All posts by editor

Politics, Video

New marijuana legalization bill and new shareable video

We have a video explaining the bill that Senator Chuck Schumer introduced this morning to federally legalize marijuana.

This bill works against child welfare, public health and public safety; it ignores the science on today’s marijuana.  It’s a cynical ploy to get young voters who’ve been led to believe that marijuana is harmless.

We ask our followers to write your senators and state legislators to oppose this bill, using the attached link. : https://www.votervoice.net/SAM/campaigns/96399/respond

Every Brain Matters which made the video, provides a shareable link from the  Every Brain Matters Facebook page,   https://www.facebook.com/EveryBrainMatt/videos/778607759826803

 

Featured, Medical Documentation

Secondhand Smoke from Marijuana Worse than Cigarettes

The toxic air quality from the secondhand smoke of cannabis became so bad that a group of citizens banded together last year to form Breathe Free Oregon.  Oregon legalized marijuana, which is interchangeable with the term cannabis, in 2015. The group posts important blog articles on their website, and the most recent science backs up their findings. 

According to a brand-new study, secondhand marijuana smoke from a bong is even more dangerous than cigarette smoke. The first-of-its-kind study, which was just published in JAMA Open Network, found that secondhand marijuana bong smoke contains four times as many toxic air pollutants as smoke from tobacco cigarettes.

In fact, after just 15 minutes of bong smoking, the level of toxins in the air is more than double the Environmental Protection Agency’s hazardous air quality threshold. Continue reading Secondhand Smoke from Marijuana Worse than Cigarettes →

Parents, Pregnancy/Breastfeeding

Marijuana use by parents may increase chances of having autistic children

True or false — are people who use a lot of marijuana more likely to have children with autism?  Recent scientific studies suggest that the link between parent pot use and autistic children is much more than urban legend!

As more states legalize, more Americans support the legalization of marijuana, rushing to be at the forefront of social change.  Autism is also a hot topic, because rates of autism in the United States spiked in recent years.  We caution politicians and voters not to leap into legalization without a thorough study of the issue.  Do not disregard studies that link parental pot use to autism.

The science suggests that mothers who use marijuana while pregnant and fathers who are heavy users before their partners’ pregnancy put their future kids at risk. They’re more likely to have children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Continue reading Marijuana use by parents may increase chances of having autistic children →

Teens

SAM issues rebuttal to CPEAR Paper

Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) issued the following rebuttal to a paper by CPEAR, a group pushing nationwide legalization. The paper argues that youth marijuana usage does not go up after state legalization. We maintain that the fallout from high potency THC products on the teens’ use is the real issue. Several legalization states are now addressing the potency issues.

A new policy paper released on March 16, 2022 by the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education, and Regulation (CPEAR), funded by Molson Coors, Altria (Philip Morris), private cash and other companies is highly flawed and does not advance the discourse on the effect of state marijuana laws on youth marijuana use.

The alcohol and tobacco industry-backed industry group CPEAR is a regulatory-focused group that is partnered with and funded by industries that directly benefit from the legalization of marijuana. Some of their partner groups include: Altria, Molson Coors, and security, insurance, and convenience store associations.1 Their mission is to legalize marijuana nationally.

Summary

CPEAR’s assertion that marijuana legalization is not tied to increases in youth marijuana use is not supported by their evidence lumping all states together and looking at a national number—and several states have shown increases in youth use since legalization. Continue reading SAM issues rebuttal to CPEAR Paper →