The Public Courage Award 2026

Medical cannabis patients continue to encounter barriers created by laws, regulatory requirements, healthcare policies, and enforcement practices that do not always reflect their needs. Addressing these problems often requires elected officials willing to listen to patients, engage healthcare professionals, investigate shortcomings, and bring difficult issues into legislative debate. Whether the concern involves maintaining medical cannabis treatment in healthcare facilities, strengthening product testing, protecting patients from inappropriate law enforcement practices, or improving state programs, meaningful policy change depends on public officials prepared to take action.

The Public Courage Award recognizes elected officials who advance medical cannabis patient safety, access, and rights through legislation, oversight, public education, stakeholder engagement, and other concrete public service. It celebrates leadership that translates patient experiences into policy proposals, challenges outdated assumptions, and creates opportunities for practical reforms. The award also demonstrates that protecting patients and improving cannabis safety are responsibilities that can bring elected officials from different political parties and backgrounds together around shared public interests.

The 2026 nominees, Georgia State Senator Matt Brass, Georgia State Representative Jasmine Clark, Rhode Island Representative Susan R. Donovan, Oklahoma State Representative Jacob Rosecrants, and Maine State Representative Marc G. Malon, have addressed different aspects of medical cannabis policy. Their initiatives involve patient access, healthcare continuity, testing requirements, law enforcement standards, and program improvements. By recognizing these efforts, the award highlights the importance of elected officials who make patient concerns part of the legislative process and encourages other public leaders to pursue practical, patient-centered solutions.

Learn more about the Public Courage Award and the nominees' role in Cannabis Safety.