Medical cannabis patients and caregivers may be denied entry, service, participation, membership, or access by a private business, event, program, organization, or facility. Problems may arise when a patient carries medicine, requests a reasonable accommodation, needs assistance from a caregiver, or is excluded because staff assumes that all cannabis possession or use is unlawful.
Businesses and public-facing organizations may have rules about smoking, prohibited items, controlled substances, safety, security, insurance, or conduct. These rules may apply regardless of a person’s medical status, whether the medicine is securely stored, whether a non-inhaled form is used, or whether an alternative would allow participation without creating a safety problem.
The federal law is new, and many organizations have not trained staff or updated policies. Patients and caregivers may need to educate managers, event organizers, security personnel, and program administrators. The new protections do not permit unsafe conduct or override every restriction, but they support asking whether a reasonable accommodation or alternative can be provided.
The federal law is new, and many businesses and organizations have not trained staff or updated policies.Patients and caregivers may need to educate managers, event organizers, security personnel, and program administrators. The new protections do not permit unsafe conduct or override every restriction, but they support asking whether a reasonable accommodation or alternative can be provided. |
Patients and caregivers can use the resources on this page to communicate with a private business, event organizer, program, membership organization, transportation provider, or other public-facing facility. These include educational materials on the law and patients’ rights, as well as sample reasonable accommodation requests to help frame the conversation. A request does not guarantee that the business or program will approve the accommodation. Because these protections are new, meaningful implementation may require continued education, licensing or civil-rights complaints, public pressure, or litigation.
PATIENT & CAREGIVER RESOURCES:
NEED HELP DOCUMENTING OR REPORTING DISCRIMINATION? |
Being denied entry, service, participation, or access can disrupt medical care, travel, community involvement, and daily life. Even so, documenting what happened, reporting discrimination to ASA, and educating businesses and service providers are essential to making these protections real.
1. Assert your rights and be prepared to educate the business or service provider.
2. Request a reasonable accommodation or alternative procedure.
3. Keep and organize policies, tickets, receipts, incident records, and communications.
REPORTING DISCRIMINATION
Whenever possible, request the policy and decision in writing, document statements about federal law or federal funding, preserve notices and communications, and record every upcoming deadline.
The checklist below can help patients and caregivers document what happened, identify the business or program policy involved, and gather the records needed to request an accommodation, challenge a denial, seek a refund, or report discrimination.
You don't need all the documents on this checklist before reporting an incident. Report urgent situations promptly, continue gathering records, and keep copies of everything you submit.
Download Private-Public Services Discrimination Checklist
Helpful ASA Resources
The following Americans for Safe Access resources can help patients and caregivers understand their state medical cannabis program, assert their rights, document discrimination, and seek assistance.
Know Your State’s Medical Cannabis Laws | Understand and Assert Your Rights | Tools for Asserting Your Rights | Report Medical Cannabis Discrimination | Traveling with Medical Cannabis | ASA Patient Guides | ASA Resources for Patients and Caregivers
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