Download the Guidance Document | Watch the Press Briefing | Read the Sign-on Letter | Add Your Name or Organization | Download the Backgrounder| Press Release
Chronic disease is one of the nation’s most urgent health challenges. According to HHS, diet-related chronic diseases are responsible for nearly 60 percent of U.S. deaths, and an estimated one million Americans die from diet-related chronic diseases each year. HHS has identified limited nutrition education among medical professionals as a gap in the nation’s capacity to address chronic disease.
In response, HHS and the U.S. Department of Education launched Advancing Nutrition Education Across the Medical Continuum. The initiative now includes 76 committed institutions across 36 states and reaches more than 52,000 medical students, with participating schools expanding nutrition education beginning in fall 2026.
On August 12, 2026, Americans for Safe Access (ASA), joined by scientists, clinicians, educators, patient advocates, and health organizations, released an open letter and practical guidance urging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and medical schools to include the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in the nation's expanding medical nutrition education initiative.
The ad hoc coalition behind this project believes that effort should also strengthen the physiological foundation of nutrition education. The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is involved in fatty-acid metabolism, appetite and energy regulation, inflammation, gut signaling, stress adaptation, metabolic control, immune function, pain, and other processes relevant to chronic disease. Yet the ECS remains largely absent from medical and nutrition education.
This project is not asking schools to create a cannabis course. It provides a practical roadmap for teaching the endogenous ECS as human physiology within the nutrition, metabolism, and chronic-disease instruction schools are already expanding.
Download the Guidance Document | Watch the Press Briefing | Read the Sign-on Letter | Add Your Name or Organization | Download the Backgrounder| Press Release
FAQ
No. The guidance recommends teaching the endogenous ECS as human physiology within existing nutrition and physiology coursework. It does not ask schools to create a stand-alone cannabis course.
Why connect the ECS to nutrition?
Media and Questions
For interviews, media materials, curriculum questions, or information about the guidance, contact: [email protected]
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