Sabet is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and Oxford University, where he received his Doctorate in social policy as a Marshall Scholar. He is an opponent of drug legalization and has spoken on behalf of the Obama Administration on the subject. After leaving ONDCP after 2.5 years, he became a consultant and professor. Rolling Stone called him one of marijuana legalization's biggest enemies. Sabet is the president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana. He is a regular contributor to TV and print media and a blogger for the Huffington Post.
Drug policy advocacy
Sabet began his activism as a teenager, campaigning against the abolition of after-school programs sought by the libertarian-leaning Orange County school board. During his freshman year at the University of California, Berkeley, Sabet started Citizens for a Drug-Free Berkeley and worked to educate his peers on the "wave of destruction" that comes with club drugs, including MDMA. He has testified for the US Congress, Canadian Parliament, UK Parliament, and UN bodies multiple times. He provided written testimony to the U.S. Senate on cannabidiol. Sabet has written on the need for prevention, treatment, and enforcement to guide drug policy, although he has also argued for abolishing severe sentencing guidelines, like mandatory minimum laws. His articles have been published in newspapers, such as The Washington Post and The New York Times. He has argued for removing criminal penalties for low-level marijuana use, has opposed legalization while supporting continued civil penalties for use, along with mandated treatment. He supports charges for manufacturing or selling large amounts of cannabis. Through the work of SAM, Sabet has been an active voice in successful campaigns to stop marijuana legalization initiatives in Ohio, and legislative initiatives in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and other states. In New Jersey, Sabet and SAM have partnered with senators, including Senator Ronald Rice, pastors, community organizers, and other public health and safety advocates to resist Governor Phil Murphy's push to commercialize marijuana in the state. In the 2018 legislative sessions, Sabet and SAM have been active with coalitions in successful efforts to defeat marijuana legalization and commercialization bills in Illinois, New Hampshire, and Vermont. While Vermont decriminalized marijuana possession in 2013 and allowed for personal use and "home-grow" in 2018, Sabet and SAM have worked with partners to defeat outright commercialization such as seen in Colorado, California, and Washington. In North Dakota, Sabet and SAM allies campaigned against a ballot measure to legalize cannabis that was defeated. Prior to SAM's founding, Sabet wrote op-eds and spoke across the United States. Some say Sabet is arguably the most influential person in the movement against cannabis legalization in the United States. In September 2016, Sabet appeared at a forum at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, where he stated he had "props" of two bags of candy meant to emulate THC-infused candy. After the forum concluded, Sabet left both bags of candy unattended, which were subsequently stolen by a pro-legalization activist.
Books and writings
Sabet is the author of Reefer Sanity: Seven Great Myths About Marijuana, now in its second edition. Ryan Grim of the liberal The Intercept noted, "For backers of legalization, Sabet is dangerous, because he can't be easily dismissed as a reefer-madness-style propagandist. The marijuana reform community should play close attention to his arguments, and the prohibitionists, if they have any plans to reverse the tide, should do the same." Commentator David Frum wrote, "Compassionate and knowledgeable, Kevin Sabet is the most important new voice in the American drug policy debate. Policymakers, parents, and concerned citizens should heed his meticulously factual case against marijuana legalization." Sabet also co-edited Contemporary Health Issues on Marijuana, published by Oxford.
