER use WEED, Cocaine, or any other drug, just to get \’wasted\’!
Also check out HOW TO MAKE COCAINE!

Middle-class cocaine users helping drug gangs destroy society, says Met chief

Steve Bird 31 JULY 2018

Britain’s most senior police officer has attacked “middle class” cocaine users who worry about “global warming and organic food” but fail to see the harm in illegal drugs.

Cressida Dick, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, said the demand from well-off users for the class A drug was helping to fuel the surge in violent gang crime.

Her comments came as a top surgeon declared that the whole of England was now in the grip of a knife crime epidemic.

Adam Brooks, a major trauma surgeon at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, told the Royal Society of Medicine’s Spotlight on Knife Crime: “The key message is this isn’t just London – this is everywhere.”

The conference also heard that paramedics often wear stab vests while treating knife victims because they fear for their safety on the capital’s streets.

Speaking earlier at Scotland Yard, Ms Dick said: “There\’s this challenge that there\’s a whole group of middle class people who will sit round happily talking about global warming, fair trade, environmental protection and organic farming, but think there\’s no harm in taking a bit of cocaine.

“Well, there is. There is misery throughout the supply chain.”

She said she met a \”little girl\” recently who admitted being afraid when having to walk past \”drug dealing paraphernalia\” on the stairs of the flats where she lives.

Ms Dick added that raids targeting gangs dealing drugs and resulted in 79 arrests saw residents “appearing on the balcony, clapping and cheering” officers as they led suspects away.

Ms Dick said that there had been 87 murders in London so far this year, in what she described as part of national trend in rise of violent crime.

For complete article https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/07/31/middle-class-cocaine-users-care-planet-ignore-drugs-destroy/

 

Global: Are we looking at the \’new thalidomide\’?

Known Cannabis Teratogenicity Needs to be Carefully Considered

Jumping the Gun on ‘Marijuana as medicine’!  At What Price?

It is no accident that in almost the same week both Australia and UK have decided that cannabis is to be recommended for a host of medical disorders mostly in advance of gold standard clinical trials. This is a direct product of the organized transnational global drug liberalization movement orchestrated from New York 1.

I wish to most respectfully disagree with the points made by BMJ editor Dr. Godlee. Diarrhoea and colic occur in cannabis withdrawal; Crohn’s disease has a prominent immune aspect, and cannabinoids are likely acting partly as immune modulators. Statements from patients are uninterpretable without understanding the treatments tried, their withdrawal symptomatology and their personal preferences.

Most importantly, as Dr Godlee states, cannabis is a mixture of 104 cannabinoids. The tide cannot be both out and in at the same time. Medicines in western nations are universally pure substances. This comprises a fundamental difficulty.

Medical research has confirmed that the body’s endocannabinoid system is a finely regulated and highly complex system which is involved in the detailed regulation of essentially all body systems including the brain and cardiovascular systems and stem cell niches.

Studies have shown that the rate of use of cannabis by expecting mothers closely parallels that in the wider community. In fact given the long half-life of cannabis in tissues even were a maternal habitual smoker to stop when she discovered her pregnancy, her infant would continue to be exposed to her on-board cannabinoid load for several months afterwards during critical periods of organogenesis. And other studies show that the father’s cannabis use is even more damaging than the mothers’ 2.

For complete article https://www.bmj.com/content/362/bmj.k3357/rr-0

 

 

 

England – Wales: Drug Misuse: Findings from the 2017/18 Crime Survey for England and Wales

Last year drug use among young adults aged 16 to 24

The most recent (2016) survey of Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People (SDD) 3 also showed an increase in the proportion of 11 to 15 year olds who had taken any drug (excluding NPS) in the last year (from 10.3% in 2014 to 14.8% in 2016). Although cannabis was the most commonly used drug among 11 to 15 year olds (with 7.9% reporting that they had used it in the last year), there was also an increase in the proportion reporting Class A drug use, from 2.0% in 2014 to 3.2% in 2016. While the CSEW shows a general increase in Class A drug use for 16 to 24 year olds since 2011/12, Class A drug use among 11 to 15 year olds in the SDD has only recently increased. However, further SDD results are needed to confirm that this increase is genuine.

Cannabis

Among younger adults aged 16 to 24, cannabis was also the most commonly used drug in the 2017/18 CSEW, with 16.7 per cent having used it in the last year (around one million young adults).

There was no significant change from the 2016/17 and 2007/08 estimates (16.4% and 17.9% respectively), but this was lower than in 1996 (25.8%) (see Appendix Table 1.02 for detailed figures).

For complete report  https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/729249/drug-misuse-2018-hosb1418.pdf

 

GLOBAL: Help fight Big Tobacco 2.0

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Dear friend,
We all remember how Big Tobacco pulled the wool over the eyes of policy makers and the public for decades, peddling fake science that nicotine was not addictive, adding chemicals to cigarettes, and advertising to kids.
As fewer people smoke today, Phillip Morris and the rest of Big Tobacco have turned to new strategies: vapes, foreign markets, and non-combustible nicotine products.
But there\’s a new market they\’re eyeing: marijuana.
Last month, a subsidiary of Imperial Brands, the tobacco company behind cigarette brands like Winston and Kool, joined with investment firm Casa Verde (the same firm backed by rapper Snoop Dogg) to invest millions of dollars in a marijuana company in England.
Big Tobacco is looking to capitalize on the lax regulations being placed on the marijuana industry. While Imperial Brands is the first tobacco company to invest in the marijuana industry, others will surely follow.
More recently, a major marijuana grower, Tilray, conducted an Initial Public Offering (IPO) and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
And we just learned this week that Canada\’s legacy Big Beer manufacturer, Molson (of Molson Coors), is creating a marijuana-infused beer.
Friend, you and I both know that the marijuana industry only cares about making huge profits, and the fact that Big Tobacco and Big Alcohol are now dumping millions of dollars into pot companies and products could not make that fact any clearer.
Marijuana legalization is paving the way to the creation of the next big industry and there is no greater time than now to join with me in standing against the normalization of another addiction-for-profit industry.
Let me be clear. My staff and I can\’t do this without your help. Can you lend a hand today with a donation of $500, $250, $100, $50, or even $10?
Your  donation, no matter the size , will go far in helping us organize and push back.
Thank you again for everything you do,
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Dr. Kevin Sabet
Founder and President
Smart Approaches to Marijuana Action
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About SAM Action

SAM Action is a non-profit, 501(c)(4) social welfare organization dedicated to promoting healthy marijuana policies that do not involve legalizing drugs. SAM Action engages in high-impact political campaigns to oppose marijuana legalization and commercialization. Under the IRS code, political activity cannot be deducted for tax purposes. Your contribution will be used for maximum impact, but is not tax-deductible as a charitable contribution (IRC § 170) or business expense (IRC § 162(e)(1)).

 

USA: Weed Tax Unreliable

Taxes on cannabis, gambling are unreliable, study says

by DALE DENWALT: July 22, 2018

As Oklahoma prepares to collect taxes on marijuana, a new study from the Pew Charitable Trusts urges caution when relying too much on that money.

The report released Thursday highlights the history of \”sin taxes,\” or revenue collected from things like marijuana, gambling, tobacco and alcohol.

\”Sin taxes can provide short-term revenue boosts, but because of a combination of factors, they may also drive budget challenges in the long term,\” said Mary Murphy, project director for Pew\’s state fiscal policy division. \”And relied on for ongoing commitments, (they) can create structural budget challenges.\”

State Question 788 set the tax on medical marijuana at 7 percent, which will be collected at the retail level based on the amount of money a customer spends. Other states tax product at the warehouse, and others set levies based on potency or the quantity of marijuana sold.

Tax revenue will first be used to regulate the industry. If there is a surplus of funds, 75 percent of it would be earmarked for public education and 25 percent will go to Oklahoma State Department of Health for drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs.

\”Earmarking some of this revenue for specific purposes can prevent some of these volatile revenues from being baked into general fund spending. On the other hand, earmarks have their own challenges associated with them,\” Murphy said.

For complete article https://newsok.com/article/5602042/taxes-on-cannabis-gambling-are-unreliable-study-says

 

USA: Abstinence NOT a dirty word, no matter how Pro-drug Sectors Spin it!

U.S Study: More teens saying no to substances

Melissa Jenco, News Content Editor

The rate of teens abstaining from alcohol, cigarettes and other substances is five times higher than it was four decades ago, according to a new study.

However, researchers fear those trends could change as more states legalize marijuana.

The team set out to explore nonuse among teens by analyzing nationally representative data from the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future survey. They detailed their findings in the report

“Trends in Abstaining from Substance Use in Adolescents: 1975-2014” (Levy S, et al. Pediatrics. July 19, 2018,

https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2017-3498).

In 2014, 26% of high school seniors said they had never used alcohol, tobacco, marijuana or other substances, up from 5% in 1976, according to the study. During that time, abstinence from current use increased from 23% to 52%. Lifetime and current abstinence also grew among eighth- and 10th-graders.

Alcohol was the most common substance high school seniors tried throughout the years. In 1976, only 8% had abstained compared to 34% in 2014. The increase may be due in part to the national drinking age being raised to 21 in the mid-1980s, according to the study.

More teens are abstaining from cigarette smoking as well. In 2014, about 66% said they had never smoked compared to 25% in 1976, the study found.

“The Truth Campaign was remarkably successful in shifting public perception of tobacco from glamorous to repulsive,” authors wrote.

The data showed teens who were male, black, religious or came from a two-parent household were more likely to abstain from substance use in 2014. Teens also were more likely to abstain if they did well in school, worked fewer hours at a job or spent fewer nights going out.

“Strategies that engage young people in positive activities that have successfully reduced alcohol and tobacco use may be similarly used to support campaigns promoting abstinence from all substances,” authors said.

Abstinence from marijuana has been relatively steady in recent years and only slightly higher than in 1976. Researchers expressed concern that increasing legalization could lead to increased use and said teens need more education on the dangers to their developing brains.

“Pediatricians have the opportunity and the credibility to deliver a generalized proactive prevention message that nonuse is best for adolescent health – a message that is simple to deliver and backed by our burgeoning knowledge of neuroscience and the special developmental vulnerability of adolescents to both acute and long-term morbidity and mortality associated with substance use,” authors wrote.

http://www.aappublications.org/news/2018/07/19/substanceuse071918 (cited 1/8/18)

 

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