Medical Cannabis is on Every Ballot in 2026!
Let’s Make Sure Compassion is Too.
Candidates running for federal office are publicly committing to advance a national medical cannabis program by signing the Compassionate Pledge — sending a clear signal to voters about how they will approach medical cannabis policy in Washington, D.C.
Millions of Americans rely on cannabis medicines to manage serious health conditions, including chronic pain, epilepsy, PTSD, cancer symptoms, and rare diseases. This progress exists because states acted. Across the country, state medical cannabis programs have emerged through decades of advocacy, research, and voter action. These programs were built to serve patients with compassion, allowing healthcare providers to incorporate cannabis medicines into care.
Those efforts changed the national conversation. State programs generated research, created regulatory structures, and produced the evidence federal agencies needed to recognize that cannabis has accepted medical use. But state action was never meant to be the destination. Today, access to medical cannabis still depends on geography, politics, and outdated federal rules. Patients following state law lack clear federal rights and protections.
State programs proved what is possible. Federal leadership is now needed to secure and advance that progress.
The next Congress will determine whether medical cannabis policy builds on the foundation states created — improving protections, advancing research, and establishing a modern, patient-centered regulatory framework that integrates cannabis into American healthcare through a national medical cannabis program — or whether it is left without the stability and support required to evolve.
Medical cannabis is now part of our national healthcare landscape —making it an election issue in 2026.
Through the Compassionate Candidate campaign, candidates demonstrate their commitment to innovation in healthcare, and voters gain a clear standard for deciding who they can depend on to represent them in Washington, D.C.
That is why medical cannabis is on every ballot this year and why compassion must be too.
Americans for Safe Access launched the Compassionate Candidate Campaign to ensure medical cannabis patients are visible in the 2026 election. The campaign provides candidates with a forum to learn about patients’ needs and a platform to showcase their support!
The Compassionate Pledge is at the center of the campaign:
Voters nationwide are calling for Medical Cannabis Champions in Congress. The pledge provides patient advocates with a clear standard for evaluating whether candidates seeking federal office are committed to advancing medical cannabis policy, and the power of a national movement behind them when they ask candidates to commit.
The countdown to the next Congress has begun. Use the resources below to shape Election 2026 with compassion!
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