While the use of medical marijuana under the care and supervision of a licensed medical professional consistently carries 80% support in nation-wide polling, the issue is still considered taboo for many. By and large, the public is still uninformed about the potential medical benefits of cannabis for therapeutic use. Many people believe that if someone if dying, s/he should not face prison time for smoking marijuana. However, research suggests that cannabis helps to improve the everyday lives of people living with serious or chronic health conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis-C, chronic pain and many more.

Contrary to popular belief, the chemical compounds in cannabis have a wide range of therapeutic qualities. Medical marijuana is not something to use only by people who are dying. Cannabis is frequently recommended for use in combination with traditional medical treatments to help maintain and improve health for individuals coping with a variety of medical conditions. Despite widespread international consensus that cannabis alleviates the effects of a number of our most troubling diseases and conditions, for too many Americans cannabis is not available as an option in health care.

Americans who are lucky enough to have access to cannabis are using a variety of new delivery systems to integrate cannabis therapy into a whole host of other treatment regimens that assist patients in managing multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis-C, and chronic pain. Rather than being limited to smoking, patients are able to benefit from cannabis through advanced tinctures, edibles, vaporization, topical balms, teas, and other methods that allow them to unobtrusively integrate the treatment into their daily lives.

Outreach and Education:

Education is necessary to help properly inform patients, medical professionals, scientists, decision-makers, and the public at-large about the fight for safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research. The "heart and soul" of our education and outreach efforts started with the production and continuing distribution of ASA's Medical Marijuana Education Booklets, a series that now includes eight different conditions for which the therapeutic use of cannabis may be helpful.

ASA and our members participate in a variety outreach efforts designed to increase awareness and facilitate our ability to build coalitions. We believe coalition-building is essential to help establish meaningful and permanent change to the laws that prevent safe access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research. ASA is helping to create new partners in the fight to secure safe and legal access through public education, attending and presenting at important health and medical conferences, hosting forums and briefings, and through proactive media campaigns.

Click here to view ASA's Condition based materials.

Litigation: Recognizing Science using the Data Quality Act

For many years the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has maintained that marijuana has no medical value, despite evidence to the contrary in this country and around the world. ASA recently filed a lawsuit challenging the statements of HHS about medical cannabis. Read how ASA is using a little-known law called the "Data Quality Act" to change federal policy.