US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has just agreed to co-sponsor the CARERS Act. This is a big development and just days before Americans for Safe Access (ASA) brings hundreds of citizen advocates to the Capitol as part of our 4th Annual National Medical Cannabis Unity Conference. As a result, participants will have more momentum when asking their representatives in Congress to pass the CARERS Act, the first comprehensive medical cannabis reform bill in Congress.

The passage of the CARERS Act  would allow state medical marijuana programs to continue without federal interference, move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II of the Controlled Substance Schedule, remove the marijuana compound Cannabidiol (CBD) entirely from the schedule, create access to banking services for marijuana businesses in legal states, eliminate the DEA-mandated “NIDA-monopoly” that prevents researchers from obtaining marijuana for clinical studies, and allow Veterans Health Administration physicians to write recommendations in states that have established a medical marijuana program. 

Senator Graham’s support is a huge victory for patients and advocates and would not have happened without the tireless work of patient advocates like you! We need to build on this momentum and pass CARERS this year! 

(Washington, DC) - Yesterday, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) joined the bipartisan Compassionate Access, Research Expansion, and Respect States (CARERS) Act (S. 683) as a co-sponsor. The support of Senator Graham coincides with the one-year anniversary of the bill’s introduction by Senators Cory Booker (D-NY), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Rand Paul (R-KY).  The CARERS Act is the most comprehensive piece of medical cannabis legislation ever introduced in the U.S. Congress and would remedy the state-federal conflict over medical cannabis law.

“Graham’s support of CARERS Act is a significant step for patients” said Americans for Safe Access Executive Director, Steph Sherer. “This development should finally compel fellow Republican and Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley to allow the bill a vote. This is the only way to respect the 40 states that have laws recognizing medical use and the more than 80% of voters who support it.”