Sign the petition Leave no patient behind!

Please join us in leaving no patient behind by signing this petition to support the descheduling of cannabis and the creation of a federal Office of Medical Cannabis Control.

Dear Friend,

Currently, there are over 3 million medical cannabis patients across the country; ninety-one percent of Americans now live in states with some form of access to medical cannabis, while sixty-six percent of American adults are in favor of full legalization. Despite this, cannabis retains its Schedule I status under the Controlled Substances Act, meaning the federal government considers it to be a dangerous, highly addictive substance with no medical value. This continues to cause numerous conflicts between the federal government and the states that have rolled out these health programs for their citizens. The only protection for these programs in federal law is the Rohrabacher–Farr amendment found in the Commerce Justice Science and Related Agencies appropriations bill which, as a budget bill, is subject to change each year. Plans for legalization at the federal level by different means have been introduced for years with little impact; H.R.3884, The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2019, was the first and only bill of this nature to clear a Congressional committee. It is time for a new approach to end the federal conflict on cannabis policy.

In our newest report, Ending the Federal Conflict: Changing the Paradigm on Medical Cannabis, Americans for Safe Access explores how to end this conflict through its groundbreaking draft legislation that creates an Office of Medical Cannabis Control (OMCC). This legislative language takes an entirely new approach to ending the conflict between the majority of states and the federal government on cannabis policy. In this report, we call for the descheduling of cannabis (or, failing that, the rescheduling of cannabis to a new Schedule V(A) that would allow for cannabis to be used as a frontline medication) and, through our draft legislation, for the creation of a federal oversight agency with centralized regulatory authority over medical cannabis research, production, and distribution. 

Currently, nearly a dozen different federal agencies play a role in the decision-making processes relating to the scheduling of cannabis. These agencies differ from one another in their aims, methods, and missions. For example, the Department of Health and Human Services exists to enhance the health and well-being of all Americans, while the Drug Enforcement Administration exists to enforce the controlled substances laws and regulations of the United States. This promotes competition for funding among the various agencies involved and stymies progress on important research and federal recognition of cannabis as medicine - a feat dozens of other countries have managed to accomplish at the national level. 

Please join us in supporting this important legislation which could help millions of patients all over the country. Together we can help to bring an end to the War on Drugs, and provide a federal regulatory framework to ensure that medical patients everywhere get clean, safe, and affordable medicine.

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