Header Image: Dr. Kevin Sabet
Yes this is one of the must read pieces of the week.
If you’ve been keeping up with discussions around cannabis legalization, you’ll have undoubtedly heard of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM).
They’re an advocacy group run by Dr. Kevin Sabet, an ex-government advisor for Clinton, Bush, and Obama, and they’ve been central to the anti-legalization movement over recent years.
But the organization raises a lot of questions.
They advocate for a “smart” approach, but you’d be forgiven for thinking they’re actually pushing for continued prohibition, given their broad opposition to both recreational and medical cannabis.
But what is really going on? Is SAM an anti-cannabis group trying to position themselves as an “alternative” when they actually support the status quo, or are they genuine reformers with a goal beyond reversing cannabis legalization?
We’ve taken an in-depth look at SAM, who they are, and what they do to find out.
Smart Approaches to Marijuana Is Opposed to Legalization, But Why?
The main position that Smart Approaches to Marijuana advocates is opposition to the commercial legalization of cannabis. They have many reasons for this, but the main ones are:
Preventing another Big Tobacco:
- This is their tagline. They are concerned that the commercialization of cannabis will lead to “Big Marijuana,” or in fact that this is already happening.
- They say the only people who benefit from this are a small number of investors, and eagerly point out investment in the cannabis industry by Big Tobacco themselves.
Legalizing encourages youth use:
- SAM points to many data points suggesting that youth use has increased as a result of legalization.
- Their talking points document argues that Colorado has the top “ranking” for first-time cannabis use among youth, that the top states for cannabis use all have ”relaxed laws” and that cannabis-related ER visits by Colorado teens have increased since legalization.
It’s bad for minorities:
- They argue that “more minority kids are being arrested in Colorado for pot since legalization.”
- They point to the racial disparities in arrests in Colorado and Washington without pointing out that the disparity is much lower in legal states in general and those two states specifically are among the most racially-equitable for arrests in the country.
- Colorado is the lowest and Washington is only beaten by other states that have legalized or decriminalized.
Black markets still exist:
Read more
https://cbdoracle.com/news/smart-approaches-to-marijuana-hidden-agenda/
