Press Releases
Kris Hermes
Medical Marijuana Advocates Hold Press Conference Ahead of Public Hearing on Fate of Washington State Program
Seattle, WA -- Patient advocates and various stakeholders will hold a press conference today at 4pm at Saint Martin's University in Lacey to draw attention to this evening's statewide public hearing on the fate of Washington's 15-year-old medical marijuana law and to urge policymakers not to dismantle a program that works and is necessary for tens of thousands of patients.
Kris Hermes
Medical Marijuana Advocates Urge Washington Legislature to Strengthen, Preserve Patients Rights
Seattle, WA -- Medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) filed recommendations yesterday for the Washington State legislature, based on a series of patient and provider stakeholder meetings held last week in Bellingham, Olympia, Seattle, Spokane, and Yakima. The stakeholder input, which strongly urges the legislature to strengthen and preserve the rights of medical marijuana patients in Washington, is a response to last month's recommendations from the Liquor Control Board (LCB) and the Departments of Revenue and Health, as part of a statewide public comment period culminating with a public hearing on November 13th in Lacey, Washington.
Kris Hermes
Medical Marijuana Advocates in Arkansas Launch Fundraising Campaign to Put Initiative on 2014 Ballot
Little Rock, AR -- Medical marijuana advocates Arkansans for Compassionate Care (ACC) and Americans for Safe Access (ASA) have joined forces to put an initiative on the 2014 ballot. The Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act (AMCA) is a comprehensive blueprint for establishing and regulating a medical marijuana program run by the Arkansas Department of Health. Advocates are launching their fundraising campaign at 2pm this Saturday, November 9th with an all-day concert at the Silverado Club, 1205 W. Hillsboro Street in El Dorado.
Kris Hermes
Third Trial Begins for San Diego Medical Marijuana Dispensary Operator, After Winning Landmark Right to a Defense
San Diego, CA -- The third trial against medical marijuana dispensary operator and Navy veteran Jovan Jackson began today in San Diego Superior Court, before Judge Louis R. Hanoian. San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, a staunch opponent of medical marijuana, has waged a years-long effort to rid the county of dispensaries, and Jackson has borne the biggest brunt.
Kris Hermes
Medical Marijuana Advocates Mobilize Stakeholders Across Washington State for Input on I-502 Regulations
Seattle, WA -- Medical marijuana advocates will hold stakeholder meetings across Washington State next week in advance of submitting written public comments on regulations being developed for I-502, the state's recreational marijuana initiative passed last November. Meetings hosted by the Washington chapter of Americans for Safe Access (ASA) will be held from October 27th-30th in Bellingham, Olympia, Seattle, Spokane, and Yakima.
Kris Hermes
Bay Area Medical Marijuana Dispensary Operators Latest to Be Sentenced in Federal Court
San Jose, CA -- Four people connected to a licensed medical marijuana dispensary in Alameda County were scheduled to be sentenced today in federal court in a prosecution that has lasted more than six years. Brothers Winslow and Abraham Norton accepted a plea bargain in April, agreeing to money laundering and conspiracy charges, as well as the forfeiture of more than $800,000.
Kris Hermes
Medical Marijuana Advocates Stage Rally Monday at Anti-Marijuana Conference in Rancho Cucamonga
Rancho Cucamonga, CA -- Medical marijuana advocates Americans for Safe Access (ASA) will join the Brownie Mary Democratic Club of Riverside County to stage a peaceful counter-demonstration at 11am on Monday, September 23rd, against the 2013 National Marijuana Policy & Strategy Conference being held in Rancho Cucamonga. The conference is sponsored by some of the same groups that have strenuously lobbied against statewide regulations in California, including the California Narcotic Officers' Association and the California Peace Officers' Association.
Kris Hermes
Medical Marijuana Advocates, Congressmen, and Families of Those Imprisoned Hold D.C. Press Conference Wednesday - Americans for Safe Access
Washington, D.C. -- Congressmen Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Sam Farr (D-CA) will join medical marijuana advocates, as well as multiple family members of imprisoned medical marijuana patients for a press conference in the District on Wednesday, September 18th, to urge Congress to restrict Department of Justice (DOJ) funding for enforcement in medical marijuana states. Patient advocates will be drawing attention to the more than $100,000 per day that the DOJ continues to spend on medical marijuana enforcement by staging a lively theatrical action during Wednesday's press conference in Washington, D.C.
Kris Hermes
U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Unprecedented Hearings Tuesday on Federal Enforcement of State Marijuana Laws
Washington, D.C. -- Less than two weeks after the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a memorandum on how it intends to enforce marijuana laws in states that have legalized its use, the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold unprecedented hearings this Tuesday at 2:30am ET, focusing in part on the details of that enforcement plan. Medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) will also be hosting a Google Hangout at 5pm ET following the hearings on Tuesday to discuss the reaction to the testimony. The media and general public are invited and encouraged to join the Google Hangout by logging into the ASA YouTube page.
Kris Hermes
California Legislature Introduces Bill to Regulate Medical Marijuana Commercial Businesses Across the State
Sacramento, CA -- A week after the Justice Department issued a memorandum, providing guidance on the role of federal law enforcement with respect to state marijuana laws, California legislators introduced a bill today that would bring long awaited regulations to medical marijuana businesses across the state. In the non-binding memo released a week ago Thursday, Deputy Attorney General James Cole claimed that as long as states implement "strong and effective regulatory and enforcement systems to control the cultivation, distribution, sale, and possession of marijuana," the DOJ would defer to local and state law enforcement. In response, the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Control Act (MCRCA) was introduced today as AB 604 by Assembly Member Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) and co-authored by Senators Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) and Mark Leno (D-San Francisco).
State Advocacy Resources
