ASA in the News
Geoffrey Marshall
Don’t Call it a Dispensary- Why Michigan Takes Marijuana Semantics Seriously - Americans for Safe Access
By Lauren Williams for Marijuana.com
“… It is critical that patients have clarity as to where they can obtain medicine,” said David Mangone, director of governmental affairs and counsel for the non-profit Americans for Safe Access. “It is too early to tell if this will adversely affect patient access. However, banning terms like prescription is good policy, because doctors can’t actually write prescriptions for medical cannabis under federal law, only provide recommendations.”
Geoffrey Marshall
UN Drug Committee Declares Cannabis Is An Effective, ‘Relatively Safe Drug’ - Americans for Safe Access
By Steve Elliott for Herb
“The current international policies on cannabis use are outdated and are having a detrimental impact on patients in the US and worldwide,” said Steph Sherer, executive director of Americans for Safe Access (ASA). “These policies do not reflect the reality of over 30 countries globally that have passed medical cannabis laws.”
Geoffrey Marshall
Jeff Sessions Is Really Going to Hate the World Health Organization’s First-Ever Marijuana Review - Americans for Safe Access
By Jackie Flynn Mogensen for Mother Jones
The World Health Organization met in Geneva, Switzerland, this week to review a first-of-its-kind report on the health and safety of cannabis, and President Donald Trump’s Justice Department will almost certainly not be thrilled with the report’s finding that marijuana is a “relatively safe drug.”
The report, compiled by a team of international cannabis experts and presented to the Expert Committee on Drug Dependence, is the first of many steps by the WHO to ultimately deliver a recommendation to the UN secretary-general on the “need for and level of international control” of cannabis, which could have a major impact on marijuana legislation internationally. Cannabis is currently classified under the same category as heroin and cocaine.
“If the scheduling of cannabis changes at an international level, there’s nothing that will happen immediately,” says Steph Sherer, executive director of Americans for Safe Access, a cannabis advocacy group. Sherer also testified at the committee meeting this week. She told Mother Jones, however, that a scheduling change would indicate “a global openness to utilizing cannabis therapeutics in natural health strategies.”
Geoffrey Marshall
With Trump’s Support, STATES Act Could End Nationwide Cannabis Prohibition - Americans for Safe Access
A bipartisan group of senators and representatives introduced a historic bill this morning that could change the cannabis legalization landscape across the United States.
n a move that’s been anticipated for weeks, Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Rep. David Joyce (R-OH) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) introduced the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Entrusting States (STATES) Act this morning on Capitol Hill. The measure would exempt state-legal marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, allowing every state to legalize and regulate cannabis (or keep it illegal) as they see fit.
Geoffrey Marshall
Synthetic Weed Is Back, Bigger Than Ever, and Scary as Hell - Americans for Safe Access
By Christopher Moraff for The Daily Beast
Dr. Jahan Marcu, Senior Scientist at Americans for Safe Access, a marijuana advocacy group, calls the reemergence of synthetic cannabinoids a “product safety nightmare.”
“It’s like ordering a drink and not knowing if it’s 0 percent alcohol or full proof,” he said.
Geoffrey Marshall
Legal weed advocates believe victory is near in Washington - Americans for Safe Access
By Jonathan D. Salant for NJ.Com
"Public opinion is changing on this issue," said Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., the chief sponsor of the Medical Cannabis Research Act, which authorizes research into the medical benefits of marijuana. "Congress is behind. We need to catch up.
"Two pro-marijuana groups, the National Cannabis Industry Association and Americans for Safe Access, held press conferences and met with federal lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Geoffrey Marshall
How to Become a Cannabis Advocate - Americans for Safe Access
By Herbert Fuego for Westword
Most people thought the fight was over when Colorado voters legalized commercial cannabis in 2012, but that victory led to a series of smaller battles over such issues as social consumption, home-grow limitations and industry expansion. Proposals continue to pop up on both the local and state level that could advance or limit your rights as a cannabis consumer, patient, grower or business owner. Want to make sure things go in the right direction? Here's how to become a cannabis advocate:
Geoffrey Marshall
Marijuana delivery to all of California? Measure would expand access - Americans for Safe Access
By Taryn Luna for The Sacramento Bee
There's a problem with access to legal weed in California, and a Senate bill may help solve it.
A 2016 voter-approved measure to legalize marijuana in the state gave cities and counties the authority to pass regulations outlining the types of weed businesses that can operate within their borders. With limited time to craft rules before the law took effect at the start of the year, many towns approved outright bans of all marijuana businesses.
Jon O'Connell
5 tips for new cannabis patients - Americans for Safe Access
By Jon O'Connell for The Citizens' Voice
Pennsylvania’s newest industry comes with a learning curve.
More than 7,000 people now carry medical marijuana ID cards to treat illness with cannabis, and thousands more seek them. However, it remains a legal conundrum when it comes to federal law, and it’s still disparaged as weak science by some physicians. Uninformed patients risk getting frustrated or giving up without the right resources.
During the first hour of the Cannabis Learn conference Monday in Philadelphia, Jahan Marcu, Ph.D., chief scientific officer with Americans for Safe Access, and the organization’s associate director, Debbe Churgai, offered some starting guidelines for patients and their caregivers considering cannabis as a treatment option.
Sasha Goldstein
Protections Proposed for Vermont Medical Marijuana Users Who Need an Organ Transplant - Americans for Safe Access
By Sasha Goldstein for Seven Days
"There's always the concern that, if there's not a specific statute or guideline [granting protections], then the risk [of discrimination] remains," said David Mangone, legislative counsel at Americans for Safe Access, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that advocates for access to medical cannabis. The group recently graded every state's medical marijuana program and gave Vermont's a zero out of five for its organ transplant protections.
State Advocacy Resources
