“You always seem to hear people say that marijuana is a safe drug because no one has ever died from using it. I’m here to tell you that is simply not true. My 31-year-old son Andy died by suicide one year ago this month in Peoria, AZ, leaving a note that ended with these words: ‘My soul is already dead. Marijuana Killed my soul + ruined my brain.'”
To read more about this story, please visit our testimonial page HERE
Marijuana Legalization Will Cost Taxpayers
Links to an increase in schizophrenia alone could wipe out any revenues from legalized pot, new study says
To learn more, click to read the:
Press Release
Executive Summary
Marijuana Use and the Cost of Increased Schizophrenia
Latest Research Linking Marijuana and Opiates
Dr. Bertha Madras, PhD, Harvard Univeristy
View the video presentation: Dr. Bertha Madras
Want to be a member? It doesn’t cost a thing to get our e-newsletter…
But if you’d like to donate too, you can do that here:
“I think the public health burden for the state of Vermont is going to increase, and the tax revenues eventually will be far less than the cost to the state.”
~Dr. Bertha Madras, Harvard Medical School neuroscientist.
” I have a lot of thoughts about marijuana. I certainly think it should be decriminalized. But i’ve always said that if it is legalized, it will be advertised —there’s just no way to stop this (at least not with the current Supreme Court). And then we’ll see a huge increase in use and abuse and resulting problems.”
~Jean Kilbourne, Ed.D.
“It’s the daily and the near daily users that account for about 80% of all your marijuana expenditures, so the for-profit companies can be expected to focus on creating and maintaining these heavy users. Dependence is good the bottom line of these companies…. With our commercial free speech doctrine, it makes it very hard to restrict advertising and marketing.”
~Beau Kilmer, RAND Corporation
Gina Carbone, founding member of Smart Colorado, became involved with Colorado’s marijuana policy when she was selected to serve on a working group for Governor Hickenlooper’s Amendment 64 Task Force as an advocate for youth, public health, and safety. She has advocated for and was involved in several key legislative initiatives related to marijuana policy during the 2013 and 2014 legislative sessions. Here is what she had to say on marijuana legalization in Colorado: “We were told it was going to be tightly regulated. It would not be in the hands of our kids, we would get rid of the black market and, unfortunately, those things aren’t true. That has not come to fruition in Colorado.” According to Carbone, marijuana in Colorado is now commercialized, accessible, and confusing to kids.”
SAM-VT is a statewide coalition of Vermonters – parents, grandparents, young people, senior citizens and other concerned adults. We represent diverse backgrounds including drug & alcohol prevention, youth services, education, health care, law enforcement, mental health and business leaders. We agree that marijuana legalization poses a threat to Vermont’s health, economy, youth, education, highway safety and work force.
New Report: Legal Marijuana Having Deadly Impact in Colorado
Colorado HIDTA report highlights increases in marijuana-related traffic fatalities and marijuana used by kids. Read the full report here.
Health Impact Assessment from the Vermont Department of Health
Executive Summary:
The Vermont Department of Health and key stakeholders conducted this Health Impact Assessment of the possible effects that could result from regulating and taxing adult marijuana use on the health of Vermonters. Read the full report here.
Featured Review: The Other Side of Cannabis
A review from Parents Against Pot on the film The Other Side of Cannabis, a candid documentary film from a mother’s attempt to understand her son’s psychotic break can be found here.
The power of the film’s message comes from the way filmmaker Jody Belsher intersperses a variety of viewpoints: high school students in treatment, professional counselors, parents of all ages, medical professionals, people in recovery and even life-long addicts. Also included in the mix is a 34-year old homeless man who started using at age 10, a man who lost his family and woman who feels she lost her life from the twenties to the forties. Testimonies of young and old and from 4 regions of the country are covered: Boston, Chicago, Boulder, Colorado, and central California.
SAM-VERMONT, Inc. Registered with the State of Vermont.