Kevin Sabet doesn’t just want you to think twice about marijuana. He wants you to rewire how you think about the entire marijuana industry.
Sabet sat down this week with NHJournal‘s Michael Graham to talk about what he sees as the next public health crisis: legal weed.
And he’s got a warning for New Hampshire, which stands as a rare holdout in New England’s wave of marijuana legalization: “You’re actually ahead of the curve.”
“It’s Not Your Woodstock Weed Anymore”
Sabet opened the conversation with a broader reality check: America’s drug crisis is more complicated than fentanyl. He flagged a growing list of under-the-radar substances—Delta-8, kratom, “gas station heroin”—and pointed to a key trend: “Today’s marijuana is not the same drug it used to be.”
“It’s much more potent. It’s causing psychosis, increasing suicide rates, and driving mental health issues—especially among young people who think it’s medicine.”
Legalization vs. Commercialization
The conversation’s turning point came when Graham—himself a lifelong abstainer—posed a practical challenge: if anyone can get weed, especially legal weed, already, what’s the point of fighting legalization?
Sabet’s answer: access isn’t the same thing as normalization.
“There’s a difference between something being illegal and something being everywhere—on billboards, next to schools, in gummies that look like candy.”
He points to New York, where he lives, and where post-legalization has meant walking through clouds of secondhand smoke. “You get a contact high just walking down the street.”
In his view, the real harm comes not from isolated use, but from opening the gates to a profit-driven industry bent on addiction:
“Like Big Tobacco, they’re not banking on moderate users. They need heavy users. Addicted users. That’s where the money is.”
The Myth of Marijuana Revenue
Sabet went on to tackle the “green rush” myth head-on:
“States are getting less than 0.5% of their budgets from marijuana revenue. It’s not saving public education. It’s not fixing transit. It’s funding pet projects.”
And the costs? Emergency room visits, poison control calls, increased traffic accidents, workplace impairment, and mental health fallout.
“In Colorado, all the pot revenue wouldn’t even cover 2% of the costs they’re incurring.”
“Drive High, Crash High”
Sabet laid out some hard numbers. In Colorado, youth ER visits from edibles are up 400%. Similar patterns show up in Massachusetts, Maine, and California. He acknowledged that the total harms still trail alcohol—but noted that marijuana-related incidents are rising fast, particularly in combination with alcohol.
“We’re seeing polysubstance impairment—weed and alcohol together—which makes driving even more dangerous.”
Can You Reform Without Legalization?
For critics who say prohibition puts people in prison, Sabet offered a sharp distinction:
“Very, very few people are locked up for simple marijuana possession. And when it does happen, there’s usually another charge involved.”
SAM supports decriminalization and expungement for low-level offenses. But commercialization, he argues, is a whole different beast.
So What Should New Hampshire Do?
Sabet praised the Granite State for its restraint, saying it’s avoiding not just crime, but costs: more ER visits, more youth exposure, and declining educational outcomes.
Should legalization come to pass, however, there should be measures in place to thwart a marijuana bonanza. He recommends some non-negotiables:
- Ban advertising
- Cap THC potency
- Prohibit public consumption
- Limit child-targeted products
- Enforce strong local control
- Dedicate tax revenue to prevention and treatment
Is There a Way Back?
Can we return to a world where weed is neither criminalized nor commercialized? Graham asked if we’ve entered the “post-shame society”—a cultural point of no return. Sabet acknowledged the shift but believes there’s still hope:
“We woke up to Big Tobacco’s lies. I think we’ll wake up here, too. Parents are noticing. ER doctors are speaking out. The data’s getting clearer.”
He’s not banking on a full rollback, but a cultural course correction. That, he says, will require something unfashionable: investment in prevention, youth education, and public health.
You can listen to the full podcast here.
This content was created with assistance from generative AI.