JAMA Cannabis Review: Authors, Affiliations, and Network Analysis

Document Information

Source Article: "Therapeutic Use of Cannabis and Cannabinoids: A Review"
Journal: JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association)
Published: November 26, 2025
DOI: 10.1001/jama.2025.19433

Authors and Institutional Affiliations

Disclosed Conflicts of Interest (per JAMA article)

Funding: VA Greater Los Angeles Medical Center (no role in study design/analysis)

Network Analysis: Undisclosed Organizational Connections

Overview

While no evidence of direct coordination between JAMA authors and the November 2025 federal hemp legislation was found, research reveals substantial professional and organizational connections between certain authors and the anti-cannabis legalization movement. The JAMA study was immediately cited by these groups to support policy positions.

Network Connection Chain (Visual Summary)

JAMA ARTICLE                    NETWORK CONNECTOR                 POLICY/ADVOCACY
─────────────                   ─────────────────                 ───────────────

Mark S. Gold, MD ──────────────► Robert L. DuPont, MD ──────────► SAM (Smart Approaches 
(JAMA co-author)                 (NOT a JAMA author)               to Marijuana)
     │                                │                                │
     │ • Mentor/collaborator          │ • SAM ally, co-signs letters   │ • Crafted hemp ban
     │ • Co-authored papers           │ • Called Sabet's book          │   language
     │ • Gold on IBH committee        │   "magnum opus"                │ • Celebrated passage
     │                                │                                │ • Immediately cited
     │                                │                                │   JAMA article
     │                                ▼                                │
     │                           IASIC (board member)                  │
     │                           IBH (founder/president)               │
     │                                                                 │
     ▼                                                                 ▼
Kevin P. Hill, MD ◄──────────────────────────────────────────────────► Policy Amplification
(JAMA corresponding author)                                            (Nov 26, 2025)
     │
     │ • Guest on Gold's podcast (May 2025)
     │ • Quoted in media alongside SAM
     │ • Hazelden publisher (same as DuPont)

Mark S. Gold, MD — Documented Connections

CADCA (Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America)

• Board of Directors member (1)
• Receiving CADCA Lifetime Achievement Award at 2026 National Leadership Forum, announced November 2025 (2)
• CADCA co-signed SAM's 2013 letter to DOJ opposing marijuana policy changes (3)

Robert L. DuPont, MD Collaboration

• DuPont (founding NIDA director, 1973-1978) stated: "While I may be the Founding Director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse, Dr. Mark Gold helped and taught me ever since the time we met" (4)
• Multiple co-authored publications including: "Marijuana and tobacco: a connection" (2003); drugged driving papers; physician health programs (5)
• Gold serves on Institute for Behavior and Health (IBH) Drugged Driving Committee — IBH is DuPont's organization whose mission is "to reduce the use of illegal drugs" (6)

Why This Matters: DuPont is the bridge connecting Gold to the anti-cannabis policy network. DuPont → SAM (ally, co-signs letters) → Hemp legislation. DuPont → IASIC (board member). DuPont → IBH (founder, Gold serves on committee). This means a JAMA author has organizational ties, through DuPont, to groups that crafted and celebrated the hemp ban.

SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) Materials

• Quoted extensively in SAM materials as "perhaps the most distinguished professor in the country on drugs and the brain and body" regarding cannabis smoke dangers (7)
• SAM materials cite Gold's statements: "It is possible, but not proven, that cannabis smoke may be less toxic than cigarette smoke, but it is not better than clean air" (7)

Professional Podcast Relationship

• Hosted Kevin Hill on "The Gold Standard" podcast (May 27, 2025) discussing cannabis medicine — six months before JAMA publication (8)

Kevin P. Hill, MD, MHS — Documented Connections

Hazelden Publishing

• Author of "Marijuana: The Unbiased Truth about the World's Most Popular Weed" (Hazelden Publishing, 2015) (9)
• Disclosed royalties from Hazelden Publishing in JAMA article
• Note: Hazelden also published Robert DuPont's books on drug testing (10)

Public Policy Positioning

• October 2025 interview with AJMC: "State policy regarding medical marijuana use is out ahead of the science, which can lead to predicaments where cannabis is prescribed in situations where it is not needed" (11)
• Co-author of "Medical Cannabis: An Evidence-Based Guide" (12)

Immediate Post-Publication Media

• Quoted in Washington Times (November 26, 2025): "False claims seem to bolster sales... While most people are well aware of the risks of alcohol and nicotine, they are not clear about the risks of cannabis" (13)

The Network Hub: Robert L. DuPont, MD

IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION: Robert DuPont is NOT an author on the JAMA article. He is included in this analysis because he serves as the key connecting figure between JAMA co-author Mark Gold and the broader anti-cannabis advocacy network (SAM, IASIC, IBH). DuPont's decades-long professional relationship with Gold—as mentor, collaborator, and organizational colleague—is the thread that links a JAMA author to groups that immediately amplified the article's conclusions for policy purposes.

DuPont's roles in the anti-cannabis network:

Immediate Policy Use of JAMA Study

Within 4 days of JAMA publication, Kevin Sabet (SAM CEO) was quoted citing the study:

"We want to see federal and state laws and regulations that tamp down to zero any medical claims about marijuana and cannabinoids that have not passed the usual process of FDA scrutiny and approval" (13)

Keith Humphreys (Stanford addiction researcher) added: "Overhyped claims of the therapeutic effects of marijuana were cynically advanced by activists to promote legalization... Even most of them knew their claims were somewhere between inflated and entirely made up" (13)

Timeline of Events

SAM's Role in Hemp Legislation

Kevin Sabet, SAM President and CEO, regarding the November 2025 hemp ban:

"Getting the hemp language passed was something that we're very proud of... It's the biggest change in marijuana policy, I would say, in a generation. To recriminalize and ban a form of marijuana/hemp, that's extremely dangerous, so we're very proud of that." (20)

The Washington Examiner reported the hemp provision was "crafted by drug safety groups like Smart Approaches to Marijuana, or SAM" (22).

Assessment

What the Evidence Supports:

1. Mark Gold has documented, extensive connections to the anti-cannabis network through CADCA board membership, decades-long DuPont collaboration, and quotation in SAM materials
2. Robert DuPont (NOT a JAMA author) serves as the connecting hub between Gold and SAM/IASIC/IBH — organizations that shaped and celebrated the hemp ban
3. Kevin Hill and Mark Gold have a professional relationship (podcast appearance, shared publishing circles)
4. The JAMA article conclusions ("insufficient evidence for most indications") align with SAM's policy positions
5. SAM immediately amplified the JAMA study to advance policy goals
6. Disclosed conflicts in the JAMA article do not capture broader organizational affiliations

What the Evidence Does Not Support:

1. No evidence SAM commissioned or coordinated the study
2. No evidence of deliberate timing coordination with hemp legislation (article published after legislation passed)
3. No evidence Kevin Hill is formally affiliated with SAM or IASIC
4. No evidence DuPont had any role in the JAMA article — his relevance is solely as the network link between author Gold and advocacy groups
5. The scientific conclusions may be independently valid regardless of network affiliations

References

1. CADCA Board of Directors listing. Dr. Mark Gold consulting page. https://www.drmarkgold.com/addiction-medicine-expert-doctor-consultant/
2. CADCA press release. "CADCA to Honor Outstanding Leaders in Substance Use Prevention at 2026 National Leadership Forum." November 19, 2025. https://www.cadca.org/news-release/cadca-to-honor-outstanding-leaders-in-substance-use-prevention-at-2026-national-leadership-forum/
3. SAM press release. "Major Organizations Press DOJ on New Marijuana Guidelines." September 4, 2013. https://learnaboutsam.org/2013/09/press-release-major-organizations-press-doj-on-new-marijuana-guidelines/
4. Dr. Mark Gold website. Testimonials. https://www.drmarkgold.com/
5. Dr. Mark Gold publications list. https://www.drmarkgold.com/dr-mark-s-gold-addiction-medicine-books-and-publications/
6. Institute for Behavior and Health. Leadership page. https://www.ibhinc.org/leadership
7. San Juan Island Prevention Coalition. "SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana)" fact sheet. https://sjipc.org/sam-smart-approaches-to-marijuana/
8. iHeart Radio. "Cannabis Medicine with guest Kevin P. Hill, M.D., M.H.S." The Gold Standard with Mark S. Gold, MD. May 27, 2025. https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-gold-standard-with-mar-277062912/episode/cannabis-medicine-with-guest-kevin-p-277801042/
9. Hill KP. Marijuana: The Unbiased Truth about the World's Most Popular Weed. Center City, MN: Hazelden Publishing; 2015.
10. DuPont RL. Drug Testing in Drug Abuse Treatment, Drug Testing in Schools, Drug Testing in the Criminal Justice System. Hazelden Publishing; 2005.
11. AJMC. "Dr Kevin Hill: Policy Is Ahead of Science on Medical Cannabis." October 17, 2025. https://www.ajmc.com/view/dr-kevin-hill-policy-is-ahead-of-science-on-medical-cannabis
12. Harvard Health. Kevin Hill, MD, MHS author page. https://www.health.harvard.edu/authors/kevin-hill-md-mhs
13. Washington Times. "JAMA study finds 'insufficient evidence' for most cannabis health claims." November 26, 2025. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/nov/26/jama-study-finds-insufficient-evidence-cannabis-health-claims/
14. Wikipedia. "Robert DuPont." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_DuPont
15. Institute for Behavior and Health. Homepage. https://www.ibhinc.org/
16. IASIC Kansas Legislature testimony. Board of Directors listing including Robert DuPont. https://www.kslegislature.gov/li_2022/b2021_22/committees/ctte_h_fed_st_1/documents/testimony/20210225_12.pdf
17. Wikipedia. "Kevin Sabet." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Sabet
18. Wikipedia. "Kevin Sabet" — Vatican advisors section. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Sabet
19. SafeLaunch. Robert DuPont biography. https://www.safelaunch.org/bobdupont
20. The Hill. "Hemp industry battles to save THC products from ban: Five things to know." November 2025. https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5606807-hemp-loophole-government-funding-bill/
21. JAMA Network. "Therapeutic Use of Cannabis and Cannabinoids: A Review." November 26, 2025. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2842072
22. Washington Examiner. "Mace to file legislation striking hemp ban tucked into funding bill." November 2025. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/house/3891741/nancy-mace-bill-strike-hemp-ban/

Document prepared December 1, 2025