Americans for Safe Access
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Americans for Safe Access ACTIVIST NEWSLETTER Defending Patients’ Access to Medical Marijuana APRIL 2018 Volume 14, Issue 4 Congress Acts to Protect Patients from Sessions until Sept Federal protections for medical from coming to a vote, and Attorney General tially long-term uptick in violent crime.” cannabis patients and those who Jeff Sessions has rescinded the Obama Sessions has long been a vocal critic of cannabis serve them in compliance with Administration’s guid - reform efforts. state law will continue uninter - ance to prosecutors that rupted after all, at least until the end of had discouraged prose - “The inclusion of the CJS Amendment in the September. Congress acted on March 23 to cutions. House budget shows that Congress knows it pass an appropriations bill that included the must protect medical cannabis patients. We Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment, which The amendment is the are extremely grateful to Represenatives for the fourth year prohibits the Department only thing that prevents federal raids and pros - Rohrabacher and Blumenauer and the other of Justice from interfering with state medical ecutions targeting businesses and individuals members that showed leadership on the cannabis programs. complying with state medical cannabis laws. issue." said Steph Sherer, Executive Director for Americans for Safe Access. “But this only buys The vote by the House of Representatives on Sessions lobbied to block the amendment. In a us a few months. We need comprehensive leg - the omnibus spending bill, which funds the May 2017 letter to Congress, he wrote: “I islation like the CARERS ACT.” government through September 30, 2018, believe it would be unwise for Congress to ended months of uncertainty, debate and con - restrict the discretion of the Department to Support for the amendment was strong and tinuing resolutions. House leadership had fund particular prosecutions, particularly in the bipartisan, with 28 Republican and 38 Demo- blocked the medical cannabis amendment midst of an historic drug epidemic and poten - crat representatives urging continuation. Advocates Descend on Annual UN Drug Meeting Maryland Patients to Benefit In March, medical tee. In December 2017, the ECDD released a from ASA’s CCC Resources cannabis advocates, critical review document on CBD that stated, including ASA’s Steph “in its pure state, cannabidiol does not appear Maryland patients will be able to access the Sherer (pictured with to have abuse potential or cause harm” and educational benefits of ASA’s Cannabis Care Tomas Sedlik ICCI), recommended to the UN that it remain out of Certification (CCC) program, now that the travelled to Vienna the scheduling scheme all together. state has a dispensary that will be offering for the annual meet - CCC’s Patient Education Program free to all its ing of the United Last month’s agenda for the CND delegation patients. MedLeaf, a PFC-certified dispensary Nations Committee includes the “Implementation of the interna - located in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, is the on Narcotic Drugs tional drug control treaties,” where they will first dispensary in Maryland to sign up for the (CND). At issue are discuss “changes in the scope of controlled sub - CCC Patient Education program. four “critical review stances,” but they did not vote on CBD’s inter - documents” that will national scheduling status. Every MedLeaf patient will receive an be discussed at the 40th Expert Committee on overview of local laws, an information page to Drug Dependence (ECDD) meeting June 4-8 in Cannabis, including medical cannabis and its hand to their doctor, an 86-page patient’s Geneva. resin, is currently classified as Schedule I in the guide, and access to 2.5 hours of educational U.S. and IV under the UN Single Convention. videos. The educational videos cover topics Those review documents inform scheduling This was determined based on a report created from the endocannabinoid system and clinical recommendations the World Health by the Health Committee of the League of research data to information on choosing, Organization (WHO) makes to the UN commit - Nations in 1935. using, and storing medicine. Additional topics include the history of medical cannabis and ASA’s 2018 Unity Conference Just 6 Weeks Away how to manage in daily life. We are only six weeks away from our 2018 ForwardGro. Dr. Bronner's is committed to New Patient Education Course National Medical Cannabis Unity Conference in making socially and environmentally responsi - Washington, DC May 22-24. This year cannabis ble products of the best quality, dedicating ASA will host a new course at Greenhouse needs to be part of the national conversation their profits to help make a better world. Ventures’ inaugural Cannabis Learn about the opioid crisis, so we are demanding ForwardGro, a PFC-certified company, has Conference and Expo in Philadelphia. Come that our lawmakers End Pain, Not Lives. combined best in class greenhouse growing talk to ASA staff at their exhibitor table or join practices, business management, medical their “Patient Education 101 for New Panels will include how cannabis can combat cannabis research, and patient advocacy to Markets” course on Monday, April 30, from the opiod crisis, and a special PFC training become one of Maryland’s premier growers of 12-12:50pm. ASA readers can save 20% on course on Federal Law Enforcement medical cannabis. ticket price using promo code, GHVASA, and Interaction and Raid Preparedness. half the ticket cost will be donated by Over the past six years, with the help of our GHVASA back to ASA. To get tickets or learn ASA is proud to announce the first two spon - Sponsors, ASA has brought over 1,000 patients more details, visit CannabisLearn.com. sors for the conference, Dr. Bronner's and to DC to improve their advocacy skills. Americans for Safe Access • 1624 U Street NW, Suite 200 • Washington, D.C. 20009 202-857-4272 • [email protected] • www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org ASA Activist Profile: Lisa Sublett, Kansas ASA Education and Training What led Lisa Sublett to medical and Senate each of the last three years and Has Global Reach cannabis were the health issues gotten stalled in committee. After three years she faced after the birth of her of no hearings in either chamber, last year leg - Representatives from ASA’s Patient last child. Research was part of her career path islators asked for an interim committee to Focused Certification (PFC) and in corporate marketing, so she set about inves - study the issue over the summer, but that was Cannabis Care Certification (CCC) pro - tigating and soon found a YouTube video of a denied. grams are engaged in extensive out - man with Parkinsonism that showed him reach and educational efforts with profession - trapped in his condition. She could see the suf - Lisa and other advo - al organizations of many types both in the U.S. fering in his eyes, but also his intelligence. cates were promised a and abroad. Then he took cannabis, and the video showed hearing this session him now walking, talking and driving off. but never got it, so last Last month, PFC presented information from month their 116-page ASA’s annual report on state medical cannabis “This was cannabis!” Lisa says. “I was totally bill was brought as an programs, Medical Marijuana Access in the incredulous. I didn’t believe it.” amendment to anoth - U.S., at the annual meeting of the American er measure by Rep. Chemical Society Meeting. The meeting But Lisa’s research continued, and she came to Cindy Holscher, a included three days of symposiums related to believe that millions had suffered needlessly champion in the state cannabis co-organized with ASA, including because cannabis was not an option. She house. During debate, one on women in the cannabis industry. turned then to finding out who was working many lawmakers on this issue and started to reach out to oth - shared personal stories PFC also presented two invited talks to the ers. of support, pushing the amendment to within International Pharmaceutical Academy meet - eight votes of passage. Many who voted no ing in Toronto, Canada, one on data from the The group in her state of Kansas that she start - said they supported the bill but wanted a International Cannabis and Cannabinoids ed out with six years ago turned to advocacy more complete process rather than as an Institute and the other on worker safety and for full adult-use access, but Lisa wanted to amendment. product standards. achieve access for patients first. The effort got press and political attention, This month, the Cannabis Care Certification That led her in 2014 to found Bleeding Kansas and local public television will be airing a show program will be offering Continuing Medical Inc., a 501(c)3 tax-exempt nonprofit organiza - on medical cannabis in Kansas soon. Education credits to doctors in Edmonton, tion. Soon she realized that non-profit status Canada on April 12, including information limited her political advocacy, so within two For now, Lisa and Bleeding Kansas Advocates medical professionals need about the endo - years she had launched Bleeding Kansas are turning attention to the June 1 candidate cannabinoid system and medical cannabis. Advocates as a 501(c)4, a non-profit that can filing deadline, which will be the start of gath - Additional CCC and PFC educational events lobby. She also created the Bleeding Kansas ering information for their voter’s guide. Then and trainings will be offered this spring. Find Advocates PAC for political work. will come voter registration and planning for out more at safeaccessnow.org/events. the next legislative session. Rep. Holscher may Unlike most states, Kansas allows private citi - be a sponsor of a revised bill, but with biparti - Patient Focused Certification for analytic labo - zens to write and submit bills to the legisla - san support and new visibility for the issue, a ratories has been adopted by the state of ture.