Smart Approaches to Marijuana

Smart Approaches to Marijuana

Abbreviation	SAM
Formation	January 1, 2013;12 years ago (2013-01-01)
Founders	Patrick Kennedy and Kevin Sabet [1]
Type	501(c)(3) nonprofit [2]
Headquarters	Alexandria, Va. [2] New York, NY
Region served	US, International
President and CEO	Kevin Sabet, PhD [1]
Executive Vice President	Luke Niforatos
Vice President of Federal Affairs	Garth Van Meter
Key people	David Frum, Barry McCaffrey
Affiliations	SAM Action, a 501(c)(4) [2]
Budget	$2M
Staff	20+ [2]
Volunteers	100+
Website	learnaboutsam.org

Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM, Inc.) is an American political organization opposed to marijuana legalization and commercialization.

History and background

SAM was founded in 2013, by former Congressman Patrick Kennedy and White House advisor Kevin Sabet. ^{[3] [4]}

Funding

SAM says it is mostly funded by small donors, and by grants. ^[1] Kevin Sabet said none of the organization's funding comes from corporations or opiate manufacturers. ^[5]

International branches

• Smart Approaches to Marijuana Canada (SAMC) ^[6]
• Smart Approaches to Marijuana New Zealand (Say Nope to Dope) ^[7]

See also

• Arguments for and against drug prohibition
• Decriminalization of marijuana in the United States

References

1. Michael Roberts (14 August 2017). "Meet Kevin Sabet, USA's Most Influential Critic of Marijuana Legalization". Westword. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
2. "Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) Biography". ProCon.org. 10 July 2017. Archived from the original on 5 January 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
3. "Patrick Kennedy's SAM pot-health campaign lands in Denver". The Denver Post. 2013-01-10. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
4. This Election, a Divided America Stands United on One Topic
5. Keegan Hamilton (26 October 2016). "Here's who's bankrolling the fight against legal marijuana". Vice News. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
6. Travis Lupick (17 June 2015). "Anti-pot group Smart Approaches to Marijuana Canada looks at legal challenges". Georgia Straight. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
7. "SAM-NZ (Smart Approaches to Marijuana NZ) - Position Statement". 7 June 2020.