In adult-use and dual-market states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and U.S. Virgin Islands), many medical cannabis patients have been pushed out of medical programs and into adult-use stores because those markets became easier to access, more affordable, or more available. But adult-use access is not the same as medical access. Adult-use purchases may not provide the current patient documentation, patient dispensing records, medical product designation, or medical-only supply chain records that patients and businesses may need under the new federal medical cannabis framework.
These states must act quickly to restore a clear medical pathway. Governors, legislators, and regulators should preserve or create medical-only license categories, endorsements, or designations across the full supply chain; rebuild patient enrollment; issue state verification letters for eligible medical cannabis businesses; educate licensees about the DEA registration opportunity; and begin automatic cannabis record clearing. Medical cannabis patients should not be forced into adult-use markets and then denied the protections that depend on medical documentation.
Here is what you can do:
1. Email your cannabis regulatory agency a copy of ASA's State Preparedness for Federal Cannabis Regulation & Enforcement: Part 1, State Actions Needed to Preserve & Protect Patient Access.
Find your state's regulatory agency by using these state-by-state resources.
2. Your Governor and State Representatives need to hear from you, TODAY!
Use the sample letter below to tell them about the June 26, 2026, DEA registration deadline and send them a copy of ASA's State Preparedness for Federal Cannabis Regulation & Enforcement: Part 1, State Actions Needed to Preserve & Protect Patient Access.
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