- About About
-
Medical
Medical
Medical Patient Resources Cannabis Care Certification Patient's Guide to Medical Cannabis Patient's Guide to CBD Talking to your doctor Become a Legal Medical Marijuana Patient The Medical Cannabis Patient’s Guide for U.S. Travel Guide to Using Medical Cannabis Cannabis Tincture, Salve, Butter and Oil Recipes Arthritis and Medical Cannabis Cancer and Medical Cannabis Chronic Pain and Medical Cannabis Gastrointestinal Disorders and Medical Cannabis HIV/AIDS and Medical Cannabis Movement Disorders and Medical Cannabis Multiple Sclerosis and Medical Cannabis Aging and Medical Cannabis Veterans and Medical Cannabis Medical Marijuana Conditions in Your Area Growing Cannabis Tracking Treatment & Gathering Data with Releaf App Medical Professional Resources Medical Cannabis Continuing Medical Education (CME) Cannabis Safety Medical Cannabis Research
- Legal Legal
-
Advocacy
Advocacy
Advocacy ASA Chapters Start an ASA Chapter Take Action Campaigns No Patient Left Behind End Pain, Not Lives Vote Medical Marijuana Medical Cannabis Advocate's Training Center Resources for Tabling and Lobby Days Strategic Planning Civics 101 Strategic Messaging Citizen Lobbying Participating in Implementation Movement Building Organizing a Demonstration Organizing Turnout for Civic Meetings Public Speaking Media 101 Patient's History of Medical Cannabis
-
Policy
Policy
Policy Policy Positions Model Federal Legislation Download Ending The Federal Conflict Public Comments by ASA Industry Standards Guide to Regulating Industry Standards Recognizing Science using the Data Quality Act Data Quality Act Briefs Fact Sheet on ASA's Data Quality Act Petition to HHS ASA Data Quality Act petition to HHS Information on Lawyers and Named Patients in the Data Quality Act Lawsuit Reports 2021 State of the States Cannabis and Cannabis Resin- Critical Review Preparation Document Medical Cannabis in America
- News News
- Join Join
-
-
Supreme Court Decision on Medical Marijuana Expected Anytime
NATIONWIDE – The United States Supreme Court will render its decision in the Ashcroft v. Raich case any day. In the most-watched case before the U.S. Supreme Court this term, two California women argued that the federal government does not have the right to punish them for using the medical marijuana their doctors recommend and their state says is legal.
Americans for Safe Access representatives are available to provide commentary and analysis of the Raich decision.
Medical marijuana patients nationwide, both from states with laws protecting medical marijuana patients and those without, are available to discuss how the decision will impact themselves and other patients in their state. A national coalition of 12,000 patients, doctors and advocates, Americans for Safe Access is the largest organization working solely on medical marijuana. (For more information, see www.safeaccessnow.org) ASA Director Steph Sherer says, 'We are hopeful that Raich will prevail and the Court will rule against federal attacks on state-legal patients. But should they lose,' Sherer emphasizes, 'It is important to remember that the decision will not overturn California's Compassionate Use Act, and individual patients will not be at risk from California authorities and are unlikely targets for federal arrest.'
ASA Activists are also looking beyond the Court’s decision in Ashcroft vs. Raich, pushing formal petitions that would force federal agencies to recognize medical uses for marijuana and allow doctors to prescribe it nationwide. They are also asking for the quick U.S. approval of a medical marijuana liquid spray that will be on the shelves in Canada as soon as this week, called Sativex.
The federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the FDA are currently reviewing two legal petitions with broad implications for medical marijuana. The first, brought by ASA under the Data Quality Act, says HHS must correct its statements that there is no medical use for marijuana to reflect the many studies which have found it helpful for many conditions.
Acknowledging legitimate medical use would then force the agency to consider allowing the prescribing of marijuana as they do other drugs, based on its relative safety. A separate petition, of which ASA is a co-signer, asks the Drug Enforcement Administration for a full, formal re-evaluation of marijuana’s medical benefits, based on hundreds of recent medical research studies and several thousand years of documented human use. This petition is pending, and an answer is expected in August.
Acknowledging legitimate medical use would then force the agency to consider allowing the prescribing of marijuana as they do other drugs, based on its relative safety. A separate petition, of which ASA is a co-signer, asks the Drug Enforcement Administration for a full, formal re-evaluation of marijuana’s medical benefits, based on hundreds of recent medical research studies and several thousand years of documented human use. This petition is pending, and an answer is expected in August.
# # # #
Share