ASA in the News
Geoffrey Marshall
Sessions rips medical marijuana - Americans for Safe Access
By Daniel M. Jiminez for the Record-Bee
“Statements like these from the Attorney General are factually inaccurate. Sessions needs to stop spreading unfounded, unscientific theories about medical marijuana and take the time to actually meet the millions of Americans that are benefiting from its use before making comments about it being over-hyped.” - Steph Sherer
Geoffrey Marshall
Map: How do state medical marijuana laws compare? Advocates give report card - Americans for Safe Access
By Alicia Wallace and Polly Washburn for The Cannabist
The majority of U.S. states now have a medical marijuana law in place, but the laws don’t yet go far enough, a national medical marijuana patient advocacy group says.
Americans for Safe Access recently released the latest iteration of its “Medical Marijuana Access in the United States” annual report card, in which the organization conducts a state-by-state analysis of medical marijuana laws and programs.
Geoffrey Marshall
Medical pot group gives California ‘B+’ on access report card - Americans for Safe Access
By Todd R. Hansen for the Daily Republic
FAIRFIELD — California, one of the original eight states to legalize medical cannabis use, received a “B+” in the 2017 annual report by Americans for Safe Access.
Overall, the organization said there is still a lot of work to do, as none of the 44 states that allow medical marijuana use received an “A” grade. However, the number of states receiving a “B” or higher went from 11 to 19.
“Medical cannabis laws are moving in a positive direction, but only a handful of the 44 medical cannabis states are truly meeting the needs of patients, and there are still six states where cannabis remains completely illegal for patients,” Steph Sherer, executive director of Americans for Safe Access, said in a statement released with the annual report.
Geoffrey Marshall
Americans for Safe Access Grades State Medical Marijuana Laws - Americans for Safe Access
By Carl Wellstone for Weed News
Americans for Safe Access (ASA) have been at the forefront of the movement to implement sensible cannabis laws that benefit patients battling severe and debilitating medical conditions since the organization was founded in 2002. Led by a great advocate, Steph Sherer, ASA now has over 30,000 members in with chapters in forty different states. The Washington DC-based organization has been instrumental in progress we have seen at the federal level, such as the introduction of the bipartisan CARERS Act last session. With as much knowledge on medical cannabis policy as any group, ASA has just released its report of state medical marijuana laws and it is an interesting read that illustrates the patchwork of laws across the nation and provides a grade based upon a variety of factors.
Geoffrey Marshall
Higher Ground: Pot and post-fact - Americans for Safe Access
By Larry Gabriel for the Detroit Metro Times
Recently, in this era of so-called fake news and alternative facts, the organization Americans for Safe Access (ASA) struck a blow for truth in the Drug Enforcement Administration's information about marijuana.
Geoffrey Marshall
Sessions reviewing possible crackdown on marijuana - Americans for Safe Access
By NBCnews for WMGT 41
Mike Liszewski, director of government affairs for the medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access, said the reassurances “provided little comfort.” “Sessions has yet to make such a commitment to respect state medical cannabis laws,”
Liszewski said in a statement.
Geoffrey Marshall
Maryland marijuana dispensaries learn how to do business - Americans for Safe Access
By George Lettis for WBAL-TV 11 Baltimore
From the complicated science of cannabis to the practical issues of a business, Americans for Safe Access also trains people to deal with the legal limbo of medical marijuana.
Geoffrey Marshall
Sean Spicer Wrongly Links Recreational Marijuana With Opioid Crisis - Americans for Safe Access
By Debra Borchardt for Forbes
We prepared this document to help inform Congress about four important changes in the DEA’s positions on medical cannabis that could have an impact on their policy making decisions this session: cannabis is not a 'gateway drug' and it does not cause cognitive decline, psychosis or lung cancer. - Beth Collins
Geoffrey Marshall
Fact Checking the DEA - Americans for Safe Access
By Vince Sliwoski for the Portland Mercury
Was the DEA forced to remove “alternative facts” about cannabis from its website?
YES! IN DECEMBER, the medical marijuana advocacy group, Americans for Safe Access (ASA), formally requested that the federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) remove or correct a cluster of misinformation on medical cannabis from its website. Shortly thereafter, DEA complied.
Geoffrey Marshall
Can Marijuana Ease The Opioid Epidemic? - Americans for Safe Access
By Christine Vestal for the Huffington Post
Enacted in 2014, New York’s medical marijuana law is considered among the most cautious in the nation. Americans for Safe Access, a patient advocacy group, gives the state a letter grade of C when it comes to balancing product safety and ease of access to the emerging medicine.
State Advocacy Resources
