Washington, DC—Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) calls on US Attorney General Todd Blanche and DEA officials to answer whether they will still buy and sell “medical” marijuana after new reports broke that alleged University of South Florida killer Hisham Abugharbieh had long suffered significant mental-health and behavioral issues related to the drug—resulting in an arrest for violent attacks on family members years ago.
“Reports have now broken that Hisham Abugharbieh, suspected of murdering University of South Florida students Zamil Limon and Nahida Bristy, suffered severe mental-health issues from using marijuana, including so-called ‘medical’ marijuana, that resulted in violence years ago,” said SAM CEO Kevin Sabet. “This is a tragedy for Florida and for America. It leaves all of us searching for answers because we know that these tragedies can be averted. Reams of data show that marijuana has no medical use and drives psychosis and schizophrenia; the drug shows up in story after story about senseless violence. There’s no more damning testimony than what someone in Hisham’s own family said: ‘Hisham used to be a cool guy, a supportive and helpful eldest son, until he started smoking cannabis, especially medical marijuana. It turned him mentally ill. . . . We lost Hisham as a normal family member.'”
“As part of that search for answers, SAM now calls on Attorney General Blanche and the DEA with a simple question. Given what we now know about this tragedy, will the federal government still be working as dealers of the very same products that helped cause it—as is required by General Blanche’s recent rescheduling order?”
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