Tag Archives: Kevin Sabet

Drug Policy, Informational, Other States

New Yorkers Oppose Marijuana Legalization; Minorities Overwhelmingly So

According to the pro-marijuana lobby the U.S. is on the fast track to legalization nationwide. A new study refutes this claim outright, citing evidence from African-American and Latino New York registered voters. Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and their New York Affiliate, SAM-NY, today released the results of a Emerson College poll conducted to gauge the public opinion of marijuana policy. The results are telling and marijuana legalization is hitting a roadblock:

  • 76 percent of respondents did not support marijuana advertising
  • 73 percent did not support public use of marijuana
  • 58 percent did not support marijuana stores in their neighborhoods
  • Half of New Yorkers are against marijuana candies, gummies, cookies and other edibles
  • Minority communities overwhelmingly opposed the full-scale legalization. Only 22 percent of Latinos and 24 percent of African Americans support legalization

“New Yorkers do not support pot legalization. This poll shows us that elected officials need to slow down,” said Dr. Kevin Sabet, founder and president of SAM Action. “This poll shows similar results to our poll of New York voters in December — legalization is far from a slam dunk. One of the crucial takeaways from this is that minority communities are firmly opposed to legalization. And they should be — pot arrests for African American and Latino youth have gone up since legalization in Colorado. Pot shops are always predominately in lower income neighborhoods.”

To read the full poll — methodology, results, demographics, survey instrument — click here. And check out the full press release here: more-than-half…-college-poll

California

SAM Criticizes California Cannabis Business Conference

SAM Defends Neighborhoods

Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), the leading U.S. non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to advancing evidence-based marijuana policy, criticized the California Cannabis Business Conference for fueling the rise of special interest groups that undermine public health and safety regulations in California.

Even though several under-served California neighborhoods have called for a ban on commercial pot shops in recent months, the California Cannabis Business Conference will host pot lobbyists and executives for a two-day industry event focused on for-profit marketing opportunities. The conference takes place September 21-22 in Anaheim. Continue reading SAM Criticizes California Cannabis Business Conference →

Colorado, Drug Policy, News Articles

Youth Marijuana Use High and Colorado Leads Nation

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Californians, please think.  Our children can’t afford the explosive  growth in marijuana use that comes with legitimizing and legalizing the powerful drug.   We will not support the marijuana legalization proposition advocated by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, and paid for by east coast billionaire Sean Parker.

The most comprehensive federal government drug use survey conducted in all 50 states (and the District of Columbia) shows that Colorado now leads the country in past-month youth marijuana use, after legalizing marijuana in 2012. The state claims this dubious distinction after being in third place in the 2012-2013 report, and in fourth place in the 2011-2012 study.

“Now that Colorado has legalized and widely commercialized marijuana, their children use marijuana regularly more than children in any other state,” according to Dr. Kevin Sabet, President of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) a former White House drug adviser who grew up in California.   Project SAM will work actively against the proposition in California next year.

“In Colorado especially, Big Marijuana has been allowed to run wild, and it appears that kids are paying the price more than in any other state in the country.”

Other states that have legalized marijuana finished in the top six:  the District of Columbia (4th), Oregon (5th), and Washington state (6th).  Vermont and Rhode Island are also in the mix.

Youth Pot Users Includes 6 Percent of 12th Graders who are Daily Users

“This year’s survey shows how, in an era of falling overall drug,
cigarette, and alcohol use — an achievement made possible by years of effort and millions of dollars of public funding — marijuana use among kids remains strong,” remarked Dr. Sabet.

“It may also be why daily marijuana use is at near-record levels.
And this doesn’t even include teens not going to school.” Moreover, this year’s survey may underestimate minors’ marijuana use. Of most concern is its exclusive focus on use of “marijuana/hashish.” The term is not well-defined given the explosion of novel marijuana products. The survey showed that kids in “medical marijuana” states use far more edible products than kids not in those states.

That narrow focus may also exclude highly concentrated products such as butane hash oil (BHO), waxes, and resins (“shatter”), which have also gained in popularity. It therefore remains unclear whether survey respondents identified use of all of the above products as
“marijuana/hashish” use.  These products are very popular in California.

The survey also excludes high school dropouts, who are more likely to use marijuana than their peers.   Teens who smoke pot daily are much more likely to drop out of high school and/or college.