Press Releases
Reenal Doshi
ASA Files Amicus Brief to Highlight Plight of Medical Cannabis Patients - Americans for Safe Access
Washington, DC -- Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the leading medical cannabis advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring safe and legal access to cannabis (marijuana) for therapeutic use and research, with the pro bono support of attorneys in Goodwin’s cannabis and appellate practice groups, filed an amicus brief in support of the petition for certiorari filed in the matter of Washington v. Barr. The ASA amicus brief highlights the plight of medical patients who face numerous restrictions in accessing and using medical cannabis.
Reenal Doshi
Americans for Safe Access Unveils 2020 Report Cards Analyzing Medical Cannabis Programs Across the United States - Americans for Safe Access
Washington, DC -- Today, during the National Cannabis Policy Summit online event, Americans for Safe Access (ASA) is releasing an important report titled, “2020 State of the States Report: An Analysis of Medical Cannabis Access in the United States”. Every year, ASA spends months comparing every medical cannabis program in the United States with the purpose of analyzing which programs are doing well, where they are failing, and how the state programs can be improved to best serve the needs of patients.
The nearly 200-page report provides a detailed analysis of medical cannabis programs on an ‘A’ to ‘F’ scale. States were assessed in five categories: 1) Patient rights and civil protections; 2) Access to medicine; 3) Ease of navigation; 4) Functionality; and 5) Consumer safety and provider requirements.
Reenal Doshi
Americans for Safe Access and The Cannigma Join Forces to Co-produce Podcasts for Cannabis Patients, Caregivers, Providers, and Supporters - Americans for Safe Access
Washington, DC -- Last week, Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the leading advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring safe and legal access to cannabis (marijuana) for therapeutic use and research, and The Cannigma, a premier website dedicated to educating their audience about the healing properties of cannabis, announced a new partnership to educate patients, caregivers, providers and supporters on the latest issues surrounding medical cannabis through bi-monthly podcasts.
Essential Cannabis Employees Will Converge Online for a Free Training on Sanitation Practices in the Era of Covid-19 - Americans for Safe Access
WASHINGTON, DC — On Friday, April 17, 2020, through its Patient Focused Certification (PFC) program, Americans for Safe Access (ASA) will hold a FREE safety training for essential cannabis workers during the COVID-19 crisis. This free live webinar will be held from 9-10am PST/12-1pm EST. Interested participants can register here for this free event.
This 1-hour webinar is designed to provide information on health and sanitation best practices for cannabis industry workers. Attendees will learn about general types of cleaning, personal hygiene, measures such as social distancing, and guide students through the differences between general cleaning, sanitation, and sterilization.
Reenal Doshi
COVID19 State Emergency Plans Confirm Medical Cannabis is Essential - Americans for Safe Access
Patient Advocates are Grateful States are Listening, Warn “There is More Action Still Needed”
WASHINGTON, DC — Last Monday, March 16, Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the nation's largest medical cannabis patient advocacy organization, with coordinated stakeholders and allies, called on U.S. state and territorial governors (DC mayor) and medical cannabis program directors to allow cannabis businesses and dispensaries to remain open as “essential” businesses during COVID-19-related closings as well as a list of other measures that they should immediately put into place to protect patient access and the medical cannabis supply chain.
Reenal Doshi
Medical Cannabis Patients, Medical Professionals, Advocates, and Industry Leaders Will Converge Online for the 2020 National Medical Cannabis Unity Conference - Americans for Safe Access
WASHINGTON, DC — On Friday, March 27, 2020, Americans for Safe Access (ASA) will hold its 8th Annual National Medical Cannabis Unity conference. This year, for the first time ever, the conference will be held online due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Instead of cancelling or postponing the conference, ASA decided to move this year’s Unity Conference from an in-person conference to an online conference in order to make their program content available to participants across the country. From 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET, ASA will share the latest developments in medical cannabis, discuss barriers to medical cannabis access, exchange ideas about how to navigate medical cannabis policy--nationally and globally--in this ever-changing political landscape, and demand action from state and federal elected officials.
Reenal Doshi
COVID-19 Press Release - Americans for Safe Access
Medical Cannabis Patient Advocates Call on Governors to Protect Patients Amid Covid-19 Outbreak
Americans for Safe Access Provides Governors, Mayors, Medical Cannabis Program Directors with Action List
Washington, DC -- Americans for Safe Access (ASA) sent out a letter today to call on governors and directors of state medical cannabis programs to take immediate action to ensure that patients continue to have access to medical cannabis and that the supply chain is not interrupted while Governors are creating emergency plans in their states to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reenal Doshi
ASA Applauds Passage of MORE Act in House Committee - Americans for Safe Access
Washington, DC -- Americans for Safe Access (ASA) applauds the passage of H.R. 3884, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (MORE Act), in the House Judiciary Committee today. The act, which includes elements from several cannabis-reform bills recently put forward in Congress, would, among other things, federally deschedule and decriminalize cannabis, provide for reinvestment in certain people adversely impacted by the War on Drugs, and provide for the expungement of certain cannabis offenses.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) currently classifies cannabis under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, a designation given to substances thought to have a high potential for abuse and no medical value. (For perspective, other Schedule I substances include LSD and heroin.) It is federally illegal for cannabis and other Schedule I substances to be “prescribed, dispensed, or administered for medical use.”
Reenal Doshi
ASA Creates Patient-Focused Recommendations in Light of the Vaping Crisis - Americans for Safe Access
Washington, DC -- In light of the emergence of Vaping-Associated Pulmonary Illness (VAPI), which has sickened at least 805 people and killed 12, Americans for Safe Access (ASA) strongly recommends that patients and consumers stop using cannabis-containing cartridges entirely (or at least to the extent possible) until there is clarity as to what is causing these illnesses and deaths. Patients and consumers are encouraged to use other legal delivery mechanisms that may be available to them in their state, such as dry herb (flower) vaporizers, tinctures, edibles, or topicals.
ASA does not support outright bans on cannabis-containing cartridges or devices intended for the consumption of cannabis concentrates, which could cause more people to the unregulated market and exacerbate the spread of VAPI. Rather, we recommend bans on the inclusion of any additives (e.g., diluents, thickeners, flavoring agents) not derived from cannabis. Additionally, we urge that patients and consumers only purchase cannabis products that have undergone testing at an independent, third-party laboratory that has verified composition and potency and screened for adulterants, contaminants, heavy metals, residual solvents, chemical residues, and other health concerns, such as mold and dangerous bacteria.
Reenal Doshi
Americans for Safe Access Urges California Governor Gavin Newsom to Sign SB 34 - Americans for Safe Access
Washington, DC — Americans for Safe Access urges California Governor Gavin Newsom to sign SB 34, Cannabis: Donations, which passed in the California state legislature on September 11, 2019. SB 34 would exempt medical cannabis from California state taxes. Governor Newsom has until October 13, 2019 to sign or veto the bill.
When California became the first state in the nation to develop a medical cannabis program in 1996, it was centered around compassion and access to medicine, not commercialization. Since the passage of the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), nonprofit medical operators have suffered the unintended consequence of being faced with a tremendous tax burden based on the amount of cannabis they distribute, even if it was given away for free. Due to AUMA, nonprofit providers face taxes of up to $1,000 per pound for the cannabis they distribute free of charge, even if they do not have an operating budget and are volunteer-run organizations. Many medical cannabis storefronts closed as a result, causing a dearth of affordable cannabis products for patients.
State Advocacy Resources
