pm-Patients First Program

Key Staff: Jill Lamoureux, Patients First Program Director
Mike Liszewski, Policy Director

As states across the country have granted patients’ rights to access medical cannabis, a new industry has formed to meet these needs. Many states and localities have created regulations to govern the location, size, taxation and even the ownership and management structures of these businesses and non-profits. While these regulations are important in integrating these businesses into the local landscape they do not, for the most part address the safety of the product being sold or the distribution model providing patient access.

Americans for Safe Access Foundation (ASAF) has created a three-part program to address product and distribution safety in the medical cannabis industry. The program provides components for operators, legislators and regulators to promote the adoption of safe and reasonable industry standards and regulations. The program offers:

1. Developing and Adopting Industry Standards: In coordination with American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), ASAF is creating industry standards in the form of recommendations for regulators in the areas of Distribution, Cultivation, Analytics, and Manufacturing, Packaging and Labeling. Patients First Program staff will work with legislators and regulators to adopt reasonable and effective regulation.
2. Industry Staff Training Program: ASAF has been training the staff of medical cannabis dispensaries and cultivation sites for over a decade. The training program was recently selected by DC Department of Public Health as a mandatory training. The training program can be provided on a voluntary basis and adapted for cultivators, processors, and distributors in any state or locality. The course introduces operators and employees to the basics of cannabis as medicine, uses of cannabis, and basic safety and operational protocols. The course also provides guidance on how to better educate medical cannabis patients, prepare for a federal law encounter, and locate other needed resources.
3. A Certification Program: ASAF will be offering a voluntarily certification program based on the AHPA industry standards. The program will be offered for Laboratories, Distributors, Cultivators, and Product Manufacturers.

For more information about this program please contact Jill Lamoureux at jill@safeaccessnow.org

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