ASA in the News
Geoffrey Marshall
Medical marijuana users are being shut out of public housing - Americans for Safe Access
By Emma Ockerman for Vice News
“From a civil rights perspective, you’re denying a whole class of people housing that have already been denied other aspects of living their life to the fullest potential because of the federal prohibition on cannabis.” - David Mangone
Geoffrey Marshall
BREAKING: Lawmakers introduce bill renewing push to legalize medical marijuana for military veterans - Americans for Safe Access
By Rick Schettino for PotNetwork
“The Veterans Medical Marijuana Safe Harbor Act provides a much-needed system for providing medical cannabis to America's heroes. Countless veterans have shared stories with our organization about how medical cannabis has helped them or a fellow soldier deal with the injuries of war like PTSD or chronic pain.” - David Mangone
Geoffrey Marshall
From prohibition to control - Americans for Safe Access
By Jon Perez for The Saipan Tribune
U.S. pro-marijuana organizations like the Americans for Safe Access, Law Enforcement Action Partnership, Marijuana Policy Project, and Americans for Safe Access endorsed H.B. 20-178. These groups are working to reform the nation’s marijuana laws.
H.B. 20-178 would allow safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic and medical purposes, while prohibiting and discouraging possession and sale to minors. It is projected to generate a new revenue stream that will provide funding for drug treatment and prevention programs, school programs, the NMI Retirement Fund, and the general fund.
Geoffrey Marshall
One of Florida’s largest medical marijuana businesses forced to stop processing pot - Americans for Safe Access
By Elizabeth Koh for the Tampa Bay Times
"Surterra will comply with all of the regulations set forth by the Department of Health in order to ensure that Floridians continue to receive the safest, most naturally derived treatments to enable health and well-being, as recommended by a doctor," said company spokeswoman Kim Hawkes in a statement. "We are going above and beyond simply ensuring good manufacturing practices and are pursuing American's For Safe Access' [ASA] Patient Focused Certification Program, which is a standard that is superior to what is currently required by Florida statute."
Geoffrey Marshall
Oklahoma Legalized Medical Marijuana, to the Likely Dismay of Scott Pruitt - Americans for Safe Access
By Thomas Mitchell for Westword
"Question 788 is a tremendous victory for patients and for access to medical cannabis. We hope we can replicate this success in Utah and Missouri this November when those states will vote on improving their medical cannabis programs,"- David Mangone
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.
State Advocacy Resources
