Federal Agency Gives Anti-Marijuana Group a Platform to Make Claims About Legalization’s Impact That Aren’t Supported by Data
A federal health agency is drawing criticism after giving a leading prohibitionist organization a national stage to present arguments against marijuana reform that diverge from much of the available data.
On Monday, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) hosted a webinar focused on cannabis trends and youth prevention. The featured guest was Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), one of the nation’s most prominent anti-legalization groups.
The event, billed as an exploration of “cannabis-related emergency incidents” and the “potential negative impacts of state legalization,” leaned heavily toward a prohibitionist framing. It offered little space for perspectives acknowledging evidence that challenges SAM’s narrative.
Federal Platform for a Prohibitionist Voice
The session opened with remarks from Rear Admiral Christopher Jones, director of SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, who spoke about what he described as an “upward trajectory” of cannabis use nationally. While he acknowledged that youth usage rates have stayed relatively flat as more states legalized adult use, the event did not address research linking regulated markets to declines in underage access.
Notably, a question on this point submitted during the webinar went unanswered.
Sabet, in his remarks, accused legalization advocates of “cherry picking” data to argue that youth consumption hasn’t risen in states with legal markets. He claimed that presenting declines in teen use was “almost impossible” without manipulating numbers, despite multiple independent surveys indicating otherwise.
Data Gaps and Unaddressed Context
SAMHSA itself has published data this summer showing that youth cannabis consumption has largely held steady as legalization has spread. In July, the agency even hosted a Johns Hopkins University researcher who confirmed that while adult use has increased, youth use has remained flat or declined.
Outside studies reinforce this picture. A recent report from the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) found youth cannabis use declined in 19 out of 21 states that legalized, with an average 35 percent drop in the earliest adopters. Data sources included state surveys and the federal Monitoring the Future (MTF) study, supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
Yet these findings received little attention in Monday’s discussion. Instead, the event highlighted claims that legalization fuels illicit markets and enables transnational crime. Sabet alleged that organized crime groups and even foreign governments, including China, are involved in marijuana production despite state-level reforms.
Presentation Raises Questions About Framing
At one point, SAMHSA displayed a slide about “deaths involving cannabis,” citing more than 45 deaths per 100,000 people in 2023. While the data did not suggest cannabis was the direct cause of death, the framing left the impression of marijuana-related mortality—a theme consistent with the overall tone of the webinar.
Sabet further argued that legalization had failed to significantly reduce the illicit market, contradicting assessments from organizations like the United Nations. A 2024 UN report credited legalization in the U.S. and Canada with shrinking illegal markets and reducing arrests for cannabis offenses.
Research also indicates that when municipalities ban licensed cannabis shops within legal states, illicit markets persist—an outcome driven more by local restrictions than by legalization itself.
Policy Backdrop and Political Timing
The webinar comes as the Biden administration weighs a landmark proposal to reschedule cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. While the change would not federally legalize marijuana, it would ease restrictions on research and allow prescriptions under certain conditions.
SAM has been actively campaigning against the proposal. The group recently organized letters with congressional allies urging the Justice Department to block the rescheduling effort, framing it as “corrupt and flawed.” In partnership with other prohibitionist groups, SAM has also urged President Donald Trump to oppose the change outright.
Meanwhile, Trump recently signed an executive order directing federal agencies to avoid funding harm reduction initiatives such as safe consumption sites. Critics argue the move undermines evidence-based strategies for addressing drug use.
Critics Question Federal Role
The decision by SAMHSA to feature SAM has raised concerns among reform advocates, who argue that the agency gave legitimacy to claims inconsistent with its own data. They see the move as part of a broader pattern of federal resistance to reform efforts even as public opinion and state laws increasingly favor legalization.
With marijuana policy at a pivotal moment, the choice of messaging from a federal health agency could have significant influence on public perception and future debates in Congress. Whether the event reflects an isolated programming decision or signals a deeper shift in federal posture toward cannabis remains to be seen.
For now, critics warn that giving a government-backed platform to anti-reform advocates risks overshadowing the growing body of evidence supporting more nuanced approaches to cannabis policy.
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