Resources for anyone:
AALM (Americans Against Legalizing Marijuana): excellent up to date resources including video testimonies.
“Chronic State” documentary (2019): this one of the best short films created that touches on almost every aspect of marijuana legalization.
CIVEL (Cannabis Industry Victims Educating Litigators): legal organization seeking to hold the marijuana / cannabis industry accountable for their part in destroying a multitude of lives.
The Drug Report: packed full of up-to-date information; sign up for their weekly updates.
Every Brain Matters: online community led by families negatively affected by industrialized marijuana.
Johnny’s Ambassadors: saving our youth from the harms of THC.
Mom’s Strong: amazing group of ladies dedicated to telling the truth about the harms of legalization.
The NMI: the National Marijuana Initiative working to educate the public of the detrimental effects of legalization.
Prager U: watch this short 5-minute video “What’s Wrong with Marijuana?” with Dr. Drew Pinsky.
Smart Approaches to Marijuana (S.A.M.): excellent resources from the largest national anti-legalization group.
Smokescreen: “What the Marijuana Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know” (book, 2021) by Dr. Kevin Sabet of S.A.M.
Tea on THC: organization funded by the Colorado School of Public Health which highlights the negative impact of marijuana on individuals, families, pregnant mothers and society as a whole.
Resources for parents:
CBN News: (videos) today’s super-strong marijuana is causing mental health problems and addictions.
Daily Citizen: “Parents, it’s time to tackle the marijuana myths.”
JAMA Pediatric: Oct. 2024 meta-analyses study showing that cannabis use during adolescence and young adulthood has: 39% higher likelihood of earning lower school grades and
50% reduced likelihood of earning a high school diploma
28% lower likelihood of attending college or university
31% lower likelihood of earning a college degree
More than twice the likelihood of dropping out of high school
More than twice the likelihood of school absenteeism
Smart Approaches to Marijuana (S.A.M): excellent resources for every topic regarding marijuana and families, etc.
Parent Action Network (P.A.N.): part of the S.A.M. organization specifically focused on equipping parents and families.
Parents Opposed to Pot (Poppot.org): excellent timely news articles on the hype of marijuana.
Science News: the teen brain is susceptible to harms of THC.
Resources for Pastors, Youth Pastors and church leaders:
We hope that pastors and church leaders will start to courageously talk about this matter with their staff, youth leaders and congregations.
There is so much power in the pulpits of our good churches and most people in these congregations want our leaders to help us navigate these troubled days with facts and truth.
Please don’t think that this battle is about politics alone; this is a battle for the minds, bodies and souls of our neighbors.
We are called to love God with all and love our neighbors as we love ourselves. The Church’s silence on this will allow destruction in our state and that is not love.
Organizations and ministries helping teach a Biblical worldview:
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF): legal organization protecting the Church and its congregants from litigation.
American Family Association (AFA.net): multi-faceted national organization equipping the local church to navigate the culture.
Barna.com: the George Barna group which contains excellent news, statistics and surveys about the American people with an emphasis on church related ideals.
CBN News: excellent videos and resources on the detrimental effects of marijuana.
Coral Ridge Ministries: “A Christian Dereliction of Duty” (video 7/19/24) by Pastor Rob Pacienza.
Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC.com): from the Southern Baptist Convention, bringing the teaching of God’s Word and principles of wisdom to bear on the public policy issues of our day.
Family Research Foundation (FRC.org): para-church ministry helping to defend and promote the Church’s voice in these chaotic days.
Focus on the Family: excellent resources to truly build strong healthy families in the U.S. and around the world.
Heritage Foundation: a national conservative think-tank having resources to preserve the rich foundation of America’s heritage.
Salt and Light Council: why you should start a Salt & Light group in your church.
Smart Approaches to Marijuana (S.A.M.): excellent resources based on facts and science, not hype and hysteria.
Summit Ministries (Summit.org): teaching the next generation real Biblical values to enhance a godly worldview of life and purpose.
The Public Discourse: a journal of the Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, NJ. Their authors are committed to the “idea that truth exists, is knowable and should inform our politics and culture.”
Washington Stand (FRC News): excellent, relevant and timely news updates regarding issues affecting the Church here and abroad.
Charles G. Finney:
“Brethren, our preaching will bear its legitimate fruits. If immorality prevails in the land, the fault is ours in a great degree. If there is a decay of conscience, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the public press lacks moral discrimination, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the Church is degenerate and worldly, the pulpit is responsible for it. If the world loses its interest in religion, the pulpit is responsible for it. If Satan rules in our halls of legislation, the pulpit is responsible for it. If our politics become so corrupt that the very foundations of our government are ready to fall away, the pulpit is responsible for it. Let us not ignore this fact, my dear brethren; but let us lay it to heart, and be thoroughly awake to our responsibility in respect to the morals of this nation.”
As recorded in his Memoirs, Charles Finney wrote: "The time has come for Christians to vote for honest men, and take consistent ground in politics or the Lord will curse them .... Politics are a part of a religion in such a country as this, and Christians must do their duty to their country as a part of their duty to God ... God will bless or curse this nation according to the course Christians take in politics."
Videos to watch:
CBN News: “Very high, very fast” video on the dangers of vaping marijuana/ THC.
Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) video: “Religious Liberty”
Family Research Council (FRC.org): “The pandemonium of politics: should Christians really engage in it?”
Pastor John Amanchukwu: “Now is the time for the Church to wake up.”
Resources for business owners and business leaders:
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER): routine drug-testing is not discriminatory; it actually increases black employment.
Smart Approaches to Marijuana (S.A.M.): excellent resources for your business and employees.
S.A.M.: a coalition of organizations and business leaders are urging lawmakers to oppose marijuana legalization.
S.A.M.: new study highlights massive increase in workplace marijuana positivity rates.
Who are the big players and names in the marijuana industry?
(from the book Smokescreen: What the Marijuana Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know (2021) by Dr. Kevin Sabet.
Altria: otherwise known as Philip Morris of Marlboro cigarettes, has made multiple deals with marijuana companies such as purchasing 45% of the Cronos Group, the largest marijuana company in Canada. They also purchased 35% of Juul the e-cig and vaping maker at $13 billion. In 2014 Altria purchased Florida-based Green Smoke, a vaping manufacturer with crossover to marijuana (p. 49). As far back as the 1970s, big tobacco brands such as Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds and British American Tobacco were exploring the ideas of manufacturing marijuana cigarettes (p. 123).
NORML: the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws, founded by Keith Stroup in the 1970s. His interview in 1979 with a student newspaper at Emory University laid out the industry’s long-term strategy to normalize marijuana use and legalization (p. 123). His most notable quote was “we will use ‘medical’ marijuana as a red herring to give marijuana a good name.”
Wine and Spirit Wholesalers of America: working with the marijuana industry (p. 50).
Constellation Brands: producer of Corona Beers, recently invested $billions in Canopy, a major Canadian marijuana company (p.50).
Imperial Brands: tobacco giant of Winston cigarettes, makes equity investment in a British marijuana company (p. 50).
Scotts Miracle-Gro: has been spending $billions to purchase ancillary pot businesses such as grow lights and hydroponic equipment (p. 51).
Celebrities such as: Jonah Hill, Whoopie Goldberg, Snoop Dog, Kevin Durant, Willie Nelson and many others are advocates of legalization (p. 58).
American Vaping Association: along with Altria, Philip Morris International and Reynolds American, Inc. are funding various media and journalism organizations such as The Influence Foundation, Inc. to push the legalization effort (p. 58).
Marijuana Policy Project and Drug Policy Alliance and Students for Sensible Drug Policy: all wings of the marijuana industry working non-stop to normalize marijuana consumption and distribution (p. 59).
Big Marijuana in the U.K.: investigative journalist Jonathan Gornall has written extensively on the influence of tobacco companies’ money on the marijuana industry in the U.K. (p. 63). See this link at the British Medical Journal.
Peter Lewis: original owner and founder of the multi-billion $ insurance company Progressive Insurance, was a big marijuana legalization proponent. He helped create the Brookings Institute, a libertarian think-tank with a firm focus on marijuana legalization across the U.S. (p.64-65).
Other stakeholders in the marijuana / cannabis industry:
Trades associations and lobbying firms have a huge stake in this business…
CANN-RA: cannabis regulatory association.
Drug Report (6/2024): read this report on these associations and lobbyists.
Food Safety News: FDA is suing at least two companies over false claims that their Delta-8 THC gummies “reduce pain and inflammation.”
