Honoring Dennis Peron Paul Marini | 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... Read more
New Memo from Congressional Research Service Paul Marini | 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... Read more
The Second Amendment and Medical Cannabis Patients Paul Marini | 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,... Read more
Safe for Now (But Not For Long) Paul Marini | 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... Read more
Kettle Falls Five Matriarch Advocates for CJS Medical Marijuana Amendment in DC Paul Marini | 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... Read more
Patient Advocates Call on Congress to Act to Preserve Medical Cannabis to Fight Opiate Crisis Paul Marini | 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... Read more
The Tom Marino Roller Coaster: Three Days of Drug Policy Changes Paul Marini | 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... Read more
Working to Influence Global Policy on Cannabidiol (CBD) Paul Marini | 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)... Read more
ASA Activist Profile: Valencia Elliott, Westchester, New York Paul Marini | 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... Read more
Yes, this again: Medical Cannabis and Congressional Appropriations Paul Marini | September 01, 2017 Update 9/8/2017- Congress has approved a continuing resolution to keep the government open through December 8th, 2017. In addition to funding government agencies this continuing resolution also maintains that the Department of Justice can not use funds to prevent the implementation... Read more