Virginia: A Path Forward for Conservative States

| February 09, 2018 |

On Monday, February 5th, with Americans for Safe Access (ASA) patients, families, and advocates watching in the gallery above, the Senate of the conservative Virginia General Assembly, passed SB726 40-0 after passing its companion bill through the House of Delegates 98-0....

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Honoring Dennis Peron

| January 30, 2018 |

The medical cannabis community is mourning the death of medical cannabis pioneer Dennis Peron, who died on Saturday at the age of seventy-two. Dennis was the founder of the legendary San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club in San Francisco and a...

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New Memo from Congressional Research Service

| January 16, 2018 |

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a memorandum analyzing the Justice Department’s Decision to rescind Obama-era guidance on federal cannabis policy including the Cole Memo, the Ogden Memos,  the Wilkinson memo on cannabis on tribal lands and the FinCen guidance...

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The​ ​Second​ ​Amendment​ ​and​ ​Medical​ ​Cannabis​ ​Patients

| December 20, 2017 |

In a 1755 letter to the Pennsylvania General Assembly Ben Franklin wrote  “those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." However, while its original context, which related to tax policy,...

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Safe for Now (But Not For Long)

| December 08, 2017 |

Yesterday afternoon, both the House of Representatives and the Senate voted on H.J. Res. 123, a Continuing Resolution that keeps the Government open through December 22, 2017. President Trump signed it into law this morning. H.J. Res 123 continues to...

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Kettle Falls Five Matriarch Advocates for CJS Medical Marijuana Amendment in DC

| November 17, 2017 |

The last 5 years have been a nightmare for Rhonda Firestack-Harvey, who is well known among medical cannabis advocates as a member of the Kettle Falls Five. For those unfamiliar with the story, Rhonda and her late husband Larry’s property...

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Patient Advocates Call on Congress to Act to Preserve Medical Cannabis to Fight Opiate Crisis

| November 03, 2017 |

As a kick off to the End Pain Not Lives Campaign on November 1, Americans for Safe Access and US Pain Foundation advocates held a press conference and rally on Capitol Hill to encourage Congress and the Administration to consider medical...

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The Tom Marino Roller Coaster: Three Days of Drug Policy Changes

| October 17, 2017 |

On October 15, 2017, the Washington Post and 60 Minutes released a scathing report on the pharmaceutical industry’s influence of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). This report, in large part, scrutinized Representative Tom Marino (R-PA) and his potential appointment as...

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Working to Influence Global Policy on Cannabidiol (CBD)

| September 22, 2017 |

This week, we submitted comments relating to the efficacy and medical usefulness of cannabidiol as a medical treatment. In August, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a notice in the federal register asking for public comments on cannabidiol (CBD)...

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ASA Activist Profile: Valencia Elliott, Westchester, New York

| September 18, 2017 |

Valencia Elliott grew up in what she calls a tough part of the country where she’d regularly smell cannabis being smoked, but she never had any interest in it. That changed late in life when her husband, an Army veteran...

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