Catholic in America
Identity politics and tribal thinking has become America's dominant paradigm. Why has the respect for genuine civic friendship and the common good waned? What are the set of moral and spiritual principles needed to reclaim or reimagine what has been lost? How do we use them to make right judgments about our world and to move forward with clarity and joy? The answer is at the heart of the Catholic faith and its social doctrine: rediscovering our common identity as children of the Father, the One who created us for love. Join Jason Adkins, host of Catholic in America, to engage our own time, culture, and political milieu with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to explore how to live more fully Catholic.
Catholic in America
The Marijuana Industry Is Lying to You with Dr. Kevin Sabet
Is marijuana really harmless? Or are we being sold a lie by a billion-dollar industry?
In this episode of Catholic in America, Jason Adkins sits down with Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former White House drug policy advisor and founder of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), to expose the truth behind Big Cannabis and its growing influence on law, culture, and public health. Together, they discuss how the marijuana industry uses tactics borrowed from Big Tobacco to promote addiction, downplay harm, and target vulnerable communities.
Dr. Sabet, a Catholic and one of the most respected drug policy experts in the country, explains what’s really happening in states like Minnesota and how Catholics can respond with both compassion and clarity.
Topics Covered:
- The myth of “harmless weed” and today’s high-potency THC products
- How legalization fuels addiction, mental illness, and youth harm
- The racial and social justice failures of marijuana commercialization
- How the marijuana industry manipulates science and messaging
- What the Church teaches about sobriety, freedom, and the dignity of the person
- Why legalization is not the same as decriminalization
- The Minnesota bishops’ bold 2024 statement on marijuana, Living in the Real
- How Catholics can advocate for human-centered, public-health-first drug policy
Dr. Sabet urges Catholics to wake up to the real costs of normalization and to take a courageous stand in favor of truth, healing, and human dignity.
Links:
- Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM): https://learnaboutsam.org/
- Kevin Sabet Bio and Books: https://kevinsabet.com/
- Minnesota Bishops’ Statement: Living in the Real (March 2024): https://www.mncatholic.org/livinginthereal
- SAM marijuana impact report detailing the harms of marijuana: SAM-impact-report-2026-2027.pdf
Jason Adkins, host of Catholic in America, engages our own time, culture, and political milieu with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to explore how to live more fully Catholic. With so much to explore, we have guests from a variety of perspectives and faith backgrounds, and conversations do not necessarily constitute endorsements.
Catholic in America is an OSVNews.com podcast partnership. Support Catholic in America by becoming a patron of the show here.
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