Americans for Safe Access Saves Medical Cannabis Laws!

Dear ASA Supporter, Americans for Safe Access (ASA) scored an important victory in Congress yesterday, one that may have protected the medical cannabis laws in all twelve states in which they have been adopted. In April, ASA was the first to get word from allies in Washington, DC, that staunch medical cannabis opponent Senator Tom Coburn planned to quietly introduce an amendment to the Prescription Drug Use Fee Act, that would have effectively blocked implementation of state medical cannabis laws by giving the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to obstruct these laws! ASA and our allies in the HIV/AIDS community sprang into action – launching a stealthy campaign to kill the amendment without alerting our adversaries. Yesterday, the bill was adopted without the harmful Coburn amendment! This is exactly the work we came to do when we opened the first office in Washington, DC devoted exclusively to medical cannabis advocacy. We need your support to be sure we are here to fight back again next time – and take the campaign on the offensive. Please take a moment to support ASA’s work today by visiting www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/Join. ASA has worked hard to establish strategic alliances with health care advocacy organizations in order to expand and strengthen the coalition supporting medical cannabis. This new coalition had the power to persuade Senator Ted Kennedy and Presidential Candidates Senators Clinton and Obama to oppose the amendment. ASA and our allies continued working to be sure the sneaky amendment was not introduced in the House, and ultimately removed from the final bill. We had to act fast and work in concert with our allies, but we were able to stop the Senator’s attempt to do an administrative end run around states’ medical cannabis laws. Unfortunately, this will not be the last time we have to fight off an attack on safe access. That is why ASA continues to educate members of Congress, advocate for policies that promote safe and legal access, and keep an eye on our increasingly sophisticated opponents. We need your continued support to do this work so please contribute today: www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/Join. We rely on support from people like you to defend safe access against threats like the Coburn amendment. Please help us do this work, so that we can finally harmonize federal law with the laws of the states that allow medical cannabis use. Only then, will patients’ access be truly safe. Thank you for doing your part! Sincerely, Steph Sherer Executive Director Americans for Safe Access