January 6, 2026 • 35 mins
Luke Niforatos lends his expertise to Dan's program on the dire mental and physical health effects of today's high-potency marijuana products - found in the form of 'dabs' (wax) and edibles, as well as traditional leaf marijuana for smoking.
George Brauchler, 23rd District Attorney calls in with an update on child victims of trafficking and prostitution in Colorado.
George Brauchler, 23rd District Attorney calls in with an update on child victims of trafficking and prostitution in Colorado.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Dan Caplis and welcome to today's online podcast
edition of The Dan Caplis Show. Please be sure to
give us a five star rating if you'd be so kind,
and to subscribe, download and listen to the show every
single day on your favorite podcast platform.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Well, it is the American way to protect our children.
It's the American.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Way to stop the drug dealers from poisoning our kids.
And yet Colorado got conned, and some other states in
America got conned, and it is so called legalized marijuana.
But it's time for the truth to be told. It's
time for us to fight back. It's time to repeal
Amendments sixty four and to save as many kids as
(00:39):
we can in the meantime. So there's a lot to
do on today's show on a lot of different fronts.
But very happy to be able to start the show
with Luke Neferrados pardon Man.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Luke is the executive vice.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
President of sam Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which is, as
you know, widely recognized as one of the nation's leading
drug policy experts. Sam is and Luke with in Sam
and Luke highly accomplished in so many different ways. But
we'd burn the whole segment on his credentials if we
were to go down that road.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Let me just say we're grateful to have Luke back
with us. Luke, welcome back to the Dan Kaplis Show.
Speaker 4 (01:18):
Dan, thank you for having me on and it's a
privilege to be on the show.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Well, thank you, my friend.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
And as we gear up, can you tell people a
little bit about SAM because I'm hoping a lot of
people take a look at the website maybe decide to
support the organization and others like it that are trying
to protect kids restore some sanity here.
Speaker 5 (01:39):
Absolutely, yep.
Speaker 4 (01:40):
Our website is learn about SAM dot org. That is
our website and you will find all the evidence, science,
research analysis that you need on marijuana as well as
broader drug policy on there. That is, you know, that's
the one stop shop. And you know, as far as
who we are, we are the nation's top as Dan mentioned,
(02:00):
marijuana policy organization. We've now brought in to cover all
drug policy across the country. So opioid, spentnyl also psychedelics,
that's something that Colorado's dealing with too, So we hit
on it all. But marijuana is the is the hot
topic right now. And it's the hot topic for good reason,
because we are now learning more.
Speaker 5 (02:21):
And more every single day.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
You know, It's so funny, Dan, We used to have
to fight and beg for the New York Times and
CNN and even the Denver Post to run stories about
the scientific harms of marijuana. But now they run them
without us even having to contact them, because.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Why, that's overwhelming?
Speaker 5 (02:39):
Were they?
Speaker 3 (02:41):
But you make a great point, Luke, I mean that
the New York Times, because the way I look at
it is, you know that the left I think has
a motivation for legalized drugs and more drug population and
more dependent population.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
But as you.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Say, we've seen some really good reporting in the New
York Times on this.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
Why yeah, I think it's just it is so overwhelming.
It's actually embarrassing that they don't run the stories. Quite frankly,
basically every week we have two to three new studies
that comes out on marijuana. Lately, it's been a lot
of research on the cardiovascular impact of marijuana and the
mental health impact of marijuana. So what they're finding is
(03:19):
your twenty five percent more likely to have a heart
attack if you're regularly using today's high potency marijuana that's
what some of the recent research says. On the mental
health front, there's just a number of new studies that
have come out, many linking marijuana directly to schizophrenia psychosis.
There was actually a study that just came out on
(03:40):
education outcomes finding that youth who used marijuana recently they
had about an one eighth of the academic performance of
their peers who did not use marijuana. So across the board,
the research is overwhelming. And so now we're seeing a
lot of stories come out, and we're also seeing a
lot of people and politicians starting to speak a little
(04:00):
bit of a different tune. They're starting to be more
critical of it, which I think is is kind of
interesting to see.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
And look, do you think that's percolating up from the
grassroots in the sense that Okay, people think of marijuana
as like the woodstock marijuana, right, and that was so
damaging no other place in the world that ever legalized
it the way Colorado did before. But but marijuana right
now is more like Kraka. Wanna tell people about what
(04:27):
marijuana really is.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
These days with these potency levels.
Speaker 4 (04:32):
That's right, Yeah, And growing up in Colorado, you know,
I was here when they ran the first measure that failed,
and then they got it over the finish line the
next time.
Speaker 5 (04:39):
And you know, they.
Speaker 4 (04:39):
Promised that legalizing marijuana was going to get rid of
the black market. They promised that, you know, it was
medicine all and it was going to cure basically every ailment.
And you know, none of that happened. And instead, you know,
people who voted on this thought they were voting for,
you know, just your average joint, you know, which you know,
two decades ago, that average joint was about one to
(05:00):
three percent potency of THFC. That's the ingredient that.
Speaker 5 (05:03):
Gets you high.
Speaker 4 (05:04):
Now, the products that this industry has come up with,
after we allowed this industry to form in Colorado and
in other states, they have created entirely new versions of
this drug. It's not the same drug anymore.
Speaker 6 (05:17):
Now.
Speaker 4 (05:18):
The products are vates, they are shatters, they are concentrates.
None of this existed more than two years ago. All
of it's brand new because of this industry. And these
products are up to ninety nine percent potency. So it's like,
you know, somebody that drinks the Budweiser all of a
sudden being somebody who drinks an entire bottle of ebulc
(05:39):
ever clear every day. That's what we're talking about. It's
a total radical shift in the potency and the harm
that comes from this. And well, you know we're seeing
that really prevalent in Colorado particularly.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
Yeah, Luke jik Farados our guess, TC executive vice president
of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, and Luke, no surprise we'd
be seeing this explosion in really serious health effects as
you mentioned cardiac most lately that learning so much more
about increased risk there. And then on the psychosis schizophrenia side,
(06:13):
no surprise that we're seeing this when you talk about
potency going from two to four percent to up to
ninety nine percent.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
And so my big question for.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
You, and I'm hoping that we can talk every week
with you and me somebody else from your organization, because
I think it's so important now that people know the
truth about legalized marijuana. Is there, in your view, a
door opening for repeal, whether it's here in Colorado or
in one or more of these other states that made
(06:45):
the mistake of legalizing marijuana.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
I think the door is absolutely flinging wide open right now,
and that is that should be stunning to the pro
marijuana people and the industry that pushed all of this
in the first place. Because it's only been about ten years,
you know, Colorado we did this in twenty twelve, it
went live in twenty fourteen, so it's been a little
over ten years. That is a very short period of
(07:10):
time to now start to have states introducing repeal measures
to the ballot. So Massachusetts is about to qualify and
we're supporting them if a grassroots led effort to repeal
recreational marijuana.
Speaker 5 (07:24):
Sales in Massachusetts.
Speaker 4 (07:26):
Hardly a red state, you know, it's a deep blue state,
right and there's more than more than one hundred thousand
voters in Massachusetts find their name to put this on
the ballot. It's going to be voted on there. Then Maine,
which is also a very purple state, you know, not
your classic red state. Maine has thousands of voters that
are signing this now as well, and we expect that
to qualify as well to repeal there. Montana has an
(07:49):
effort that's underway to put repeal on the ballot there.
That one has not been as much in the news,
but that's coming. And then there's actually one other state
and it's not very far from Colorado. I can't really
say which one it is right now, but I just
spoke with major people from there. They are also looking
to put repeal on the ballot. So this is just
the beginning, and the fact that there's this much support
only ten years after we became the first day to legalized,
(08:11):
I think says something. And you know, here at home
in Colorado, many people might remember there was a lot
of news a few grassroots activists tried to put repeel
on the ballot a couple of.
Speaker 5 (08:21):
Years ago in Colorado. They were very.
Speaker 4 (08:23):
Local, they didn't have a lot of money, but I
think there's definitely appetite in Colorado at some point to
do something to pare down this industry. So it's just
getting started. And a lot of this I think stems
from you know, it's like why do people why are
people rising up for this? Well, I think part of
it is, you know, we're learning about the health harms.
But I think the other part of it, Dan is
this goes to public safety. You know, the University of
(08:45):
Colorado they had a research study in twenty nineteen and
they looked at what was the impact on crime in
Colorado's neighborhoods that had pot shops in those neighborhoods, and
they found a more than one thousand percent increase in
property crime in Colorado's neighborhoods that had pot shops nearby.
So people are feeling the effects of that. That is
(09:06):
increasing crime, that's increasing drug access in your community. Obviously
we know what that impact that has on kids as well.
So this is something that's real for people.
Speaker 5 (09:15):
And you know, I think that's why we're seeing this rising.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
Yeah, and the carnage on the roadways.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
In my line of work, which is representing folks in
these catastrophic injury and death cases, I see so many
involving marijuana. And so it's just common sense, right, you
have more drug drivers, you're gonna have more catastrophic crashes. Nick,
I can't prove it, but I really do believe that
if repeal was on the ballot and there was enough
(09:42):
money behind the repeal effort to get the truth to everybody,
that Amendments sixty four would be repealed. This is not
what Colorado voted for. Colorado didn't vote for. You know,
more drug shops, more marijuana shops than Starbucks and McDonald's
come by that's not what people voted for. And they
sure a sec didn't vote for this krako on and
(10:05):
this crazy high potency stuff. So really appreciate what you
and the folks that SAM are doing and would love
to do a weekly segment get as much information as
we can to the people. But in our last thirty
seconds or so, my own personal belief is that you know,
for Colorado to get there, to get to repeal, it's
going to take a big, big donor willing to put
(10:26):
up a lot of money to get the truth to
the people. Then I think we could win repeal.
Speaker 5 (10:32):
I absolutely agree.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
And also I will say, you know, look, I own
home and Douglas County that our county has no pot
shops in it. It's a beautiful blessing. And you know
a lot of people like to live in the counties
of our state that don't have pot shops.
Speaker 5 (10:44):
Go figure.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
But you hear a lot of pushback there. But it's
also not red blue thing. Look at Boulder, Yeah, Boulder
has led the charge recently to try to crack down
on high potency marijuana, to try to crack down on
this industry. So even the progressive granola folks over there
don't like this, so I agree a lot of opportunity.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Can you do another segment? I want to follow up
on something you just said, but I have to hit.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
This break absolutely. Okay, welcome back with Luke. You're on
the Dan Capla Show.
Speaker 7 (11:11):
And now back to the Dan Kapla Show podcast.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
And I'm going to be high as a kid by them.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
Brian Shuling the best at what he does, and so
is Luke Neiferados. Luke is with smart approaches to marijuana.
Sam kind enough to join us today for what's going
to become weekly segments with Sam and with others as
we now try to bring the full truth about all
the harm caused by legal we to other people of Colorado,
(11:47):
hopefully eventually leaving leading pardon me to repealing amendments sixty four. Luke,
thanks for hanging around for a second segment. There's so
much ground delivered today. You were just starting to talk
about something I think is so vital here, and that
is that this is not a left or right issue.
And this goes back to what you were talking about earlier.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
The New York.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
Times, for example, starting to run pieces documenting you know
that the widespread harm being caused by legal marijuana, including
in ways that people may not be aware of yet,
such as dramatically increasing the risk of heart attacks, that cosis, schizophrenia,
et cetera. And I believe the reason for that personally
goes to your last point that he mothers love their
(12:35):
children more than they love their political party. Democrat mothers
love their children as much as Republican mothers do. And
so when at the grassroots level people start experiencing these
harms in ways that may not be reported out there,
all of a sudden, more and more people get interested
in it, and it leads to more reporting, and it
(12:55):
leads to repeal efforts.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
So pick up the.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
Points you're making pleas before the break about how even
in liberal Boulder dot dot.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
Dot Yes, yeah, in Boulder, I mean you literally have
the Boulder District Attorney he joined on with I think
you covered this DAN a few years ago when we
did HB thirteen twelve. I believe it was and to
kind of work on high potency marijuana. You had the
Boulder District Attorney. He comes out and puts his name
on it. You had House speaker at the time, Alec Garnette.
(13:26):
He put you he headlines a press conference. You know,
you had Phil Wiser, who's you know, running for governor.
He was behind that bill too. You had people starting
to raise their voices about this, and then, you know,
more recently, you're seeing the work that the grassroot activists
in Boulder are trying to do to try to cap
marijuana potency on the local level, to try to you know,
(13:46):
pare down the industry as it's impacting the city itself,
which I think is fascinating and I think we'll see
a lot more of that. So, you know, that's just
one micro example of I think where we're seeing. You know, again,
I think you make a great point. You know, at
the grassroots level, people are just they're seeing the impacts.
They want real world solutions, they want practical solutions. It
makes no sense to have a place selling pot gummy
(14:08):
bears and candies and ice creams in your neighborhood. Nobody
in the right mind wants that, no matter what political
persuading they're from.
Speaker 5 (14:15):
And you know, you go to the bigger level.
Speaker 4 (14:17):
You know, let's just look at some of the people
on the left who are major, major influencers on the
national level, who have now changed their minds on marijuana
as Recline. You know, he's widely considered to be one
of the thought leaders on policy and domestic policy for
the Democratic Party. Major influencer are millions of followers. Ezra
(14:38):
Client just recently recently said on his podcast that he's
changed his mind on recreational marijuana. He doesn't support it anymore.
That's a big get that.
Speaker 5 (14:45):
Then you look at a place like the Washington Post. Yeah, Leah,
when you.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
Know former planned parent of at president, she's you know,
hardly a conservative. She now is writing a lot of
very very skeptical opinions in the Washington Post about marijuana
as well. So you know, you're seeing people who are
considered to be very liberal, very progressive, they're changing their minds,
they're changing their tunes on this. And of course, you know,
on the right also, people have been raising alarm for
a long time. And so I think we're starting to
(15:12):
see a meeting of the minds. I think here well,
and I.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
Think and Sam has talked about this, you're seeing some
shift in the polling as well.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
That's right, Yeap and Gallup. Galup just released a poll
a few months ago finding and maybe a national poll
of voter attitudes the steepest fall to date in support
of support from marijuana. And they looked at Democrats, Independents,
and Republicans across all three of those affiliations giant precipitous
(15:44):
drops in support for recreational legalization in marijuana. So, you know,
I think again, we're seeing a cultural shift.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
Here, right, And I think we're seeing it for the
reasons you talked about, because people are living it on
the ground. I mean, organizations like yours are very very
important to all this information together, let people know there's hope. Hey,
you know the dope dealers are trying to convince you
the fight's over. It's really not.
Speaker 5 (16:07):
So.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Yeah, your organization is pivotal, But people are experiencing these
harms on the ground, whether they're Democrats, Republicans, unaffiliated. My
wife and I were talking the other day, Luke about
one of the coolest kids we've ever met, with tremendous parents,
you know, and you know, we knew this kid from
almost the time he was born, and now he's so
(16:30):
screwed up on marijuana.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
It just appears to be a life wasted. You know,
things like that that are so sad, and there are
a million other examples.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Plus, Luke, when you talked earlier about the cycle, I.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Don't remember the exact timing, but I think it was
Alaska the first state to legalize marijuana in American and
I think that was back in the mid seventies, and
it was.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Probably eight or ten years later.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
That they reverse that because of all these harms. Now,
eventually they came back to organization very good after the
left brought in enormous amounts of money. But Luke, as
this segment wraps up, please tell people again how they
can learn more about SAM and where they can find
other resources on.
Speaker 4 (17:12):
This, absolutely and real quick. You know, in Colorado, the
average marijuana user in Colorado, so it's more than fifty
percent of every single you know, looking at all the
marijuana users in the state of Colorado, more than fifty
percent of them use marijuana every single day.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Oh that is that's insane massive.
Speaker 4 (17:32):
It's higher than the amount of alcohol users in Colorado
who use alcohol every single day. So basically what that
means is, if you're a marijuana user in Colorado, you
are much more likely to be using it very heavily.
That is where the industry makes most of the money.
That's why we're seeing the harms because people are using
it much more frequently. It's not even about the nature
of the drug itself as much as it is about
(17:53):
how often people are using it, and they're using it
so heavily. So that's why we're feeling these harms, seeing
them magnified. And we can talk more about in future shows.
But check out learn about sam dot org. Learn about
sam dot org. We have an award winning science advisory
board doing research on the drug that leads our work.
I'm the executive vice president.
Speaker 5 (18:11):
Check us out.
Speaker 4 (18:12):
We're here to support your.
Speaker 5 (18:13):
Community and you and anything that you need.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Oh hey, Luke, really appreciate you. Keep up the great work.
Speaker 4 (18:20):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
God bless you down you too. Take care.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
That is Luke Niferrados with sam so and do consider
giving them some support if that works for you right now,
and some of these other organizations that are really doing
the work of angels.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
And getting the truth out there. This is not hopeless.
Drug dealers want you to believe it's hopeless. It is
not hopeless. Don't give up the fight.
Speaker 3 (18:43):
Hey, when we come back, I want to tell you
about another prominent person who just died and the latest
from the Trump administration, Jared Poulis decided.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
To go to war with Donald Trump and the.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
People of Colorado are losing because of that. The latest
installment next on the Dan Kapla Show.
Speaker 7 (19:04):
You're listening to The Dan Kaplis Show podcast.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Plead you're here on the Dan Caplis Show.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
Appreciate Luke Nivrados from Sam starting the show with us today.
I think it's one of the things that together we
really need to accomplish in twenty six It ties into
the President's agenda as well, and some of the really
good things that are happening in America right now, which
is you know, the President focusing on the harm, the
(19:30):
mass arm that these drugs are doing to Americans, starting
with American children, and that kind of focused is well
placed because these.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Drugs are a form.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
Of chemical weapons attack on America, and the people attacking
with these drugs have different motives depending on the drugs,
and you obviously, you know, can see what's going on.
You know, our enemies China, starting with China infusing the
United States with this weapon of mass destruction in the
form of fentanyl and other opioids and killing very large
(20:06):
numbers of Americans. You know, all of those facts. Then
you see the same thing happening with Venezuela via Columbia,
et cetera running large and large and large amounts very
harmful drugs to America, and President properly.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
Focused on that.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
And what you've seen in Joe Rogan has documented this
well is you've seen the overdose death you know, just
dropping off a cliff after Trump takes office, and the
closing of the southern border a big part of that
as well, because it makes it obviously harder for China
to use the Mexican cartels to be running these opioids
up into America, and so tremendous.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
Progress on that front.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
So that this effort to really focus on the reality
of legalized marijuana in Colorado and you can't even call
it marijuana, right, you got to call Krakawana with these
high potency levels as these drug dealers try to hook
them young, hook them forever. You know, just focusing on
that this year makes total sense also in terms of
(21:08):
your valuable time which you are kind enough to spend
on this show, because this is something you want to
be the smartest person in the room on because it
could save somebody in your family or your extended family,
if not from death, say in a horrific crash out
on the roadway, caused by somebody under the influence of marijuana,
(21:29):
you know, then having their life wasted. Because we all know,
we've known since the Woodstock days that use of marijuana
strips many people of their motivation.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
And that was back in the two to four percent days.
Speaker 3 (21:41):
And what are we talking about now because Polis and
the rest of the left has given these drug dealers
kind of free license in Colorado and beyond. You know,
what we're looking at is these these money hungry drug dealers,
you know, running the potency up to eighty ninety ninety
nine percent, and you see that.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
The destruction, just mushrooming with that.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
So this is this is a perfect time to focus
on it, and practically, tactically, it's a perfect time to
focus on it because as Luke said in the last segment,
and I've been predicting since marijuana was legalized in Colorado,
it would take some time, unfortunately, but as the body
count began to rise and people could see in their
own lives, whether they're Democrat, Republican, unaffiliated, they could see
(22:30):
that the harm being done, the lives being wasted. You know,
if not killed, wasted, that opposition would grow. And we've
seen this act before, right Alaska, the first state to
legalize in Colorado I think in seventy six, eventually repealed it.
I think I'll double check in the break. I think
it was eight to ten years later. But they eventually
(22:50):
repealed it. And they repealed it because there was so
much harm and in the end, it just wasn't worth it.
And if we do have a millionaire or somebody like
that step forward to fund to repeal effort, that may
be the campaign slogan it isn't worth it. It just
isn't worth it. And society has a right to say,
(23:12):
you know what, that just isn't worth it unless there's
a constitutional right to something. That's why we have a republic,
so we can step up and say, yeah, that isn't
worth it.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
A lot of people like to do cocaine. No, it
isn't worth it to society to allow that to be legal.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
Unfortunately, also a lot of people like to do method No,
that isn't worth it. Why in the blanket world should
we say, but oh yeah, that Krakowana that's worth it.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
That's insane. It's societal suicide.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
And so the left tries to dress it up as
a freedom issue, which is a.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Total lie, total lie.
Speaker 3 (23:49):
Unfortunately, too many conservatives fell for that lie when marijuana
was legalized in Colorado after voters had twice turned it down.
But the next time somebody feeds you that freedom argument,
just ask them. Okay, so you favor legalization of cocaine, heroin, meth.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
Well no, I don't, Well what about freedom? Who are
you to draw the line at marijuana?
Speaker 3 (24:13):
If you're truly a freedom person, doesn't it have to
be freedom for myth, freedom for crack? Yeah, anybody making
that argument to legalize meth, crack, et cetera, they must
be on crack. But that's how goofy this legalized marijuana
thing is. So we all make mistakes as people, and
the test of us as people is do we fix
(24:36):
our mistakes?
Speaker 2 (24:38):
Yeah? And we just like people make mistakes.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
States can make mistakes, and Colorado made a big one.
That doesn't mean we have to keep burying people, that
we have to keep seeing teen suicide spike, that we
have to keep seeing all this carnage on the roadway
and mass numbers of kids under of forming losing their
motivation because of marijuana.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
No state made a mistake. STAATE can fix the mistake.
Speaker 3 (25:07):
Realistically, it's going to take an awful lot of money
to run that campaign because you need the money to
get the truth to the people because the media is
not going to get the truth to the people. Most
of the media wants the money that can come from
legalize marijuana, advertising, etc. So it's a great thing to
focus on in twenty six and there's a lot that
(25:28):
you can do to help save others even before repeal
eventually comes. And when you think about it, just gravity
it has to eventually come because the harms are too grave.
So yeah, we'll continue these conversations. I want to get
some Texters, especially those who disagree. But just a quick
(25:49):
who do we have Ryan on the phones? Well, let's
talk to kurtin Fort Collins. I love Fort Collins. Kirt,
you're on the Dan Kaplis Show.
Speaker 6 (25:58):
Welcome, Hey, damn, thanks thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
Sure thing, thanks for being had. What are you thinking?
Speaker 6 (26:05):
Well, I just happen to turn on the radio and
listen to Fight Joe Rogan, which I really think you're
going to service to your listeners citing anything that Joe
Rogan would say. But again, the study that decided on
the decline in overdoses, if you look at it, the
(26:26):
decline starts in twenty twenty three, and I just I'm
forgetting who's president?
Speaker 5 (26:31):
Then?
Speaker 2 (26:32):
Oh yeah, can you be my good friend?
Speaker 6 (26:35):
No data from twenty twenty five. You cannot infer anything
that Trump has done on a graph the true data
from twenty twenty three to under twenty twenty four. And
that's just dishonest to your listeners. Yeah, I wanted to
correct that.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
Yeah, Kurt, you obviously don't want to have a back
and forth because then your whole argument falls apart. But
if you ever do want to have it back and forth,
feel free to call the show and just started with Dan,
I'd love to have it back and forth.
Speaker 6 (27:00):
Ok, look forward to that the second time I called
you with that. But the data and that's you know,
that's just dishonest.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
Well do you want to have a back and forth?
Speaker 3 (27:12):
Do you do you want to back you know that
your argument falls, No, you don't, right, because you just
want to come and spout. You just want to come
and spout because if we have a back and forth,
then your argument falls apart.
Speaker 6 (27:27):
Okay, I don't have an argument. I'm just saying you're
skating the wrong data or Okay, but let me let me.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Ask you this.
Speaker 3 (27:34):
Let me ask you this, Kurt, and when we have
George Brockler coming up, do you think it increases or
decreases the amount of opioids in the United States for
President Trump to close the southern border.
Speaker 6 (27:48):
I think that we need to focus the message.
Speaker 3 (27:53):
Grow up, grow up, grow up, get intellectually honest.
Speaker 6 (27:57):
You know, here's the family selling you that you're railing against.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
What are you talking about, though? The what family?
Speaker 6 (28:05):
The family family, the produced pharma family who sold our
nation over twenty months?
Speaker 2 (28:14):
Are you the product? My friend? I think about what
you're saying.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
I asked you a very direct question. Do you think
it reduces the amount of Kurt? I'm sorry, man, I'm sorry.
You're not going to be allowed to run me over.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
See.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
Is this is what a white flag sounds like? Cut
this joker off rye, We're going to a break. This
is what a white flag sounds like. The man cannot
answer a direct question because then he will lose the argument.
And he'll lose the argument because the facts are against him,
so he acts like a child on the playground, just
rambling on rather than having an adult back or forth.
(28:51):
I've been on air for thirty years. I will take
on anybody and I will answer their questions, and if
I'm wrong, I'll admit it. And I've I'm that over
thirty years on air. I'm not going to waste time
with somebody like that who will not answer a direct
question because he knows it will cause him to lose
the argument. You hire a therapist, Okay, don't waste our
(29:12):
listener's time.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
George Brockler. Next, you're on the Dan Caplis Show.
Speaker 7 (29:18):
And now back to the Dankaplas Show podcast.
Speaker 3 (29:21):
The words of that song and I assume it's some
sort of George Brockler reference.
Speaker 7 (29:26):
That was more Irish. Tip of the cap to you
for there.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
Yeah, oh, thank you, thank you. I wish I could
figure out the words. George will tell us.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
George knows everything, George Brockler, Welcome back to the Dan
Caplis Show.
Speaker 8 (29:40):
Hey, thanks for having me on.
Speaker 5 (29:42):
I appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (29:44):
Now, George, finally some good news from the legislature. You
were telling me that the legislature bipartisan this time looking
at jacking up the penalties for child trafficking, which right
now are just shockingly low. No surprise, Colorado's one of
the worst states in the country for child trafficking.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
But please lay it out there for us.
Speaker 8 (30:09):
Yeah, the status of Colorado's laws right now is that
you can engage in solicitation of a child to engage
in sex trafficking. You can patronize a child for sex trafficking.
You can create child sexual abuse material and walk out
of the courtroom. You can get probation under Colorado's laws.
(30:32):
And in this thing I just have not seen in
since of Benda is there is a bi partisan effort
to create mandatory prison for those same acts, including elevating
the creation of child sexual abuse material to mandatory prison
on a third class only level, making it a four
(30:52):
to twelve year sentence. It's something I just haven't seen before.
So yesterday under the Gold Dome, there's Monica Duran and
there there's Byron Pelton, and there's Jarvis Caldwell. They're all together,
loving on each other, talking about how they're going to
stand up to fight for victims, and it was bizarre world.
I mean, I was thrilled, but I was like, where
am I?
Speaker 3 (31:12):
This is like nineteen ninety Yeah, I mean great news
obviously in that sense, But again, how did Colorado laws
ever become this week? Once once people began to understand
the true magnitude of sex trafficking. But at least there's
progress now. So what do you think we're going to
(31:34):
end up with in the end here? How is the
law actually going to be changed when it gets to
Polus's desk and how long will that take?
Speaker 8 (31:42):
Well, really, the only fight that I could see from
those who are just opposed to the idea of protecting
kids and victims in general will be over the mandatory time.
The other thing that the bill does it's important is
it changes a lot of the nomenclature that seems to
sort of attribute some responsibility to these child victims. So
we get rid of the prostitution name and all that
other stuff make it seem like they can consent to
(32:04):
stuff they can't. But you know, you've got the House
Judiciary Committee, which is going to be the killing fields
for this thing if they can't get enough votes, Because
this is the committee that when I testified at midnight
for a bill that would have just made sure that
if you rape a child, even one time, you got
to prison and it got defeated. That committee had people
repeatedly say things like, well, I don't believe in caging people,
(32:26):
so I would never vote for mandatory prison. And I thought, yes,
but some people need to be caged. You can call
it what you want, jail, prison, reform, whatever, but some
people need to be taken out of society. And there's
a group there that are in control some of these
committees that don't feel that way. That will be the
real test on the House side.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
George Brockler, I guess the DA and the twenty third.
Of course, let me ask you this. Constitutionally, would it
be legal to put the death penalty in place for
child traffickers.
Speaker 8 (32:59):
I don't think so, and I can't tell you that
it's exactly settled law, but I don't think here for
Colorado we could do it for something less than another death.
But you bring up something that I talked about right
after this press conference under the Gold Dome. I said,
in any sane society, we'd be talking about putting these
(33:20):
people down, you know what I mean, Like, there's just
some of these offenders that do things to kids that
no matter what we do with prison, these kids will
be broken and lesser as a result of this. I mean,
these are acts that you just can't get over. There's
no scar that fixes this.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
Yeah, right, And that's.
Speaker 3 (33:37):
Why I asked the question because when it comes to
the death penalty, and there's this broader conversation about the
death penalty. Believe me, I respect that and I understand it.
But if if a nation is going to have the
death penalty, I do not understand why it wouldn't apply
agreed equally, I mean if I mean, I agree it
(33:58):
has to apply first to people who kill other people.
But and then these laws that are now going to
be strengthened in Colorado could probably be strengthened further.
Speaker 2 (34:08):
I imagine if you had the magic.
Speaker 3 (34:10):
Kwand you would make these mandatory minimums double digits.
Speaker 8 (34:15):
I would I also, you know, they could make another
simple change, which is just simply to declare it a
crime of violence and try to bring it underneath that,
you know, ballot initiative that increased sentences to eighty five
percent minimum before you could be prole eligible. Because like,
no one should be fooled into thinking the fact that
the legislators decided to make it a mandatory four to
twelve year sentence really means four to twelve years under
(34:38):
a broken system. A four year sentence means these people
get turned around after probably eighteen months and put out
into the community in the community correction. So it's a
step in the right direction, but it's not a fix.
Speaker 3 (34:49):
Yeah, last question, George, what do you think prompted this?
I'd like to think it's basic human decency, but if
it was, we'd see these democrats doing lots more.
Speaker 2 (34:59):
What do you think pushed him to do this.
Speaker 8 (35:02):
I really do think that this was an effort that
appealed to the human decency piece. There's a victim, a
couple victims who kind of spearheaded this thing, and for
years were pushing on this and trying to build them,
and we tried to do it last year.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
It didn't make it. This is.
Speaker 8 (35:21):
I that you get people like you know, Monica Duran,
who's Majority leader, who said that this speaks to me
like she even says, I'm a victim of domestic violence.
I understand the powerlessness, I understand the trauma, and I
really do think they finally found an issue where even
people on the left and you'll still see by the
way people on her party pushed back and ward against her,
but people on the left saying I believe in this.
Speaker 3 (35:41):
Yeah, and George, thanks for your ongoing great work or
at the end of this segment, appreciate your time today
and look at her to the next visit. Thank you,
My friend Dick Wadhams coming up.
This is Dan Caplis and welcome to today's online podcast
edition of The Dan Caplis Show. Please be sure to
give us a five star rating if you'd be so kind,
and to subscribe, download and listen to the show every
single day on your favorite podcast platform.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Well, it is the American way to protect our children.
It's the American.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Way to stop the drug dealers from poisoning our kids.
And yet Colorado got conned, and some other states in
America got conned, and it is so called legalized marijuana.
But it's time for the truth to be told. It's
time for us to fight back. It's time to repeal
Amendments sixty four and to save as many kids as
(00:39):
we can in the meantime. So there's a lot to
do on today's show on a lot of different fronts.
But very happy to be able to start the show
with Luke Neferrados pardon Man.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Luke is the executive vice.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
President of sam Smart Approaches to Marijuana, which is, as
you know, widely recognized as one of the nation's leading
drug policy experts. Sam is and Luke with in Sam
and Luke highly accomplished in so many different ways. But
we'd burn the whole segment on his credentials if we
were to go down that road.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Let me just say we're grateful to have Luke back
with us. Luke, welcome back to the Dan Kaplis Show.
Speaker 4 (01:18):
Dan, thank you for having me on and it's a
privilege to be on the show.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Well, thank you, my friend.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
And as we gear up, can you tell people a
little bit about SAM because I'm hoping a lot of
people take a look at the website maybe decide to
support the organization and others like it that are trying
to protect kids restore some sanity here.
Speaker 5 (01:39):
Absolutely, yep.
Speaker 4 (01:40):
Our website is learn about SAM dot org. That is
our website and you will find all the evidence, science,
research analysis that you need on marijuana as well as
broader drug policy on there. That is, you know, that's
the one stop shop. And you know, as far as
who we are, we are the nation's top as Dan mentioned,
(02:00):
marijuana policy organization. We've now brought in to cover all
drug policy across the country. So opioid, spentnyl also psychedelics,
that's something that Colorado's dealing with too, So we hit
on it all. But marijuana is the is the hot
topic right now. And it's the hot topic for good reason,
because we are now learning more.
Speaker 5 (02:21):
And more every single day.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
You know, It's so funny, Dan, We used to have
to fight and beg for the New York Times and
CNN and even the Denver Post to run stories about
the scientific harms of marijuana. But now they run them
without us even having to contact them, because.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Why, that's overwhelming?
Speaker 5 (02:39):
Were they?
Speaker 3 (02:41):
But you make a great point, Luke, I mean that
the New York Times, because the way I look at
it is, you know that the left I think has
a motivation for legalized drugs and more drug population and
more dependent population.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
But as you.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Say, we've seen some really good reporting in the New
York Times on this.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
Why yeah, I think it's just it is so overwhelming.
It's actually embarrassing that they don't run the stories. Quite frankly,
basically every week we have two to three new studies
that comes out on marijuana. Lately, it's been a lot
of research on the cardiovascular impact of marijuana and the
mental health impact of marijuana. So what they're finding is
(03:19):
your twenty five percent more likely to have a heart
attack if you're regularly using today's high potency marijuana that's
what some of the recent research says. On the mental
health front, there's just a number of new studies that
have come out, many linking marijuana directly to schizophrenia psychosis.
There was actually a study that just came out on
(03:40):
education outcomes finding that youth who used marijuana recently they
had about an one eighth of the academic performance of
their peers who did not use marijuana. So across the board,
the research is overwhelming. And so now we're seeing a
lot of stories come out, and we're also seeing a
lot of people and politicians starting to speak a little
(04:00):
bit of a different tune. They're starting to be more
critical of it, which I think is is kind of
interesting to see.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
And look, do you think that's percolating up from the
grassroots in the sense that Okay, people think of marijuana
as like the woodstock marijuana, right, and that was so
damaging no other place in the world that ever legalized
it the way Colorado did before. But but marijuana right
now is more like Kraka. Wanna tell people about what
(04:27):
marijuana really is.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
These days with these potency levels.
Speaker 4 (04:32):
That's right, Yeah, And growing up in Colorado, you know,
I was here when they ran the first measure that failed,
and then they got it over the finish line the
next time.
Speaker 5 (04:39):
And you know, they.
Speaker 4 (04:39):
Promised that legalizing marijuana was going to get rid of
the black market. They promised that, you know, it was
medicine all and it was going to cure basically every ailment.
And you know, none of that happened. And instead, you know,
people who voted on this thought they were voting for,
you know, just your average joint, you know, which you know,
two decades ago, that average joint was about one to
(05:00):
three percent potency of THFC. That's the ingredient that.
Speaker 5 (05:03):
Gets you high.
Speaker 4 (05:04):
Now, the products that this industry has come up with,
after we allowed this industry to form in Colorado and
in other states, they have created entirely new versions of
this drug. It's not the same drug anymore.
Speaker 6 (05:17):
Now.
Speaker 4 (05:18):
The products are vates, they are shatters, they are concentrates.
None of this existed more than two years ago. All
of it's brand new because of this industry. And these
products are up to ninety nine percent potency. So it's like,
you know, somebody that drinks the Budweiser all of a
sudden being somebody who drinks an entire bottle of ebulc
(05:39):
ever clear every day. That's what we're talking about. It's
a total radical shift in the potency and the harm
that comes from this. And well, you know we're seeing
that really prevalent in Colorado particularly.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
Yeah, Luke jik Farados our guess, TC executive vice president
of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, and Luke, no surprise we'd
be seeing this explosion in really serious health effects as
you mentioned cardiac most lately that learning so much more
about increased risk there. And then on the psychosis schizophrenia side,
(06:13):
no surprise that we're seeing this when you talk about
potency going from two to four percent to up to
ninety nine percent.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
And so my big question for.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
You, and I'm hoping that we can talk every week
with you and me somebody else from your organization, because
I think it's so important now that people know the
truth about legalized marijuana. Is there, in your view, a
door opening for repeal, whether it's here in Colorado or
in one or more of these other states that made
(06:45):
the mistake of legalizing marijuana.
Speaker 4 (06:49):
I think the door is absolutely flinging wide open right now,
and that is that should be stunning to the pro
marijuana people and the industry that pushed all of this
in the first place. Because it's only been about ten years,
you know, Colorado we did this in twenty twelve, it
went live in twenty fourteen, so it's been a little
over ten years. That is a very short period of
(07:10):
time to now start to have states introducing repeal measures
to the ballot. So Massachusetts is about to qualify and
we're supporting them if a grassroots led effort to repeal
recreational marijuana.
Speaker 5 (07:24):
Sales in Massachusetts.
Speaker 4 (07:26):
Hardly a red state, you know, it's a deep blue state,
right and there's more than more than one hundred thousand
voters in Massachusetts find their name to put this on
the ballot. It's going to be voted on there. Then Maine,
which is also a very purple state, you know, not
your classic red state. Maine has thousands of voters that
are signing this now as well, and we expect that
to qualify as well to repeal there. Montana has an
(07:49):
effort that's underway to put repeal on the ballot there.
That one has not been as much in the news,
but that's coming. And then there's actually one other state
and it's not very far from Colorado. I can't really
say which one it is right now, but I just
spoke with major people from there. They are also looking
to put repeal on the ballot. So this is just
the beginning, and the fact that there's this much support
only ten years after we became the first day to legalized,
(08:11):
I think says something. And you know, here at home
in Colorado, many people might remember there was a lot
of news a few grassroots activists tried to put repeel
on the ballot a couple of.
Speaker 5 (08:21):
Years ago in Colorado. They were very.
Speaker 4 (08:23):
Local, they didn't have a lot of money, but I
think there's definitely appetite in Colorado at some point to
do something to pare down this industry. So it's just
getting started. And a lot of this I think stems
from you know, it's like why do people why are
people rising up for this? Well, I think part of
it is, you know, we're learning about the health harms.
But I think the other part of it, Dan is
this goes to public safety. You know, the University of
(08:45):
Colorado they had a research study in twenty nineteen and
they looked at what was the impact on crime in
Colorado's neighborhoods that had pot shops in those neighborhoods, and
they found a more than one thousand percent increase in
property crime in Colorado's neighborhoods that had pot shops nearby.
So people are feeling the effects of that. That is
(09:06):
increasing crime, that's increasing drug access in your community. Obviously
we know what that impact that has on kids as well.
So this is something that's real for people.
Speaker 5 (09:15):
And you know, I think that's why we're seeing this rising.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
Yeah, and the carnage on the roadways.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
In my line of work, which is representing folks in
these catastrophic injury and death cases, I see so many
involving marijuana. And so it's just common sense, right, you
have more drug drivers, you're gonna have more catastrophic crashes. Nick,
I can't prove it, but I really do believe that
if repeal was on the ballot and there was enough
(09:42):
money behind the repeal effort to get the truth to everybody,
that Amendments sixty four would be repealed. This is not
what Colorado voted for. Colorado didn't vote for. You know,
more drug shops, more marijuana shops than Starbucks and McDonald's
come by that's not what people voted for. And they
sure a sec didn't vote for this krako on and
(10:05):
this crazy high potency stuff. So really appreciate what you
and the folks that SAM are doing and would love
to do a weekly segment get as much information as
we can to the people. But in our last thirty
seconds or so, my own personal belief is that you know,
for Colorado to get there, to get to repeal, it's
going to take a big, big donor willing to put
(10:26):
up a lot of money to get the truth to
the people. Then I think we could win repeal.
Speaker 5 (10:32):
I absolutely agree.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
And also I will say, you know, look, I own
home and Douglas County that our county has no pot
shops in it. It's a beautiful blessing. And you know
a lot of people like to live in the counties
of our state that don't have pot shops.
Speaker 5 (10:44):
Go figure.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
But you hear a lot of pushback there. But it's
also not red blue thing. Look at Boulder, Yeah, Boulder
has led the charge recently to try to crack down
on high potency marijuana, to try to crack down on
this industry. So even the progressive granola folks over there
don't like this, so I agree a lot of opportunity.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Can you do another segment? I want to follow up
on something you just said, but I have to hit.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
This break absolutely. Okay, welcome back with Luke. You're on
the Dan Capla Show.
Speaker 7 (11:11):
And now back to the Dan Kapla Show podcast.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
And I'm going to be high as a kid by them.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
Brian Shuling the best at what he does, and so
is Luke Neiferados. Luke is with smart approaches to marijuana.
Sam kind enough to join us today for what's going
to become weekly segments with Sam and with others as
we now try to bring the full truth about all
the harm caused by legal we to other people of Colorado,
(11:47):
hopefully eventually leaving leading pardon me to repealing amendments sixty four. Luke,
thanks for hanging around for a second segment. There's so
much ground delivered today. You were just starting to talk
about something I think is so vital here, and that
is that this is not a left or right issue.
And this goes back to what you were talking about earlier.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
The New York.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
Times, for example, starting to run pieces documenting you know
that the widespread harm being caused by legal marijuana, including
in ways that people may not be aware of yet,
such as dramatically increasing the risk of heart attacks, that cosis, schizophrenia,
et cetera. And I believe the reason for that personally
goes to your last point that he mothers love their
(12:35):
children more than they love their political party. Democrat mothers
love their children as much as Republican mothers do. And
so when at the grassroots level people start experiencing these
harms in ways that may not be reported out there,
all of a sudden, more and more people get interested
in it, and it leads to more reporting, and it
(12:55):
leads to repeal efforts.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
So pick up the.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
Points you're making pleas before the break about how even
in liberal Boulder dot dot.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
Dot Yes, yeah, in Boulder, I mean you literally have
the Boulder District Attorney he joined on with I think
you covered this DAN a few years ago when we
did HB thirteen twelve. I believe it was and to
kind of work on high potency marijuana. You had the
Boulder District Attorney. He comes out and puts his name
on it. You had House speaker at the time, Alec Garnette.
(13:26):
He put you he headlines a press conference. You know,
you had Phil Wiser, who's you know, running for governor.
He was behind that bill too. You had people starting
to raise their voices about this, and then, you know,
more recently, you're seeing the work that the grassroot activists
in Boulder are trying to do to try to cap
marijuana potency on the local level, to try to you know,
(13:46):
pare down the industry as it's impacting the city itself,
which I think is fascinating and I think we'll see
a lot more of that. So, you know, that's just
one micro example of I think where we're seeing. You know, again,
I think you make a great point. You know, at
the grassroots level, people are just they're seeing the impacts.
They want real world solutions, they want practical solutions. It
makes no sense to have a place selling pot gummy
(14:08):
bears and candies and ice creams in your neighborhood. Nobody
in the right mind wants that, no matter what political
persuading they're from.
Speaker 5 (14:15):
And you know, you go to the bigger level.
Speaker 4 (14:17):
You know, let's just look at some of the people
on the left who are major, major influencers on the
national level, who have now changed their minds on marijuana
as Recline. You know, he's widely considered to be one
of the thought leaders on policy and domestic policy for
the Democratic Party. Major influencer are millions of followers. Ezra
(14:38):
Client just recently recently said on his podcast that he's
changed his mind on recreational marijuana. He doesn't support it anymore.
That's a big get that.
Speaker 5 (14:45):
Then you look at a place like the Washington Post. Yeah, Leah,
when you.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
Know former planned parent of at president, she's you know,
hardly a conservative. She now is writing a lot of
very very skeptical opinions in the Washington Post about marijuana
as well. So you know, you're seeing people who are
considered to be very liberal, very progressive, they're changing their minds,
they're changing their tunes on this. And of course, you know,
on the right also, people have been raising alarm for
a long time. And so I think we're starting to
(15:12):
see a meeting of the minds. I think here well,
and I.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
Think and Sam has talked about this, you're seeing some
shift in the polling as well.
Speaker 4 (15:21):
That's right, Yeap and Gallup. Galup just released a poll
a few months ago finding and maybe a national poll
of voter attitudes the steepest fall to date in support
of support from marijuana. And they looked at Democrats, Independents,
and Republicans across all three of those affiliations giant precipitous
(15:44):
drops in support for recreational legalization in marijuana. So, you know,
I think again, we're seeing a cultural shift.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
Here, right, And I think we're seeing it for the
reasons you talked about, because people are living it on
the ground. I mean, organizations like yours are very very
important to all this information together, let people know there's hope. Hey,
you know the dope dealers are trying to convince you
the fight's over. It's really not.
Speaker 5 (16:07):
So.
Speaker 2 (16:08):
Yeah, your organization is pivotal, But people are experiencing these
harms on the ground, whether they're Democrats, Republicans, unaffiliated. My
wife and I were talking the other day, Luke about
one of the coolest kids we've ever met, with tremendous parents,
you know, and you know, we knew this kid from
almost the time he was born, and now he's so
(16:30):
screwed up on marijuana.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
It just appears to be a life wasted. You know,
things like that that are so sad, and there are
a million other examples.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
Plus, Luke, when you talked earlier about the cycle, I.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Don't remember the exact timing, but I think it was
Alaska the first state to legalize marijuana in American and
I think that was back in the mid seventies, and
it was.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Probably eight or ten years later.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
That they reverse that because of all these harms. Now,
eventually they came back to organization very good after the
left brought in enormous amounts of money. But Luke, as
this segment wraps up, please tell people again how they
can learn more about SAM and where they can find
other resources on.
Speaker 4 (17:12):
This, absolutely and real quick. You know, in Colorado, the
average marijuana user in Colorado, so it's more than fifty
percent of every single you know, looking at all the
marijuana users in the state of Colorado, more than fifty
percent of them use marijuana every single day.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Oh that is that's insane massive.
Speaker 4 (17:32):
It's higher than the amount of alcohol users in Colorado
who use alcohol every single day. So basically what that
means is, if you're a marijuana user in Colorado, you
are much more likely to be using it very heavily.
That is where the industry makes most of the money.
That's why we're seeing the harms because people are using
it much more frequently. It's not even about the nature
of the drug itself as much as it is about
(17:53):
how often people are using it, and they're using it
so heavily. So that's why we're feeling these harms, seeing
them magnified. And we can talk more about in future shows.
But check out learn about sam dot org. Learn about
sam dot org. We have an award winning science advisory
board doing research on the drug that leads our work.
I'm the executive vice president.
Speaker 5 (18:11):
Check us out.
Speaker 4 (18:12):
We're here to support your.
Speaker 5 (18:13):
Community and you and anything that you need.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Oh hey, Luke, really appreciate you. Keep up the great work.
Speaker 4 (18:20):
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
God bless you down you too. Take care.
Speaker 3 (18:23):
That is Luke Niferrados with sam so and do consider
giving them some support if that works for you right now,
and some of these other organizations that are really doing
the work of angels.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
And getting the truth out there. This is not hopeless.
Drug dealers want you to believe it's hopeless. It is
not hopeless. Don't give up the fight.
Speaker 3 (18:43):
Hey, when we come back, I want to tell you
about another prominent person who just died and the latest
from the Trump administration, Jared Poulis decided.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
To go to war with Donald Trump and the.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
People of Colorado are losing because of that. The latest
installment next on the Dan Kapla Show.
Speaker 7 (19:04):
You're listening to The Dan Kaplis Show podcast.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Plead you're here on the Dan Caplis Show.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
Appreciate Luke Nivrados from Sam starting the show with us today.
I think it's one of the things that together we
really need to accomplish in twenty six It ties into
the President's agenda as well, and some of the really
good things that are happening in America right now, which
is you know, the President focusing on the harm, the
(19:30):
mass arm that these drugs are doing to Americans, starting
with American children, and that kind of focused is well
placed because these.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Drugs are a form.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
Of chemical weapons attack on America, and the people attacking
with these drugs have different motives depending on the drugs,
and you obviously, you know, can see what's going on.
You know, our enemies China, starting with China infusing the
United States with this weapon of mass destruction in the
form of fentanyl and other opioids and killing very large
(20:06):
numbers of Americans. You know, all of those facts. Then
you see the same thing happening with Venezuela via Columbia,
et cetera running large and large and large amounts very
harmful drugs to America, and President properly.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
Focused on that.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
And what you've seen in Joe Rogan has documented this
well is you've seen the overdose death you know, just
dropping off a cliff after Trump takes office, and the
closing of the southern border a big part of that
as well, because it makes it obviously harder for China
to use the Mexican cartels to be running these opioids
up into America, and so tremendous.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
Progress on that front.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
So that this effort to really focus on the reality
of legalized marijuana in Colorado and you can't even call
it marijuana, right, you got to call Krakawana with these
high potency levels as these drug dealers try to hook
them young, hook them forever. You know, just focusing on
that this year makes total sense also in terms of
(21:08):
your valuable time which you are kind enough to spend
on this show, because this is something you want to
be the smartest person in the room on because it
could save somebody in your family or your extended family,
if not from death, say in a horrific crash out
on the roadway, caused by somebody under the influence of marijuana,
(21:29):
you know, then having their life wasted. Because we all know,
we've known since the Woodstock days that use of marijuana
strips many people of their motivation.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
And that was back in the two to four percent days.
Speaker 3 (21:41):
And what are we talking about now because Polis and
the rest of the left has given these drug dealers
kind of free license in Colorado and beyond. You know,
what we're looking at is these these money hungry drug dealers,
you know, running the potency up to eighty ninety ninety
nine percent, and you see that.
Speaker 2 (22:03):
The destruction, just mushrooming with that.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
So this is this is a perfect time to focus
on it, and practically, tactically, it's a perfect time to
focus on it because as Luke said in the last segment,
and I've been predicting since marijuana was legalized in Colorado,
it would take some time, unfortunately, but as the body
count began to rise and people could see in their
own lives, whether they're Democrat, Republican, unaffiliated, they could see
(22:30):
that the harm being done, the lives being wasted. You know,
if not killed, wasted, that opposition would grow. And we've
seen this act before, right Alaska, the first state to
legalize in Colorado I think in seventy six, eventually repealed it.
I think I'll double check in the break. I think
it was eight to ten years later. But they eventually
(22:50):
repealed it. And they repealed it because there was so
much harm and in the end, it just wasn't worth it.
And if we do have a millionaire or somebody like
that step forward to fund to repeal effort, that may
be the campaign slogan it isn't worth it. It just
isn't worth it. And society has a right to say,
(23:12):
you know what, that just isn't worth it unless there's
a constitutional right to something. That's why we have a republic,
so we can step up and say, yeah, that isn't
worth it.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
A lot of people like to do cocaine. No, it
isn't worth it to society to allow that to be legal.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
Unfortunately, also a lot of people like to do method No,
that isn't worth it. Why in the blanket world should
we say, but oh yeah, that Krakowana that's worth it.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
That's insane. It's societal suicide.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
And so the left tries to dress it up as
a freedom issue, which is a.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Total lie, total lie.
Speaker 3 (23:49):
Unfortunately, too many conservatives fell for that lie when marijuana
was legalized in Colorado after voters had twice turned it down.
But the next time somebody feeds you that freedom argument,
just ask them. Okay, so you favor legalization of cocaine, heroin, meth.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
Well no, I don't, Well what about freedom? Who are
you to draw the line at marijuana?
Speaker 3 (24:13):
If you're truly a freedom person, doesn't it have to
be freedom for myth, freedom for crack? Yeah, anybody making
that argument to legalize meth, crack, et cetera, they must
be on crack. But that's how goofy this legalized marijuana
thing is. So we all make mistakes as people, and
the test of us as people is do we fix
(24:36):
our mistakes?
Speaker 2 (24:38):
Yeah? And we just like people make mistakes.
Speaker 3 (24:42):
States can make mistakes, and Colorado made a big one.
That doesn't mean we have to keep burying people, that
we have to keep seeing teen suicide spike, that we
have to keep seeing all this carnage on the roadway
and mass numbers of kids under of forming losing their
motivation because of marijuana.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
No state made a mistake. STAATE can fix the mistake.
Speaker 3 (25:07):
Realistically, it's going to take an awful lot of money
to run that campaign because you need the money to
get the truth to the people because the media is
not going to get the truth to the people. Most
of the media wants the money that can come from
legalize marijuana, advertising, etc. So it's a great thing to
focus on in twenty six and there's a lot that
(25:28):
you can do to help save others even before repeal
eventually comes. And when you think about it, just gravity
it has to eventually come because the harms are too grave.
So yeah, we'll continue these conversations. I want to get
some Texters, especially those who disagree. But just a quick
(25:49):
who do we have Ryan on the phones? Well, let's
talk to kurtin Fort Collins. I love Fort Collins. Kirt,
you're on the Dan Kaplis Show.
Speaker 6 (25:58):
Welcome, Hey, damn, thanks thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
Sure thing, thanks for being had. What are you thinking?
Speaker 6 (26:05):
Well, I just happen to turn on the radio and
listen to Fight Joe Rogan, which I really think you're
going to service to your listeners citing anything that Joe
Rogan would say. But again, the study that decided on
the decline in overdoses, if you look at it, the
(26:26):
decline starts in twenty twenty three, and I just I'm
forgetting who's president?
Speaker 5 (26:31):
Then?
Speaker 2 (26:32):
Oh yeah, can you be my good friend?
Speaker 6 (26:35):
No data from twenty twenty five. You cannot infer anything
that Trump has done on a graph the true data
from twenty twenty three to under twenty twenty four. And
that's just dishonest to your listeners. Yeah, I wanted to
correct that.
Speaker 3 (26:49):
Yeah, Kurt, you obviously don't want to have a back
and forth because then your whole argument falls apart. But
if you ever do want to have it back and forth,
feel free to call the show and just started with Dan,
I'd love to have it back and forth.
Speaker 6 (27:00):
Ok, look forward to that the second time I called
you with that. But the data and that's you know,
that's just dishonest.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
Well do you want to have a back and forth?
Speaker 3 (27:12):
Do you do you want to back you know that
your argument falls, No, you don't, right, because you just
want to come and spout. You just want to come
and spout because if we have a back and forth,
then your argument falls apart.
Speaker 6 (27:27):
Okay, I don't have an argument. I'm just saying you're
skating the wrong data or Okay, but let me let me.
Speaker 2 (27:33):
Ask you this.
Speaker 3 (27:34):
Let me ask you this, Kurt, and when we have
George Brockler coming up, do you think it increases or
decreases the amount of opioids in the United States for
President Trump to close the southern border.
Speaker 6 (27:48):
I think that we need to focus the message.
Speaker 3 (27:53):
Grow up, grow up, grow up, get intellectually honest.
Speaker 6 (27:57):
You know, here's the family selling you that you're railing against.
Speaker 2 (28:02):
What are you talking about, though? The what family?
Speaker 6 (28:05):
The family family, the produced pharma family who sold our
nation over twenty months?
Speaker 2 (28:14):
Are you the product? My friend? I think about what
you're saying.
Speaker 3 (28:17):
I asked you a very direct question. Do you think
it reduces the amount of Kurt? I'm sorry, man, I'm sorry.
You're not going to be allowed to run me over.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
See.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
Is this is what a white flag sounds like? Cut
this joker off rye, We're going to a break. This
is what a white flag sounds like. The man cannot
answer a direct question because then he will lose the argument.
And he'll lose the argument because the facts are against him,
so he acts like a child on the playground, just
rambling on rather than having an adult back or forth.
(28:51):
I've been on air for thirty years. I will take
on anybody and I will answer their questions, and if
I'm wrong, I'll admit it. And I've I'm that over
thirty years on air. I'm not going to waste time
with somebody like that who will not answer a direct
question because he knows it will cause him to lose
the argument. You hire a therapist, Okay, don't waste our
(29:12):
listener's time.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
George Brockler. Next, you're on the Dan Caplis Show.
Speaker 7 (29:18):
And now back to the Dankaplas Show podcast.
Speaker 3 (29:21):
The words of that song and I assume it's some
sort of George Brockler reference.
Speaker 7 (29:26):
That was more Irish. Tip of the cap to you
for there.
Speaker 2 (29:29):
Yeah, oh, thank you, thank you. I wish I could
figure out the words. George will tell us.
Speaker 3 (29:36):
George knows everything, George Brockler, Welcome back to the Dan
Caplis Show.
Speaker 8 (29:40):
Hey, thanks for having me on.
Speaker 5 (29:42):
I appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (29:44):
Now, George, finally some good news from the legislature. You
were telling me that the legislature bipartisan this time looking
at jacking up the penalties for child trafficking, which right
now are just shockingly low. No surprise, Colorado's one of
the worst states in the country for child trafficking.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
But please lay it out there for us.
Speaker 8 (30:09):
Yeah, the status of Colorado's laws right now is that
you can engage in solicitation of a child to engage
in sex trafficking. You can patronize a child for sex trafficking.
You can create child sexual abuse material and walk out
of the courtroom. You can get probation under Colorado's laws.
(30:32):
And in this thing I just have not seen in
since of Benda is there is a bi partisan effort
to create mandatory prison for those same acts, including elevating
the creation of child sexual abuse material to mandatory prison
on a third class only level, making it a four
(30:52):
to twelve year sentence. It's something I just haven't seen before.
So yesterday under the Gold Dome, there's Monica Duran and
there there's Byron Pelton, and there's Jarvis Caldwell. They're all together,
loving on each other, talking about how they're going to
stand up to fight for victims, and it was bizarre world.
I mean, I was thrilled, but I was like, where
am I?
Speaker 3 (31:12):
This is like nineteen ninety Yeah, I mean great news
obviously in that sense, But again, how did Colorado laws
ever become this week? Once once people began to understand
the true magnitude of sex trafficking. But at least there's
progress now. So what do you think we're going to
(31:34):
end up with in the end here? How is the
law actually going to be changed when it gets to
Polus's desk and how long will that take?
Speaker 8 (31:42):
Well, really, the only fight that I could see from
those who are just opposed to the idea of protecting
kids and victims in general will be over the mandatory time.
The other thing that the bill does it's important is
it changes a lot of the nomenclature that seems to
sort of attribute some responsibility to these child victims. So
we get rid of the prostitution name and all that
other stuff make it seem like they can consent to
(32:04):
stuff they can't. But you know, you've got the House
Judiciary Committee, which is going to be the killing fields
for this thing if they can't get enough votes, Because
this is the committee that when I testified at midnight
for a bill that would have just made sure that
if you rape a child, even one time, you got
to prison and it got defeated. That committee had people
repeatedly say things like, well, I don't believe in caging people,
(32:26):
so I would never vote for mandatory prison. And I thought, yes,
but some people need to be caged. You can call
it what you want, jail, prison, reform, whatever, but some
people need to be taken out of society. And there's
a group there that are in control some of these
committees that don't feel that way. That will be the
real test on the House side.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
George Brockler, I guess the DA and the twenty third.
Of course, let me ask you this. Constitutionally, would it
be legal to put the death penalty in place for
child traffickers.
Speaker 8 (32:59):
I don't think so, and I can't tell you that
it's exactly settled law, but I don't think here for
Colorado we could do it for something less than another death.
But you bring up something that I talked about right
after this press conference under the Gold Dome. I said,
in any sane society, we'd be talking about putting these
(33:20):
people down, you know what I mean, Like, there's just
some of these offenders that do things to kids that
no matter what we do with prison, these kids will
be broken and lesser as a result of this. I mean,
these are acts that you just can't get over. There's
no scar that fixes this.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
Yeah, right, And that's.
Speaker 3 (33:37):
Why I asked the question because when it comes to
the death penalty, and there's this broader conversation about the
death penalty. Believe me, I respect that and I understand it.
But if if a nation is going to have the
death penalty, I do not understand why it wouldn't apply
agreed equally, I mean if I mean, I agree it
(33:58):
has to apply first to people who kill other people.
But and then these laws that are now going to
be strengthened in Colorado could probably be strengthened further.
Speaker 2 (34:08):
I imagine if you had the magic.
Speaker 3 (34:10):
Kwand you would make these mandatory minimums double digits.
Speaker 8 (34:15):
I would I also, you know, they could make another
simple change, which is just simply to declare it a
crime of violence and try to bring it underneath that,
you know, ballot initiative that increased sentences to eighty five
percent minimum before you could be prole eligible. Because like,
no one should be fooled into thinking the fact that
the legislators decided to make it a mandatory four to
twelve year sentence really means four to twelve years under
(34:38):
a broken system. A four year sentence means these people
get turned around after probably eighteen months and put out
into the community in the community correction. So it's a
step in the right direction, but it's not a fix.
Speaker 3 (34:49):
Yeah, last question, George, what do you think prompted this?
I'd like to think it's basic human decency, but if
it was, we'd see these democrats doing lots more.
Speaker 2 (34:59):
What do you think pushed him to do this.
Speaker 8 (35:02):
I really do think that this was an effort that
appealed to the human decency piece. There's a victim, a
couple victims who kind of spearheaded this thing, and for
years were pushing on this and trying to build them,
and we tried to do it last year.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
It didn't make it. This is.
Speaker 8 (35:21):
I that you get people like you know, Monica Duran,
who's Majority leader, who said that this speaks to me
like she even says, I'm a victim of domestic violence.
I understand the powerlessness, I understand the trauma, and I
really do think they finally found an issue where even
people on the left and you'll still see by the
way people on her party pushed back and ward against her,
but people on the left saying I believe in this.
Speaker 3 (35:41):
Yeah, and George, thanks for your ongoing great work or
at the end of this segment, appreciate your time today
and look at her to the next visit. Thank you,
My friend Dick Wadhams coming up.
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