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Public health leaders, patients, researchers, regulators, veterans’ advocates, and cannabis professionals launch a national campaign to move cannabis safety concerns beyond politics and advance federal medical cannabis policy.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans for Safe Access will launch Cannabis Safety Month today with the Cannabis Safety Month Opening National Forum: Framing the Conversation, beginning at 10:30 a.m. PT / 1:30 p.m. ET.

The virtual forum will bring together campaign partners and stakeholders to identify key safety concerns and introduce the campaign’s solutions-focused approach. Together, the speakers represent the interconnected issues that shape cannabis safety, including patient access, accurate information, regulatory enforcement, community confidence, healthcare integration, and the continuing public health consequences of prohibition.

“We are winning recognition for cannabis as medicine, but recognition is not enough,” said Steph Sherer, founder and executive director of Americans for Safe Access. “When legitimate safety concerns go unanswered, fear and misinformation fill the gap. Cannabis Safety Month brings stakeholders together to examine the evidence, identify solutions, protect patients, and build support for national medical cannabis legislation.”

“Cannabis Safety Month brings these stakeholders together to examine the evidence, explore strategies for addressing concerns, assess what is working, and identify practical solutions,” Sherer continued. “Safety and access are not competing goals. Addressing concerns honestly is how we protect patients, build public confidence, and clear the path toward comprehensive national medical cannabis legislation.”

Sherer will open the forum by introducing the purpose of Cannabis Safety Month and outlining the campaign’s September programming. The campaign is guided by the message: Recognizing Community Concerns. Spotlighting Solutions. Building What Comes Next.

FRAMING THE NATIONAL CONVERSATION

The opening forum will examine cannabis safety from several perspectives that are often discussed separately but must be addressed together. Speakers will explore the importance of evidence-based public health policy, the safety consequences of access deserts, the information gaps facing veterans, the limitations of regulations that are not adequately enforced, and the responsibility of the cannabis community to address the concerns of parents and other community members.

EVENT DETAILS

Cannabis Safety Month Opening National Forum: Framing the Conversation
Tuesday, September 1, 2026 10:30 a.m. PT / 1:30 p.m. ET
Virtual event

Speakers:

Steph Sherer, Founder and Executive Director, Americans for Safe Access

Sasha Kalcheff-Korn, Executive Director, Realm of Caring

Shanetha Marable-Lewis, MS, Executive Director, Veterans Initiative 22

Julie K. Johnson, PhD, Cannabis-Policy Researcher and Applied Policy Leader

Kimberly Cargile, MS,  Owner and CEO, A Therapeutic Alternative

Registration:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_YRRJzUwVR9-9Wbk5Egg-vg

The forum is free and open to patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals, researchers, regulators, policymakers, advocates, cannabis professionals, journalists, parents, veterans, employers, public health professionals, and members of the public.

A MONTH OF EDUCATION, ENGAGEMENT & SOLUTIONS

Throughout September, Cannabis Safety Month will examine five connected areas of concern. Each week will combine education about emerging and longstanding safety issues with examples of successful programs, practical tools, policy recommendations, and opportunities for public and professional participation.

The first week will establish the foundation for the campaign by addressing cannabis terminology, the policy landscape, new federal laws, government approaches to cannabis safety, and the consequences of access deserts and prohibition.

The second week will focus on product safety, including contaminants, adulterants, pesticides, testing, labeling, product transparency, recalls, manufacturing practices, and the limitations of regulatory systems that lack sufficient oversight or enforcement. The campaign will emphasize that legal availability alone does not guarantee that every product has been adequately tested or that every safety standard is consistently enforced.

The third week will examine the health benefits and risks associated with cannabis. Topics will include safe consumption, pregnancy, heart health, cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, cannabis use disorder, organ transplantation, pain, suicide prevention, polypharmacy, medical education, healthcare integration, and the endocannabinoid system.

The fourth week will focus on youth strategies, parents, pediatrics, and cannabis. Programming will address safe storage and packaging, accidental intoxication, underage access prevention, age-appropriate education, mental health, family history, self-medication, and the experiences of families whose children use cannabis medicines under medical supervision.

The final week will examine broader public health and public safety issues, including impaired driving, workplace safety, environmental impacts, accidental intoxication, emergency response, and the ways public institutions can respond to cannabis-related concerns without relying on stigma or prohibition.

Cannabis Safety Month programming will include national forums, expert webinars, partner-led activities, educational materials, patient and community resources, public service announcements, media outreach, policy engagement, and Solutions Spotlights highlighting programs, standards, tools, and policies that are already improving cannabis safety.

“Where a person lives should not determine whether they can obtain reliable information, appropriate products, or knowledgeable support,” said Sasha Kalcheff-Korn, executive director of Realm of Caring. “Access deserts force patients and families to navigate fragmented systems, travel long distances, rely on unregulated sources, or go without treatment altogether. The upcoming federal hemp restrictions will exacerbate this problem by cutting off the only legal source of cannabinoid products available to many people living in states without comprehensive medical cannabis laws. That loss of access creates an entirely new set of safety concerns, including interruptions in care, increased reliance on illicit markets, and inconsistent access.”

“Veterans are often left to sort through conflicting claims, stigma, and an overwhelming amount of unreliable information without meaningful guidance from the healthcare systems they depend on,” said Shanetha Marable-Lewis, MS, executive director of Veterans Initiative 22. “They deserve accurate, practical, and evidence-informed information that respects their experiences and allows them to make safer decisions. Cannabis safety must include making sure veterans are not abandoned when they ask questions about their health and treatment options.”

“Passing regulations is only the beginning of building a safe cannabis system,” said Julie K. Johnson, PhD, an internationally recognized cannabis-policy researcher and applied policy leader. “When agencies do not receive the staffing, funding, data, laboratory capacity, or enforcement authority needed to implement those regulations, patients may be given a false sense of security. A rule on paper is not a safety system unless institutions have the resources and commitment to make it work.”

“We finally have federal recognition of the medical value of cannabis, and this should be the moment when the cannabis community is working with federal policymakers to create a national medical cannabis program,” said Kimberly Cargile, MS, owner and CEO of A Therapeutic Alternative. “Instead, policymakers are continually being pulled away from that work by inflated concerns and fear-based claims. Our community has a responsibility to address legitimate questions directly so those concerns cannot continue to distract from the policies patients need.”

“As a parent, I understand why families have questions and concerns about cannabis,” Cargile continued. “I am excited to see Cannabis Safety Month give parents and communities practical information and real solutions, while making it harder for anti-cannabis groups to fan those fears for political purposes.”

The 2026 Cannabis Safety Awards will recognize individuals, organizations, programs, campaigns, products, and educational tools demonstrating leadership and innovation. The awards are intended to elevate practical examples that policymakers, regulators, healthcare institutions, businesses, and community organizations can replicate.

“Confronting cannabis safety concerns is not a concession to prohibitionists,” Sherer said. “It is the foundation for integrating cannabis into healthcare and society. We cannot ask the public to trust a system if we are unwilling to examine its gaps, and we cannot allow those gaps to be used as excuses for continued criminalization or the denial of medical access.”

Cannabis Safety Month is based on the principle that safety and access can—and must—advance together. Ignoring legitimate risks does not protect patients, but neither does exaggerating those risks to justify prohibition, restrict healthcare access, or block the development of a national medical cannabis program.

“We now have the opportunity to move beyond debating whether cannabis has medical value and begin building the policies, standards, and healthcare infrastructure patients have needed for decades,” Sherer said. “With accurate information and the public confidence it creates, we can move forward together and pass comprehensive national medical cannabis legislation once and for all.”

ABOUT CANNABIS SAFETY MONTH

Cannabis Safety Month is a national public education campaign led by Americans for Safe Access. It brings together patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals, researchers, public health leaders, regulators, advocates, cannabis professionals, parents, veterans, employers, and community organizations to address cannabis safety concerns through education, evidence, inclusion, and practical solutions.

The campaign is designed to move cannabis safety discussions beyond political rhetoric and false choices. Its goal is to strengthen public health and community confidence while protecting medical cannabis access and advancing policies that recognize cannabis as a legitimate medical therapy.

Cannabis Safety Month Flyer

Cannabis Safety Month 2026
www.safeaccessnow.org/cannabis_safety_month_2026

Campaign Activities, Events, and Resources
www.safeaccessnow.org/cannabis_safety_month_2026_activities_resources

Sign Up for Updates
https://www.safeaccessnow.org/cannabis_safety_month_activity_sign_up

Volunteer Sign-Up
www.safeaccessnow.org/cannabis_safety_month_2026_volunteer

Become a Cannabis Safety Month Partner
www.safeaccessnow.org/cannabis_safety_month_2026_partners

Media Partnership
www.safeaccessnow.org/cannabis_safety_month_2026_media_partners

2026 Cannabis Safety Awards
www.safeaccessnow.org/cannabis_safety_awards_2026

ABOUT AMERICANS FOR SAFE ACCESS

Americans for Safe Access is a national nonprofit organization founded in 2002 to ensure safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research. ASA works to overcome barriers to medical cannabis through public education, policy development, patient and professional training, product-safety standards, research advocacy, and developing patient-centered regulatory programs.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS 

Steph Sherer

Steph Sherer is the founder and executive director of Americans for Safe Access and a pioneering international leader in medical cannabis patient advocacy. Her personal experience with the therapeutic benefits of cannabis, combined with her background in political organizing, led her to establish ASA in 2002.

Under Sherer’s leadership, ASA has grown into the nation’s largest patient-centered organization dedicated to ensuring access to medical cannabis. Her work has focused on bridging gaps in knowledge, policy, regulation, and healthcare and advancing the recognition of cannabis as a legitimate medical therapy.

Sasha Kalcheff-Korn

Sasha Kalcheff-Korn is the executive director of Realm of Caring. During 13 years of nonprofit work, she has focused her career on improving the well-being of others through education, advocacy, and research.

At Realm of Caring, Kalcheff-Korn leads efforts to advance cannabis research, challenge stigma through education, and empower individuals and families to make informed decisions about their health. Her work gives her direct insight into the barriers facing patients and caregivers who lack access to reliable guidance and regulated medical cannabis systems.

Shanetha Marable-Lewis, MS

Shanetha Marable-Lewis is the executive director of Veterans Initiative 22, a nonprofit organization dedicated to veteran suicide prevention with a focus on safe and affordable accesaffordable access to medical cannabis for the veteran community. She is a decorated Army combat veteran who served in both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Marable-Lewis works to ensure that veterans have access to accurate information, meaningful support, and treatment options that reflect their experiences and healthcare needs. Her advocacy highlights the consequences of leaving veterans to navigate cannabis questions without adequate guidance from healthcare institutions.

Julie K. Johnson, PhD

Julie K. Johnson is an internationally recognized cannabis-policy researcher and applied thought leader whose work spans cannabis policy, public health and safety, equity, mental health, and wellness. She brings a sophisticated understanding of scientific and regulatory complexity and a strong commitment to evidence-informed decision-making.

Johnson serves in a research leadership role in Massachusetts cannabis policy and is an associate editor for the scientific journal Cannabis. She has also served three times as a guest editor for Clinical Therapeutics.

Kimberly Cargile, MS

Kimberly Cargile is a California-grown cannabis entrepreneur dedicated to driving meaningful change through science, compassion, and community engagement. Drawing on her background in cellular and molecular biology, psychology, and holistic healing practices, she has cultivated an atmosphere of peace, education, and wellness at her Sacramento dispensary, A Therapeutic Alternative.

Cargile has long worked at the intersection of patient care, cannabis education, responsible business practices, and community engagement. As both a parent and a cannabis professional, she brings a perspective grounded in an understanding of public concerns while insisting that those concerns be addressed through evidence, education, and workable solutions rather than fear.