Unity 2017 a Success! Paul Marini | April 12, 2017 Yesterday, over 100 medical cannabis patient advocates from 32 states descended on Capitol Hill with a mission:to convince their members of Congress to support medical cannabis legislation like the CARERS Act. With help from ASA staff, advocates were scheduled for... Read more
Maryland Finally Moving Forward on Access to Medical Cannabis Paul Marini | April 12, 2017 This week began with a significant move of progress, as the state of Maryland finally opened its patient registry for medical cannabis. Although the state legislature passed a medical cannabis program in 2013, delays and setbacks have postponed the implementation... Read more
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly for West Virginia Medical Cannabis Paul Marini | April 05, 2017 UPDATE: On April 19, 2017 West Virginia Jim Justice signed SB 386 into law, making West Virginia the 29th state with a comprehensive medical cannabis program. The signing ceremony can be viewed here. Read more
Tennessee Takes a Step Back in Pursuit of Medical Cannabis Paul Marini | March 23, 2017 Tennessee patients who need access to medical cannabis will have to continue waiting. Despite the opportunity to pass a bill that would have legalized medical cannabis in Tennessee, lawmakers, particularly in the Senate were apprehensive to move the bill forward.... Read more
Virginia Quietly Moves Forward with Medical Cannabis Program Paul Marini | March 20, 2017 On Thursday, March 16th, Virginia Governor McAuliffe signed Senate Bill 1027 into law allowing the production and distribution of cannabidiol oil (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) with up to 5% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) for patients with intractable epilepsy. Unlike the signing... Read more
No More Delays for Maryland’s Medical Cannabis Program Paul Marini | March 20, 2017 Despite its promising beginnings, the medical cannabis program in Maryland has suffered since its implementation in 2013. For the past four years, Maryland's medical cannabis program has been subjected to repeated legislative changes, an extensive public debate over establishing a regulatory... Read more
Cannabidiol (CBD) and Epilepsy Paul Marini | March 03, 2017 This blog was originally published 10/31/13. Cannabis and its derivatives have been documented for anti-epileptic effects since 1881. Today, the promise of cannabidiol (CBD) as an anti-epileptic treatment is prompting people to move to states that have safe access to... Read more
Government has apparently dropped 'gateway' theory, marijuana critics should too Paul Marini | February 17, 2017 Steph Sherer calls on politicians to stop basing policy on outdated cannabis myths that the DEA has disavowed. Read more on The Hill. Read more
ASA Change.org Petition to Get the DEA to Tell the Truth Reaches 100K Signatures Paul Marini | January 18, 2017 On Tuesday, Americans for Safe Access delivered more than 98,000 signatures for our Change.org petition to get the DEA to tell the truth about medical cannabis. Today, the number of signers eclipsed 100,000, reaching ASA's goal before President Obama leaves office.... Read more
Sign and share this petition today Paul Marini | January 16, 2017 Time is short. We have three more days to ask President Obama to force the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to change its policy on medical cannabis. If you have already signed ASA’s Information Quality Act (IQA) petition, forward this email... Read more