Peace for Patients is a campaign to end the war on medical cannabis patients. To date, 18 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws allowing patients to access medical cannabis under the recommendation of their doctor. Over one million people in the US are legally using medical cannabis and 84% of Americans support the US of medical cannabis. Yet the federal government continues to use precious resources to wage a war on these medical cannabis programs and in the its path disrupts the lives of patients, displaces workers, tramples on state and local governments and takes individuals away from their families.
Join the Peace for Patients Campaign by calling on Congress to stop the war on patients and resolve the conflict between federal and state laws once and for all.
You can also sign the Peace for Patients petition yourself, and urge your Congressperson to support HB 689 and HB 710.
New Hampshire has been close to passing medical marijuana twice now, only to have the Governor veto the bills at the last second. When Governor Hassan took office, she made a promise to the medical cannabis community to support safe access legislation, yet now that HB 573 is nearly on her desk, she's resfusing to sign it unless changes are made that exclude personal cultivation and PTSD as a qualify medical condition.
Read more about Governor Hassan's position.
Also, sign a petition started by one of HB 573's sponsors, Representative Ted Wright.
Send Governor Hassan an email right now demanding that she support the comprehensive safe access program provided in HB 573!
California voters called on their elected officials “to implement a plan for the safe and affordable distribution of marijuana” when they approved Proposition 215 in 1996, but state lawmakers have yet to adopt a comprehensive regulatory program. In response to divergent interpretations of the law and inconsistent enforcement across the state, patients, local governments, the Attorney General, and others are calling on the state legislature to finally heed the voters’ call.
The “Principles of Sensible Medical Cannabis Regulation” were developed in consultation with patients, cultivators, workers, and other medical cannabis stakeholders over the last year. We are presenting them to lawmakers to illustrate what we would like to see in current and future legislation. Regulation makes sense for everyone in California. These basic principles define a regulatory framework that will benefit patients and their communities, and also describe sensible regulations that will prevent abuse, ensure accountability, save law enforcement resources, generate tax revenue, and create jobs.
Two measures before the state legislature seek to regulate medical cannabis activity – AB 473 by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) and SB 439 by Senate President pro-Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento and Senator Mark leno (D-San Francisco). These bills will have a major impact on patients and other stakeholders. Scroll down to read the “Principles of Sensible Medical Cannabis Regulation” and ask your Representatives to uphold them.
Principles of Sensible Medical Cannabis Regulation
1. Individual patients and their primary caregivers should be allowed to cultivate their own medicine, individually or collectively, so long as the activity is non-commercial in nature.
2. State regulations should recognize the environmental and economic advantages of outdoor cultivation, and protect the right of individual patients and their primary caregivers to grow medicine outdoors and in green houses.
3. Patients should have safe and dignified access to medicine in every community in the state. State regulations should encourage communities to provide access through local dispensaries, or where this is unfeasible, through regulated delivery services.
4. Medical cannabis, including edible preparations, should be tested for biological and chemical contaminants to protect patients' welfare and for cannabinoid content. Testing should be conducted in accordance with accepted professional standards for the herbal products industry.
5. Medical cannabis cooperatives, collectives, and businesses should be required to operate in accordance with the standards published by the American Herbal Products Association in January of 2013.
6. Taxation of medical cannabis should be eliminated or kept at levels consistent with over-the-counter and herbal medicines. Excessive taxation (“sin tax”) is harmful to legal patients.
7. The state should explicitly authorize legally organized and operated patients' cooperatives and collectives, as described by the California Attorney General, to receive compensation for providing medicine to members.
8. State and local regulation of medical cannabis should facilitate, rather than roll back, access for legitimate patients. Onerous zoning, land use, and licensing restrictions should be discouraged to the extent possible under state law.
9. State regulation of medical cannabis should be administered as a health care and consumer protection issue, not as a criminal justice issue or in a manner similar to alcohol or tobacco.
10. Legal patients should be protected from discrimination in employment and parental rights under state law and enjoy equal access to housing and health care.
11. The legislature should remove medical cannabis from the schedules of controlled substances under the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act or reschedule it to reflect its proven safety and currently accepted medical use.
Peace for Patients is a campaign to end the war on medical cannabis patients. To date, 18 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws allowing patients to access medical cannabis under the recommendation of their doctor. Over one million people in the US are legally using medical cannabis and 84% of Americans support the US of medical cannabis. Yet the federal government continues to use precious resources to wage a war on these medical cannabis programs and in the its path disrupts the lives of patients, displaces workers, tramples on state and local governments and takes individuals away from their families.
Join the Peace for Patients Campaign by calling on Congress to stop the war on patients and resolve the conflict between federal and state laws once and for all.
No More Prosecutions
No More Attacks on Safe Access
End the War on Patients
Get Involved: Here are actions you can take today
1. Sign the Petition: Please sign the petition below to show your support for seriously ill patients who are being prosecuted for their choice of medicine.
2. Engage your elected official: Write letters, make phone calls, set up meetings with your elected officials before July 5th.
3. Become a Member: Join over 50,000 patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citziens as we fight to end the war on patients by becoming a member or donating today.
3. Spread the Word
HB13-1114 – Inferences For Marijuana And Driving Offenses will be heard by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, April 22, 2013. Take action and let your Senator know you want them to vote against HB13-1114.
This bill by Representative(s) Waller and Fields and Senator King would make it a crime to drive with a detectable quantity of 5 nanograms of THC in your blood. Because legal medical cannabis patients are not exempted and will test positive for cannabis use when not impaired, HB13-1114 may inadvertently criminalize responsible, law abiding patients. The bill makes no exception for medical cannabis patients who use cannabis in accordance with Colorado law and are likely to exceed this set level without being impaired. ASA opposes HB13-1114 and calls on lawmakers to reject this unnecessary and potentially harmful bill. According to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration'swebsite, THC blood levels are poor indicators of cannabis-induced impairment. NHTSA states: "It is difficult to establish a relationship between a person's THC blood or plasma concentration and performance impairing effects. ... It is inadvisable to try and predict effects based on blood THC concentrations alone.”
The study, Per Se Drugged Driving Laws and Traffic Fatalities, (Anderson & Rees 2012), concludes there is no evidence that per se drugged driving laws reduce traffic fatalities. Additionally, the Denver Post, has reported systematic problems at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's toxicology lab where the blood drawn in DUID cases is tested. Ask your Senator to protect medical marijuana patients from wrongful convictions and vote against HB13-1114. While everyone agrees no one should drive while impaired, the current zero-tolerance law is sufficient with over 90 percent of cases successfully prosecuted as testified to by law enforcement last session.SB 289 – This bill by Senator Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) would make it a crime to drive with any detectable quantity of a controlled substance in your blood, unless it is prescribed by a doctor. The bill makes no exception for medical cannabis, which is lawfully recommended by a doctor (not prescribed) under California law. ASA opposes SB 289 and calls on lawmakers to reject this unnecessary and potentially harmful bill.
Because legal medical cannabis patients will test positive for cannabis use when not impaired, SB 289 may inadvertently criminalize responsible, law abiding patients if they drive.
According to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's website, THC blood levels are poor indicators of cannabis-induced impairment. NHTSA states: "It is difficult to establish a relationship between a person's THC blood or plasma concentration and performance impairing effects. ... It is inadvisable to try and predict effects based on blood THC concentrations alone.”
The Senate Public Safety Committee will hear testimony on SB 289 at 9:30AM on Tuesday, April 23, in Room 3191 at the State Capitol in Sacramento. There will also be a rally against the bill at 11 am Tuesday on the west steps of the Capitol, email action@safeaccessnow.org for more info.
For more information about California legislation, please contact California Director Don Duncan at don@SafeAccessNow.org or (510) 251-1856.
Please contact your State Senator using the pre-written letter we have provided, just enter your zip code below.
Although HB 1 is by no means perfect, it is important to urge your State Representatives to support the bill when it comes to vote in the State House. Patients in Illinois shouldn't have to suffer another year without legal access to medical marijuana, especially when 17 states (plus D.C.) have already made it legal for medical use.
Representive Lou Lang's medical marijuana bill would create a program where patients with qualifying medical conditions can get safe and legal access to medicine through dispensing centers. It would also protect patients from criminal prosecution and impose additional civil protections against discrimination for participation in the program. When compared to other states that have legalized medical cannabis, the Illinois program leans toward the restrictive side of the spectrum, but is not the most restrictive in the country. As stated above, HB 1 isn't perfect, but it's the best chance that the state has of passing medical marijuana this year.
Please take a few minutes to email your State Represenative by entering your zip code below, and tell them to pass HB 1 for patients who need safe access to cannabis now!
Text of HB 1: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=1&GAID=12&DocTypeID=HB&SessionID=85&GA=98
*If you are a patient and want to share your story, please contact action@safeaccessnow.org*
Delegate Glenn's HB 302, the Maryland Medical Marijuana Act, will have a hearing this Friday, March 8th in Annapolis before both the Judiciary and Health and Government Operations Committees.
To email all the members of these committees, simply put your zip code in the field below. It's imperative that this bill makes it out of committee if it has a chance of passing this year!
Also consider submitting written testimony and/or attending the hearing and giving your oral testimony in person. Email action@safeaccessnow.com for more information about how to prepare your testimony.
Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Sam Farr are consponsors on legislation that will end the federal conflict with state medical cannabis programs. Blumenauer’s bill, titled the States’ Medical Marijuana Patient Protections Act (HR 689), will move cannabis out of Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act and allow for medical research to be controlled by an agency other than the National Institute of Drug Abuse. Farr’s bill, the Truth in Trials Act (HR 710), will allow patients, caregivers and providers who are in compliance with state law to offer evidence of the medical necessity for their use of cannabis.
See ASA's Press Release for more information on the bills!
In light of the recent DEA raids on Dispensing Centers in LA and San Diego, it's never been more important to protect our medical marijuana providers.
Please take a minute to urge your Representative in the House to cosponsor HR 689, the States' Medical Cannabis Patient Protection Act, and HR 710, the Truth in Trials Act today!
Montanan Chris Williams is facing a mandatory sentence of 85 years in federal prison, following his conviction September 27 on eight counts related to producing medical cannabis for qualifi ed patients.
Of the more than 70 individuals who have faced federal charges for state-legal medical cannabis work during the Obama Administration, Williams is one of only four who have defied pressure from federal prosecutors and gone to trial in defense of their principles.
The others agreed to plea deals to reduce their sentences, since federal courts do not allow marijuana defendants to present evidence of medical use or compliance with state law, sentencing rules on marijuana charges can require prison terms longer than most violent crimes, and prosecutors routinely add charges to coerce plea deals.
Williams, co-founder of Montana Cannabis, one of the state’s largest providers to qualifi ed patients, was among those indicted following mass federal raids in Montana in March 2011 as the state legislature was considering modifi cations to the state’s medical cannabis program. The jury in Chris William’s case never heard how he strictly complied with Montana state law in providing medicine for patients. The multiple charges the federal prosecutor piled on to pressure him into a plea deal now require the judge to sentence him to consecutive sentences totaling a minimum of 85 years.
Williams was denied release on bail pending appeal and is currently in federal custody awaiting his sentencing hearing, scheduled for January 4, 2013. He is appealing his criminal conviction to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, and he is the lead plaintiff in the appeal of a civil lawsuit that claims the federal raid and subsequent prosecutions violated the U.S. Constitution’s10th Amendment.
Sign on to a letter to NBC, the creator of Parenthood TV series, and writer Monica Henderson for their sympathetic portrayal of a medical cannabis patient.
The below letter, authored by "father of String Theory" Dr. John Schwarz, urges President Barack Obama to uphold his promises to put science before politics, particularly as it regards public policy toward medical marijuana. We invite scientists and researchers to join him in urging the President to place science before politics and allow medical marijuana research and access.
On October 2, the Santa Monica City Council will hold a public hearing on a proposed moratorium on medical cannabis patients’ cooperatives and collectives in the city. While a moratorium is only a temporary ban on patients’ association, Americans for Safe Access (ASA) is calling on members to tell the City Council to reject the delay and move quickly to adopt regulations. Use the form below to send an email to the City Council right now. You may use this sample email or personalize it. Thanks for helping!
The City Council hearing is on Tuesday, October 2, 2012, at 6:45 PM. The hearing is in City Council Chambers, 2nd Floor, City Hall, 1685 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401. You may speak to the City Council in person at the hearing.
Dear Democratic Party Delegates:
We, the medical marijuana patients of the United States, feel that President Obama has not followed through on two campaign promises regarding our community. He promised the nation that he would base his public policies on “the soundest science,” and also that he would not waste scarce federal resources “prosecuting and raiding medical marijuana users.” With these broken promises in mind, we as patients and voters are in a difficult position concerning how to best continue our support in reelecting Obama for his second term.
You can imagine the concern of our community last summer when U.S. Attorneys began a campaign against patients in states with medical marijuana programs. Since then, an unheralded escalation in federal aggression has begun against patients in these states. To help you understand the scope of the federal crackdown, there have been more raids on safe access points under Obama’s first term than under eight years of Bush.
We are both medical marijuana patients and voters, and we stand over 1 million strong. Many of us and our families have been some of the most ardent Obama supporters imaginable, but we are being pressed between a rock and a hard place when it comes to continuing our unabashed support for his reelection. President Obama has not only ignored his promises to our community, but has been one of the worst presidents for medical cannabis in recent history. By signing onto the attached letter, you can let the President know that this is a dubious legacy indeed.
We, as medical marijuana patients and voters, are kindly asking you as a Democratic Delegate to sign our letter to President Obama calling on him to publicly pledge to address the urgent issue of state-federal conflict regarding medical marijuana during second term.
Kindly,
The 1 Million Medical Marijuana Patients of the United States
US Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) has introduced HR 6335, the ‘‘States’ Medical Marijuana Property Rights Protection Act,’’ a bill that will protect property owners who rent to medical cannabis tenants from losing their property. Under current law, the Department of Justice can confiscate property that is used to grow or provide medical cannabis – even if it is legal under the state law! That is not fair. The ‘‘States’ Medical Marijuana Property Rights Protection Act” will stop the federal government from intimidating and prosecuting responsible, law-abiding property owners. Enter your zip code to send this sample letter to ask your US Representative to support the ‘‘States’ Medical Marijuana Property Rights Protection Act.” You can send the letter as is, or modify it as you please.
US Representative Sam Farr (Dem-CA) has just introduced the “Truth in Trials Act,” legislation that will finally allow medical cannabis defendants a fair trial in federal court. The bill allows people facing federal prosecution for medical cannabis-related offenses to introduce evidence showing they were in compliance with their state’s medical cannabis laws – something not allowed right now. The bill also protects law-abiding property owners who might otherwise lose their property and be prosecuted for renting to medical cannabis tenants. Tell your representative in Congress to co-sponsor and support the “Truth in Trials Act.”
AB 2312 (Ammiano) is important to medical cannabis patients in California, but 11th hour amendments in the Assembly increased the taxation on medicine and removed the original requirement for voter approval of a ban on patients’ cooperatives and collectives. Sign this petition to demand that the Author or the Senate remove these amendments or find another way to protect patients and providers.
The Los Angeles City Council is considering two competing motions – one to regulate medical cannabis patients’ cooperatives and collectives and another to ban them outright. Use this form to send a fax to each of the fifteen City Council Members telling them to reject calls for a ban and adopt a workable ordinance. Don’t be fooled by the face-saving rhetoric from Council Members Jose Huizar and Mitchell Englander and the City Attorney. There is no such thing as a “gentle ban!” Like 77% of Californians, Angelinos want medical cannabis to be regulated and controlled. Tell the City Council to support the motion by Council Members Paul Koretz and Council President Herb Wesson instead.
The California Senate will vote soon on SB 1182 (Leno), a bill that will add medical cannabis cooperatives, collectives, and other associations to the list of those exempt from penalties under the Medical Marijuana Program Act (SB 420). Americans for Safe Access (ASA) supports SB 1182 because this simple and straightforward change will clarify the scope and intent of the law. That means patients and primary caregivers will not be harassed, arrested, or prosecuted when they exercise their rights to cultivate and provide medical cannabis. Help ASA protect patients by sending a message in support of SB 1182 to your California Senator right now.
Earlier this week, the House of Representatives voted down the Rohrabacher-Hinchey-Farr-McClintock Amendment to the appropriations bill. This amendment, if passed, would have removed federal funding for medical cannabis enforcement. Take a minute to thank your Representative if they voted in favor of this crucial amendment, or send them a letter explaining why this issue is important using our action alert. This alert also asks Representatives to sign onto HR 1983: the State's Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act.
HB15 has been amended to provide another stop-gap measure for patients in need of safe access in Maryland. This amendment will not only protect patients from arrest when they are in possession of a valid tamper-proof doctor's certification, but it also add caregivers to the affirmative defense so they have protections in court.
Urge your legislator to support the amended version of HB 15 by emailing and calling them today! Call everyone on the Health and Government Operations Committee and the Judiciary Committee asking their support using the following script:
Delegate ____________________:
Medical marijuana patients and caregivers deserve protection under the law. Please support the amended version of HB15 so that patients are protected from arrest and prosecution, and caregivers have an affirmative defense in the event they are prosecuted.
Thank you.
While patients across the country commend the Maryland Medical Marijuana Work Group's effort to create medical cannabis laws workable for Maryland; we respectfully oppose both of the proposed models: HB 1158 and HB 1024. Both bills are heavily restrictive and, if passed, will create unimplementable programs much like the medical marijuana laws in New Jersey, Washington, D.C., and Delaware, where patients are still left without safe access and are still subject to arrest, prosecution, and jail time. Patients deserve a right to medical cannabis, and HB 1024 and HB 1158 will fail. Ask your legislators to support and pass Delegate Glenn's House Bill 15, which takes a reasonable approach to legislating medical cannabis and is based on best practices of medical cannabis states from across the country. In put your address below to generate your legislator's contact information. (NOTE: Your Delegate's phone number will be generated after you input your address). Make sure to do two things: 1. Call your delegate using the phone numbers and script provided below 2. After you call, enter your information and click "Send Your Message" to send your legislators an email.
Dear Delegate ______________________
While the medical cannabis community of Maryland commends the legislature and medical marijuana study group’s effort to create a medical cannabis law workable for Maryland, we respectfully oppose both of the proposed models: HB1024 and HB 1158. Both bills are heavily restrictive and, if passed, will create unimplementable programs much like the medical marijuana laws in New Jersey, Delaware, and Washington, DC, leaving patients with out access and still subject to arrest and prosecution. Patients deserve a right to medical cannabis, and HB1024 and HB1158 will fail. If you believe Marylanders have a right to medical cannabis, please support Delegate Glenn’s HB15 which takes a reasonable approach to legislating medical cannabis, and is based on the best practices of medical cannabis states across the country. Don't try to reinvent the wheel, pass a bill we know will work: Vote for HB15!
Thank you.
The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors will consider a motion to ban medical cannabis patients’ cooperatives and collectives in the unincorporated areas of the county on Tuesday, December 6.
Take a minute right now to call each member of the Board of Supervisors at the telephone numbers below (ignore the label “fax”). Tell them to vote no on item 56 on Tuesday’s agenda – a ban on medical cannabis patients’ coops and collectives. Then send the email below (or write your own) by filling in the form and clicking “Send You Message” at the bottom. All five Supervisors will receive a copy.
Make plans to attend the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, December 6. You can speak to the Supervisors about agenda item 56, which will be heard around 2:15 PM. The meeting is at 700 H. Street, Suite 1450, Sacramento, CA 95814. Thanks for helping protect safe and legal access to medical cannabis in Sacramento County!
The California Appellate Court recently ruled that cities and counties are limited in their ability to regulate medical cannabis patients’ cooperatives and collectives. The state Supreme Court has not yet decided whether or not to hear an appeal of Pack v. City of Long Beach, but some cities are citing the Pack decision as a reason for banning patients’ associations or abandoning their regulatory process. Tell South Lake Tahoe City Council Members not to ban medical cannabis patients' cooperatives and collectives, and to work with stakeholders to find a better solution.
The California Appellate Court recently ruled that cities and counties are limited in their ability to regulate medical cannabis patients’ cooperatives and collectives. The state Supreme Court has not yet decided whether or not to hear an appeal of Pack v. City of Long Beach, but some cities are citing the Pack decision as a reason for banning patients’ associations or abandoning their regulatory process. Tell the Richmond City Council Members not to ban medical cannabis patients' cooperatives and collectives, and to work with stakeholders to find a better solution.
The California Appellate Court recently ruled that cities and counties are limited in their ability to regulate medical cannabis patients’ cooperatives and collectives. The state Supreme Court has not yet decided whether or not to hear an appeal of Pack v. City of Long Beach, but some counties are citing the Pack decision as a reason for banning patients’ associations or abandoning their regulatory process. Tell the Board of Supervisors not to ban safe access, but to work with stakeholders to find a better solution.
The California Appellate Court recently ruled that cities and counties are limited in their ability to regulate medical cannabis patients’ cooperatives and collectives. The state Supreme Court has not yet decided whether or not to hear an appeal of Pack v. City of Long Beach, but some cities are citing the Pack decision as a reason for banning patients’ associations or abandoning their regulatory process. Tell your City Council Members not to ban medical cannabis patients' cooperatives and collectives, and to work with stakeholders to find a better solution.
The Long Beach City Council will soon reconsider a motion to ban medical cannabis patients’ cooperatives and collectives in the city. Use this form to email City Council Members today and ask them to reject this option. Instead, the City Council should work with patients and other stakeholders to rewrite the city’s existing regulations. Send the message below, modify it, or write one of your own today!
Tell the Long Beach City Council to reject a ban on medical cannabis patients’ cooperatives and collectives in the city, and to work with stakeholders to find a regulatory solution that works for legal patients and the community at large.Tell the City Council to to revisit the city’s medical cannabis ordinance to find solutions that work for all of the stakeholders in the community – legal patients, neighbors, medical cannabis professional, law enforcement, and other.
During the first week of October, California’s four U.S. Attorneys sent letters to at least sixteen landlords and property owners who rent buildings or land where dispensaries provide safe access to medical cannabis, notifying them that they are violating federal drug laws. These letters warn that the dispensaries must shut down within forty five days, or the landlords and property owners will face criminal charges and confiscation of their property – both real and personal – even if they are operating legally under the state’s medical cannabis law!
Representatives Sam Farr (D-CA) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) have written a letter to President Obama requesting that his administration reschedule cannabis as a Schedule II or Schedule III drug as a legitimate controlled substance for medicinal purposes or, alternatively, support legislation that would make this change. California Legislators have the opportunity to sign on to this letter, so call and email your Congressional Representative before this Friday, October 28, and urge him or her to sign on and show his or her support for patients!
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a major attack on medical cannabis patients’ access to medicine last week. The DOJ says medical cannabis patients’ cooperatives and collectives in California are illegal, and ordered them to close within forty five days. The DOJ also dusted off and old Bush-era tactic, sending letters threatening property owners who rent to medical cannabis tenants with prosecution and asset forfeiture. Most of California’s legal medical cannabis patients rely on cooperatives and collectives for safe access to the medicine they need to treat the symptoms of cancer, HIV/AIDS, Multiple Sclerosis, chronic pain, and other serious conditions. Join tens of thousands of medical cannabis supporters nationwide in telling President Obama to stop the federal attack on safe access and to support a change in federal law!
Displays your federal Representative, two federal Senators, state Representative, state Senator, and Governor, in that order.
On Monday, May 2, 2011 our community will lose two more members to the failed war on drugs. Dale Schafer and Dr. Mollie Fry, both patients, must remand themselves into federal custody for participating in bringing medical cannabis to themselves, and to other sick and debilitated community members. How many more will become prisoners of war in the name of medical cannabis? We must urge the federal government to end the raids on our community, but in the meantime we must ask for clemency to be granted to those most affected.
The DEA raided 28 medical cannabis facilities in Montana and California on March 14-15. This is harmful to patients and a waste of federal resources! Send an email to President Obama asking him to stop the federal raids and create a policy to protect MEDICAL CANNABIS patients and providers nationwide.
