Are you one of the Californians getting ready for ASA’s National Medical Cannabis Unity Conference and Citizen Lobby Day in Washington, DC? I would like to see hundreds of patients, doctors, industry workers, and grassroots advocates at the conference and in the halls of Congress this year. Register today so you can meet the most important people in medical cannabis, get the latest information about science and politics, and help make a difference. ASA will make an appointment for you to meet your US Representative and Senator when you sign up. Do it now… Only twelve days left!

Meanwhile in California, the local debate about regulating medical cannabis goes on. Advocates in Costa Mesa are planning to sue after the city backed off on plans to regulate local access. We have two very different perspectives on medical cannabis dispensaries in Los Angeles from last week – a pictorial essay on the city’s diverse facilities and the latest academic research on the implementation of Measure D from UCLA. The City of San Diego beat a legal challenge to its medical cannabis ordinance and approved two more dispensaries last week.

Get all the medical cannabis news, events, and court support requests in ASA’s CA Weekly Roundup for Monday, March 16, 2015.

US Representative Earl Blumenhauer (D-OR) is sending a letter to President Obama asking him to follow his recent comments on cannabis and its classification under federal law with action. Will you call your US Representative today and ask him or her to support this effort by signing Representative Blumenhauer’s letter?

Click here to find contact information for your US Representative and some talking points to help with the short phone call.

President Obama told a reporter that cannabis was no more dangerous than alcohol on January 27. When asked about that comment by a CNN reporter a few days later, the President said it was up to Congress to decide which drugs belong on Schedule I – a classification reserved for dangerous drugs with no medical value. It is encouraging to hear the President taking a relatively enlightened view of the safety of cannabis and raising the question about its classification under federal law. But we need him to go further.