Category Archives: Drug Policy

SAM Joins Forces with NAADAC

Kevin Sabet,Smart Approaches to Marijuana Hold Key to Solving Addiction Crisis

Most of the young people who overdose from drugs began their illicit drug usage with marijuana, according to government statistics which have quoted it at 71%.  Parents Opposed to Pot receives anecdotal evidence suggesting this pattern over and over.  Some teens develop marijuana addiction, but marijuana is also a gateway drug for many other people who become addicted to cocaine, heroin, opiates and other drugs.

Facing our nation’s growth in drug addiction, NAADAC, the Association for Addiction Professionals, and SAM, Smart Approaches to Marijuana, announced a new strategic partnership on August 25.   SAM, an alliance of organizations and individuals Continue reading SAM Joins Forces with NAADAC

The War on Drugs is Defense of Our Brains

defenseofourbrains
A man in Gotland, Sweden, proudly wears his drug-free motto, a quotation from Harvard psychiatrist Dr. Bertha K. Madras.

It’s not a war on drugs . It is a defense of our brains.

Letting massive numbers of children and young people to fall into drug addiction, as we are doing today, is an outrage. Nearly all those who die of drug overdose began their drug usage with marijuana.  How many more millennials will we allow to die by drugs and addiction, while we continue to lack good drug education? Continue reading The War on Drugs is Defense of Our Brains

How to End America’s Drug Overdose Death Crisis

Nearly all young people who die of drug overdose begin their drug use with marijuana. A national policy based on harm reduction will never be nearly as effective as a policy based on drug prevention. We support addiction treatment, but admit there is no guarantee of success.

Yesterday a coalition of national groups ran an ad in the Washington Times calling for enforcement of federal marijuana laws, as a step to end the national crisis of drug overdose deaths.  The ad was sponsored by the National Institute of Citizen Anti-drug Policy (NICAP)  Below is most of the full page ad:

“There is virtually no one in America today who does not personally know of a drug-related tragedy among their Continue reading How to End America’s Drug Overdose Death Crisis

Legalization is not Inevitable

Marijuana is Not Winning in Court or in the State Governments

1) Responsible Ohio had put together investors to get marijuana on the ballot in 2015. Secretary of State is not accepting the signatures and that there will not be enough signatures by the deadline: “ResponsibleOhio raised nearly $1.7 million during the first half of the year from investors with a stake in the marijuana growing sites outlined in its proposed constitutional amendment. Almost all donations from the entities were for $50,000 or more,” according to an article in the Cannabist.  Many signatures were not legitimate. 

2) In California, a Northern California appeals court ruled that marijuana businesses cannot deduct business expenses on their tax returns.

3) Journal of the American Medical Association  (JAMA) published a major study to say Medical Marijuana would not meet the requirements of FDA approval. Continue reading Legalization is not Inevitable