Press Releases
David Mangone
Senators Warren and Gardner Release STATES Act to Respect State Cannabis Laws - Americans for Safe Access
Washington, DC — U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Cory Gardner (R-CO) introduced the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States Act (STATES Act) to respect state determinations about cannabis policy. The bill was also introduced in the House of Representatives by David Joyce (R-OH) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR).
Debbie Churgai
The World Health Organization Takes First Steps to Reschedule Cannabis - Americans for Safe Access
International Medical Cannabis Advocates Address WHO Committee Set to Advise UN
Geneva, Switzerland — Yesterday, Americans for Safe Access (ASA), along with members of the International Medical Cannabis Patients Coalition (IMCPC), attended and delivered testimony at the 40th meeting of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD) being held in Geneva, Switzerland, June 4-7th, 2018.
In a milestone moment for medical cannabis patients, the ECDD will be reviewing and assessing the medical uses and harms of Cannabis, in order to recommend the most appropriate classification to be applied internationally. The agenda of the meeting is dedicated to carrying out pre-reviews of cannabis and cannabis-related substances. Members of ASA and IMCPC produced and delivered 1 Critical Review and 3 Pre-Review reports on Cannabidiol (CBD), Cannabis plant and cannabis resin, Extracts and tinctures of cannabis, and Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which included references and recommendations for the committee to use in their review.
Debbie Churgai
Medical Cannabis Patients, Medical Professionals, Advocates, and Industry Leaders Converge at National Medical Cannabis Unity Conference in D.C. - Americans for Safe Access
May 22 - May 25, 2018
Contact: Debbie Churgai | 202-857-4272 x.8 | debbie@safeaccessnow.org
WASHINGTON, DC — Starting on Tuesday, May 22nd and running until Friday, May 25th, medical cannabis patients, advocates, medical and legal professionals, and industry business leaders will gather at Americans for Safe Access’ (ASA) Annual National Medical Cannabis Unity conference in Washington, D.C. to learn and exchange ideas about how to navigate and steer medical cannabis policy in this ever-changing political landscape.
What: 6th Annual National Medical Cannabis Unity Conference
Where: Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC,
When: Tuesday, May 22nd through Friday, May 25th
This year's conference will focus on the life-saving role that medical cannabis can play in the fight against the Opioid Epidemic. In 2017 ASA launched the End Pain, Not Lives campaign, to help protect current medical cannabis programs, remove barriers for people with pain, chronic pain, and Opioid Use Disorder, and to educate medical professionals, service providers, and patients about medical cannabis and pain.
David Mangone
Americans For Safe Access Responds to Trump’s Commitment to Respect State Cannabis Laws - Americans for Safe Access
Washington, DC — Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) revealed today that in a recent phone conversation with President Trump, the President expressed support for letting states decide their own policies when it comes to cannabis. Senator Gardner has been blocking the confirmation of key nominees to the Department of Justice since Attorney General Sessions rescinded the Cole Memorandum earlier this year. President Trump’s comments to Senator Gardner are in direct contrast of those previously stated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, including "good people don’t smoke marijuana."
David Mangone
Research Continues to Show Benefits of Cannabis in Fighting the Opioid Crisis - Americans for Safe Access
Washington, DC — New research has been released that further highlights the potential role of medical cannabis in combating the Nation’s opioid crisis . Two studies, published on April 2nd by the Journal of the American Medical Association reveal a net decrease in opioid prescriptions in states with medical cannabis laws for Medicare and Medicaid populations.
David Mangone
House Passes Budget with Medical Cannabis Protection Amendment - Americans for Safe Access
Media Advisory for: March 22, 2018
Contact: David Mangone | david@safeaccessnow.org | 202-618-6975
House Passes Budget with Medical Cannabis Protection Amendment
Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment will Protect Patients from AG Sessions until September
Washington, D.C. — Today, after months of debate and continuing resolutions, the House of Representatives passed its Appropriations package for the fiscal year of 2018. Unlike previous short term measures, this bill will fully fund the government through September 30, 2018. At over 2,200 pages the bill is a massive combination of funding outlays and policy. Due to the hard work of advocates the bill includes the text of the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment.
David Mangone
State of the States’ Medical Cannabis Programs - Americans for Safe Access
WASHINGTON, DC — February 28, 2018 — Today the medical cannabis advocacy organization, Americans for Safe Access, released its annual report entitled “Medical Marijuana Access in the United States: A Patient-Focused Analysis of the Patchwork of State Laws.” The report examines the status of states that have passed medical marijuana laws and grades them on a 500 point scale. Forty-six states and three territories have some form of medical cannabis program, meaning approximately 95% of the American population lives in a state with some form of medical cannabis law.
Debbie Churgai
Americans for Safe Access Announces Partnership with Releaf App Aimed at Creating a New Class of Patient-Focused Dispensaries - Americans for Safe Access
Washington, D.C. - February 21, 2018 -- Today, Americans for Safe Access (ASA), a non-profit organization promoting safe and legal access to medical cannabis since 2002, and Releaf App, an experience tracking tool for cannabis patients, officially announced their partnership to empower medical cannabis patients and establish a new class of like-minded U.S. medical cannabis dispensaries.
Beth Collins
IDEA’s Internal Review Process Results in Removal of Misinformation about Cannabis from Website - Americans for Safe Access
Americans for Safe Access Applauds Action and Calls Upon Congress to Take Note
WASHINGTON, DC — In a letter dated January 26th, Americans for Safe Access (ASA), a national nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring safe and legal access to medical cannabis for therapeutic use and research, learned that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) denied their Information Quality Act (IQA) petition requesting the correction of misinformation disseminated on the DEA website on the health effects of medical cannabis, originally filed more than a year ago. However, the letter also pointed out that, through a “regular review process,” the DEA had removed certain documents and updated much of the information on the DEA website that ASA’s IQA petition addressed.
Beth Collins
Virginia Paves Road for Medical Marijuana in Conservative States - Americans for Safe Access
Bill Allowing All Physicians to Recommend Cannabis Oils Passes House and Senate
Richmond VA — Today, the Virginia General Assembly Senate passed SB726 by a vote of 40 to 0. Last week, the companion bill passed the House of Delegates unanimously by a vote of 98-0. The bill will allow physicians to recommend cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THC-A) oils to any patients for whom they feel the oils could help their conditions. Last year, the General Assembly passed legislation permitting the cultivation and manufacturing of cannabis oils for up to five processors in the state, but the only condition permitted was intractable epilepsy.
State Advocacy Resources
