Since leaving his post as a senior White House drug policy adviser in 2011, Kevin Sabet has been a visible opponent of marijuana legalization, earning the ire of those who want to see weed sold alongside butts and brews in shops across the country. He has been called one of “legalization’s biggest enemies” by Rolling Stone in 2013 and “the devil himself” by High Times in 2014.
Ever unfazed, he’s explained his position in a book, Reefer Sanity: Seven Great Myths about Marijuana. Sabet is also a co-founder of Project SAM, a nonprofit organization whose goal is educating people about issues related to the use of marijuana — and opposing legalization. Sabet says SAM wants data and the medical community to guide the legalization dialogue, rather than people who merely have strong feelings.
On May 5, he’ll be on a panel for the Prevention Coalition of Mercer County’s event, “Weeding Out the Truth: A Conversation About Marijuana,” to be held at the Bart Leudeke Center Theatre at Rider University in Lawrence. To register to attend, send an email to asap@rider.edu with contact information.
Sabet says his anti-legalization stance has nothing to do with morality. He thinks we should be exploring alternatives to legalization like decriminalization because they would be better for public health.
Sabet is active on Twitter, and his tweets and retweets tend to have a strong don’t-take-drugs tilt. Still, he says that he often feels misunderstood. “A lot of people, when they hear that you’re against legalization, treat you like you’re an anti-drug crusader from 1986,” Sabet said. “I’m 36 years old. That’s not what I am. I consider myself someone who wants to get the truth out about a massive industry that will take all its cues from Big Tobacco.”
He has been living in the Princeton area for much of the past year. He spoke to the Echo by phone on March 20. The Q&A has been edited for clarity and space.
Q. Why did marijuana become an important issue for you?
A. I grew up in a community very similar to Princeton on the West Coast, in California. I saw a lot of my friends have problems with drug abuse and started researching the issue a bit.
There was this huge disconnect between what the public thought and what science said. Since then I’ve worked for 3 different administrations (Clinton, Bush 43 and Obama), got my Ph.D in public policy, and started Project SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) with former Congressman Patrick Kennedy, along with some medical leaders and other people — and here I am.
Q. You have said that when one weighs all the evidence, there are not enough compelling reasons to legalize marijuana.
A. All drug policy, all public policy, is the careful examination of costs and benefits. There is no perfect policy for everything. But what I was seeing was this false dichotomy for marijuana, that you’re either in favor of legalization or you’re against it. The alternative to legalization is not just to not legalize it. That’s where I think legalization advocates get it wrong.
Unfortunately, what has been happening recently is, these states (Colorado and Washington) are passing laws essentially rolling out the red carpet for a new tobacco industry. If marijuana becomes legal throughout the U.S., we will have another industry that takes its cues from Big Tobacco.
I could care less if the ex-hippie or old academic in Princeton is smoking a joint in the basement. What I’m saying is, do we really want another industry like Big Tobacco living off addiction for profit?
Q. How did you come to focus on seven core misconceptions for your book, Reefer Sanity?
A. One reason I wrote the book is because I can understand why people might think the government is not telling the truth about marijuana. There was a tendency in the past to demonize marijuana, to overdescribe its problems. But the research I’m quoting and using is well established in the scientific world.
Science says unequivocally, if you try marijuana when you’re under the age of 16, you have a one in six chance of the use becoming habitual. If you’re a heavy user, you have a significant change of suffering an eight-point reduction IQ. It doesn’t happen to everyone, but there’s a chance. Certainly kids don’t really understand that, or don’t believe it, or think they’re being lied to.
A lot of people, like in the area where we live, just think, well all their friends were on pot and they’re OK now. They think that’s the norm for everybody. But research is showing the majority of marijuana is being used by those who don’t have the educational background that those around here have. Add marijuana to the mix for someone who is already going to have trouble being successful and it makes it even harder.
Q. There are some valid medical uses for THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. Does that cloud the issue?
A. Look, opium has medical properties, but we wouldn’t smoke opium to get the effect or morphine, would we? We need to do more research on nonsmoked components of marijuana. Legal remedies should have to pass some kind of test, and that should be more than just what the public thinks. We know that most people who use marijuana medically are not people suffering from cancer or AIDS. Most are people complaining of lower back pain so that they can get joints legally. Let’s make it actually a medication, by doing science.
Q. It seems in many communities that the legalization vs. decriminalization debate is not well understood. But what is your position on this issue?
A. I don’t like using these terms because we don’t even know what they mean. What we try to say is we don’t want criminal penalties for low level use, we don’t want criminal records used against people seeking employment, we don’t want people languishing in jail for low level use. We want treatment and prevention.
Q. When you speak to young people at the event May 3, what sort of questions do you expect them to ask you?
A. When I talk to young people, everybody raises their hand when you ask them if tobacco is harmful, and about a third raise their hand when you ask about marijuana. There is some amazing misinformation out there.
I’m sure be asked questions about marijuana’s harmful effects and really what’s government’s role in suppressing information that might be positive about marijuana. I have to tell you, the questions I get from young people are usually more astute than the questions I get from adults.
