Press Releases

ASA Launches the Navarro Family Organ Transplant Resource Center and Calls For End of Medical Cannabis Patient Discrimination

Washington, D.C. / San Francisco, CA — Americans for Safe Access (ASA) is mourning the passing of Patrick Navarro, a medical cannabis patient whose experience helped expose a devastating reality: stigma and outdated assumptions about medical cannabis still deny patients fair access to organ transplant opportunities.

Patrick Navarro’s story put a human face on a problem that many families do not discover until they are already in crisis. Even in states with medical cannabis laws, transplant program policies can remain inconsistent, unclear, or shaped by stigma rather than evidence-based care. For patients with end-stage organ disease, delays or barriers tied to medical cannabis can have life-or-death consequences.

The final months of medical cannabis patient Patrick Navarro’s life, and the ordeal his family endured, were the catalyst for ASA’s Stigma with a Body Count: Medical Cannabis & Organ Transplant Policies. Patrick’s wife, Cindy, reached out to Americans for Safe Access after receiving written notice that UCSF had declined Patrick for lung transplantation. The reason was explicit: “long-term marijuana use raises concerns regarding the ability to maintain durable abstinence after lung transplant.”

Cindy and Patrick's forends and family shed light on an issue that many thought had been resolved in 2015, when California passed a law intended to prevent this kind of discrimination. Patrick’s experience — specifically, that a patient using cannabis medicine to treat severe neuropathic pain was treated like a drug addict by the UCSF transplant committee — revealed both a broader structural problem and a serious education gap at the transplant-program level. Delays, abstinence mandates, waitlist inactivation, and denials remain far too common, even in states with legal protections.

The report documented a problem that often remains hidden from the public eye: transplant access for medical cannabis patients is still shaped by stigma rather than medical evidence. The Stigma with a Body Count revealed that

• outdated assumptions continue to shape access to organ transplantation for medical cannabis patients, creating obstacles at every stage of the transplant process that can impact referrals, evaluations, waitlisting, active-list status, and aftercare.
• clinical evidence does NOT support the assumption that cannabis use is a contraindication to transplantation
• decisions that still restrict access are grounded in stigma rather than medical evidence
• policies vary widely between programs 
• many obstacles stem from institutional confusion between medical cannabis use and substance-abuse disorder
• legitimate concerns about contamination or drug interactions can be addressed through clinical management rather than prohibition.

This report, along with the supplements for organ transplant centers and patients, would not have happened without the Navarro family bringing these issues to ASA's attention, along with their spirit to fight back.  In honor of Patrick, his wife Cindy Navarro, and their family’s courage in bringing this issue into public view, ASA is launching the Navarro Family Organ Transplant Resource Center, a new national hub for patients, caregivers, advocates, attorneys, and healthcare professionals seeking information and support on medical cannabis and organ transplantation www.SafeAccessNow.org/Transplant_Center.

“Patrick’s life mattered, and so does the truth about what families like ours are forced to face,” said Cindy Navarro. “We do not want other patients and families to go through this without information, support, or someone standing with them. By sharing Patrick’s story, we hope to help protect others and push for change.”

The Navarro Family Organ Transplant Resource Center provides educational materials, practical guidance, and policy resources to help families understand transplant program policies, identify potential discrimination, and advocate for evidence-based care. The Center was created to support not only patients and caregivers, but also the advocates, attorneys, and healthcare professionals working to end discrimination against lawful medical cannabis patients in transplant systems.

“Patrick Navarro’s death is a heartbreaking loss, and we are honoring his life by making sure other families do not have to face these challenges alone and in the dark,” said Steph Sherer, founder and Executive Director of Americans for Safe Access. “Patrick, Cindy, and their family helped expose a hidden form of discrimination that has gone unchallenged for far too long. This Resource Center is both a tribute to their courage and a tool for change.”

ASA is encouraging healthcare professionals, attorneys, advocates, and members of the public to promote the Navarro Family Organ Transplant Center and help advance transplant policies grounded in science, ethics, and patient rights.

RIP Patrick Navarro 1984-2026

Patrick was a husband, father, brother, and survivor. The circumstances surrounding his death underscore the urgent need for federal reform to ensure that no patient is treated as less worthy of life-saving care because of their need for cannabis medicines.

"Through his melodies and his art, he shared his spirit with the world, leaving behind a legacy of sound and soul that will never be forgotten." -Patrick Navarro Obituary 

ASA is also urging patients, caregivers, and families who have experienced discrimination related to medical cannabis and organ transplantation to come forward. Stories from the public are critical to documenting the scope of the problem, raising awareness, and advancing policy change.

“If this has happened to you or someone you love, please speak up,” Sherer added. “Too many families have been isolated by fear, confusion, and time pressure. Reporting these experiences helps expose patterns of discrimination and builds the case for evidence-based reform.”

Patients, families, and advocates are encouraged to visit the Navarro Family Organ Transplant Resource Center and report discrimination at: www.SafeAccessNow.org/Transplant_Center

Patrick's memorial service will be held this weekend in Southern Washington. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to Americans for Safe Access to advance safe and legal access to medical cannabis. Donations may be made online at safeaccessnow.org/donate or mailed to 1629 K ST NW #300, Washington, DC 20006 (Federal Tax ID: 51-0579227). Please indicate that the gift is made in memory of Patrick Navarro.

Additional resources: 

Patrick Navarro: RIP

The Navarro Family Organ Transplant Resource Center 

Stigma With A Body Count: Medical Cannabis & Organ Transplant Policies

Stigma With A Body Count Supplements:

For Transplantation Programs, Committees, & Teams:

For more information on organ transplants and medical cannabis patients, visit: 

About Americans for Safe Access

Americans for Safe Access (ASA) is the nation’s leading medical cannabis patient advocacy organization, with the mission of ensuring safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research. ASA brings together stakeholders from the medical cannabis, wellness, and healthcare communities to address gaps in knowledge, policy, and regulation to advance a comprehensive federal framework for cannabinoid therapies. Since 2002, ASA has been at the forefront of medical cannabis policy, promoting expanded access, patient rights and protections, product safety, and healthcare integration.