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Every January, people make resolutions.  Some stick. Most don’t.

But 2026 isn’t a year where medical cannabis patients can afford symbolic promises or good intentions that disappear by Valentine’s Day. This is a year where resolutions will be tested—by real deadlines, real policy decisions, and real consequences for patient access.

Decisions made through rulemaking, appropriations, and agency action in 2026 will shape medical cannabis and cannabinoid access for decades. These aren’t abstract debates. They determine whether patients are protected, ignored, or actively harmed by policy choices made in their absence.

Here’s the hard truth: if patient advocates are not organized, visible, and ready to respond in 2026, decisions will be made about us—without us.

Americans for Safe Access (ASA) is starting the year with clarity about what’s required. Not hope. Not vibes. Old school organizing that begins with you!  ASA’s resolution to ensure safe and legal access to medical cannabis began nearly 24 years ago. That commitment hasn’t changed. What has changed is the pace and complexity of federal policy—and the urgency for patient voices to be present when decisions are being made. We are asking patient advocates to commit to showing up when it counts as their 2026 New Year’s resolution. And we’re committing to give you the training, tools, and support to keep it.

Lessons from 2025: Recognition Isn’t Protection—Action Is

Yes, the federal government has finally acknowledged that cannabis has medical value. That matters. But recognition is not protection, and acknowledgment is not access.

Patients still face discrimination, inconsistent access, and exclusion from healthcare systems—real harms that don’t disappear because a calendar flips. Rescheduling alone does not create federal patient rights. Agency statements do not integrate cannabis into healthcare. Executive action does not replace congressional responsibility.

Those outcomes change only if patients are present when and where decisions are being made.

2026 begins with a countdown. Early in the year, budget bills could undermine federal medical cannabis protections and halt the rescheduling process reignited just weeks ago. Rulemakings, agency guidance, and appropriations will move quickly, often with little public visibility. Whether patients are represented in those moments is still an open question.

That level of engagement doesn’t happen by accident. It requires preparation, coordination, and follow-through.

A Resolution You Can Keep

The Medical Cannabis Action Pledge is ASA’s call to patient advocates to turn New Year’s resolve into real-world impact. This isn’t a symbolic signature. It’s a commitment to be part of Medical Cannabis Organizing in 2026—and to take action when it matters most. Your capacity may change over time, and your commitments can be updated. Advocacy should be sustainable, not performative. But participation is the point.

ASA’s responsibility is clear: we make sure you’re equipped to keep your resolution.

The Medical Cannabis Action Pledge Toolkit

Everything You Need to Fulfill Your Resolution

Every New Year’s resolution fails for the same reason: people don’t have a plan. ASA has created the Medical Cannabis Action Pledge Toolkit to ensure we all succeed!

Success in 2026 depends on whether patient advocates are organized, visible, and ready to respond when decisions are being made in our name. Many policy deadlines are already scheduled. Many more are being quietly negotiated in state houses and in Washington, D.C. What remains uncertain is whether patients will be represented—in rulemakings, policymakers’ offices, local media, and the public record—when those decisions happen.

ASA created the Toolkit to close that gap. It provides a practical, centralized set of resources designed to help advocates act with confidence and clarity.

The Toolkit includes:

• Gauging the Political Landscape
  Clear timelines, policy briefings, and context so you know what’s happening, when it’s happening, and why it matters.
• Articulating Solutions
  Patient-centered talking points and policy explanations that move conversations beyond slogans and toward solutions.
• Sharpening Advocacy Skills
  Guidance on lobbying, writing comments, engaging media, and communicating effectively with policymakers.
• Tools for Your Advocacy Toolbox
  Fact sheets, one-pagers, presentations, and outreach materials you can use immediately in your community or professional networks.
• Plug In
  Direct pathways to meetings, trainings, briefings, and rapid-response actions—so you’re connected when momentum counts.
• Advocacy Inspiration
  Stories and examples that remind you this work matters—and that organized patients change outcomes.

Keeping This Resolution 

By taking the pledge, you’re committing to patient-led engagement that includes responding to rapid action alerts, amplifying patient voices across social and professional networks, engaging in public education and media response, supporting local emergency outreach using ASA materials, becoming a trained patient voice for presentations and briefings, and helping mobilize others when fast action is needed.

You will NOT be alone. You will be joining a growing network of patients, caregivers, health professionals, and allies who are ready to show up for each other in 2026.

Every comment submitted, meeting attended, letter published, and conversation started helps move patient voices from the margins to the center of decision-making. Together, we will stay engaged and take pride in knowing that our advocacy matters!

This is how resolutions turn into results.

A Question Worth Asking at the Start of the Year

Every January invites reflection. So here’s the one question that matters most for 2026:

When decisions were being made about patient access—did you show up?

If you rely on medical cannabis or cannabinoid therapies—or care about those who do—this is the year to answer that question with action.

Make the resolution: Take the Medical Cannabis Action Pledge.

Use the Action Pledge Toolkit.

Join Medical Cannabis Organizing in 2026.

Be Prepared. Be Visible. Be Impossible to Ignore.

Because safe access won’t happen with a New Year’s wish—it will only come through action.

Happy New Year, See You on the Frontlines!