Returning to Elevate Patient Voices in the Next Era of Medical Cannabis, Will You Join me?
Nearly two decades ago, we founded Americans for Safe Access (ASA) to bring patients’ needs and voices out of the shadows and into the center of the national cannabis debate. Back then, patients were criminalized, stigmatized, and rarely heard—trotted out in courtrooms or used as talking points, then shut out of actual policy decisions. Our work at ASA began out of necessity: patients like myself needed recognition, protection, and a clear path to safely and legally access life-changing—and in many cases, life-saving—medicine.
As a political organizer, I did what I knew how to do: create a strategic plan and organize like hell!
In 2001, the DEA denied another petition to reschedule cannabis; we used their arguments as a roadmap in developing our campaigns and patients' immediate needs as our compass to drive emergency policies at the state level. Since then, we have made significant progress. Medical cannabis programs now exist in most states. We developed product safety standards that many thought impossible. We even secured federal protections for these programs through the “CJS Medical Cannabis Amendment,” making it much harder for federal agencies to interfere with patient access. We got HHS to acknowledge cannabis’ medical value. We contributed to international reforms that could soon pave the way for U.S. rescheduling and regulatory frameworks that truly reflect cannabis’ therapeutic potential.
And yet, as encouraging as these milestones are, they do not tell the whole story. For every patient who can now access safe medicine in their state, there are countless others still shut out—whether by restrictive state laws, the high costs of treatments, the impossibility of traveling, or relocating for access and legal protections. Patients continue to pay out of pocket for treatments that insurance should cover. They routinely encounter stigma from healthcare professionals lacking proper training, and they’re often left to guess which products are safe and effective.
Meanwhile, businesses that started with a mission to serve patients face legal limbo, forced into markets that don’t always value quality or compassion. After ASA gained federal protections for medical cannabis businesses, they seemed to go on a separate path. Instead of utilizing the momentum from passing the CJS Amendment to make these businesses federally legal, outside lobbyists took them down a path of promises of banking rights and other protections without changing federal cannabis laws. We can see the result; a decade has passed since we won federal protections, and businesses are no closer to financial security than when they were facing DEA raids and federal prosecutions.
In recent years, I’ve worked abroad on federal medical cannabis frameworks and helped guide research pushing the boundaries of what we know about this plant. I’ve seen countries establishing safe, equitable, and effective medical cannabis programs. These experiences affirmed what I already believed: ASA’s strategic vision is sound! In December 2020, we achieved a critical milestone by changing the international scheduling of cannabis—removing the final obstacle needed to reschedule cannabis in the U.S. per our strategic plan. With HHS acknowledging cannabis’ medical use, we’re on the brink of transforming not just cannabis laws, but the very regulations that define what medicine is.
Yet here we are, 22 years later, and it feels more like a crossroads than a tipping point. Some have lost sight of our original vision for medical cannabis, while others never knew a strategic plan existed. Many patients feel marginalized and excluded from policy discussions—again. Many cannabis businesses are barely hanging on, unable to think beyond next week. And advocacy groups like ASA? We’re woefully underfunded, our budget down 900% from a decade ago.
I personally refuse to allow a scenario where those of us who have benefited from growing awareness and policy shifts become complacent. Privileged Americans for Safe Access is not the legacy we want to leave for the patients who fought before us. So, I am returning to ASA as Executive Director to raise the resources needed to finish what we started, with patients' needs still as my compass, but now we are venturing off any map and creating a new approach to medicine, the final chapter in battle for safe access!
As I step back into this role, I am supported by a new generation of leaders—from board members like Deondra Asike, MD, Clinical Associate, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Dr. Codi Peterson, PharmD, Pediatric Pharmacist and Cannabis Science Expert, Shanetha Marable-Lewis, MS, MS, Disabled Veteran and Executive Director of Veterans Initiative 22, Michelle Wright, Experienced Board Director, Advisor, Community Leader, and Mother/Caregiver to an Adult Son with Profound Autism, and a network of advisors who will propel our Cannabis and Cannabinoid Medicines Initiative forward.
Together, we’re forging a path toward comprehensive federal policies that address patients’ real needs. This includes creating an Office of Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoid Control and introducing a new “Schedule VI” classification for cannabis. It means engaging the healthcare industry, educating patients on product safety, ensuring strong representation on Capitol Hill, and weaving these elements into a coherent national medical cannabis program.
It’s important to remember our roots: the patients who first stood up for cannabis did so in the face of possible arrest and public shaming, all without the legal safeguards we have today. Their courage and sacrifice laid the groundwork for our current opportunities. We owe them—and the countless names history may forget—a future where medical cannabis is an accessible medicine woven into our healthcare system.
That is why I’m returning to ASA. Our work is far from over. Because the strides we’ve made must be measured by how many people they help. Because we need to reshape the very definition of medicine, leaving a legacy of justice, compassion, and inclusivity.
I’m inviting you—patients, healthcare professionals, policymakers, researchers, and advocates—to join us. We have a bold vision, but we can’t achieve it alone. Your support—whether time, resources, or financial contributions—can be the difference between stalled progress and transformative change. So stand with us. Donate. Spread the word. Let’s make medical cannabis a reality for everyone who needs it.
Because the promise of medical cannabis is too vital to remain unfulfilled. Let’s finish what we started. Will you stand with me—and with ASA—at this critical moment in history?
“When we cast our bread upon the waters, we can presume that someone downstream whose face we will never know will benefit from our action, as we who are downstream from another will profit from that grantor's gift”- Maya Angelou
In loving memory and honor
John Shaw
Dr. Tod H. Mikuriya
And so many others!
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