On May 24, ASA’s 6th annual conference start-ed out with a screening of “The Life SheDeserves” along with Q&A with Beth Collinsand the documentary’s director, GeorgeBurroughs, and writer-producer John Hudakof the Brookings Institution.

Following the documentary screening, partici-pants enjoyed a full day of plenaries on med-ical cannabis policy, product safety, education,research, and action and learned how all thesetie into helping the opioid epidemic. Duringthe first panel, conference attendees heardmore on the opioid crisis. Moderated by ASA’sDirector of Government Affairs DavidMangone, “Intervention: How GovernmentCan Save Lives” details how some governmentofficials are working to break down barriers to

opioid alterna-tives and endthe epidemic.Panelists includ-ed New YorkA s s e m b l y

Member Daniel O'Donnell; West Virginia StateSenator Richard Ojeda; West VirginiaCandidate for U.S. Congress Kendra Fershee;Pennsylvania State Senator Daylin Leech; andDr. Chanda Macias, Owner National HolisticHealing Center..

The second panel of theday was “PreventingPoison: Consumers’Role in QualityAssurance.” ModeratorJahan Marcu, PhD,ASA’s Chief ScienceOfficer and Director of the PFC program, led adiscussion of the disparity between medical-grade cannabis and lower quality alternatives,as well as regulatory standards for productpurity and safety. Panelists were Nic Easley,CEO of 3C Cannabis, Ezra Pryor, HeidolphNorth America Applied Market Specialist; TrishFlaster, Executive Director, Botanical Liaisons;and Jeff Raber, PhD, of The Werc Shop, ananalytic laboratory.

Following lunch, ASA Associate Director,Debbie Churgai, led the panel “Connect Four:Educating Patients, Physicians, Providers, andPolicy Makers,” which featured a discussion ofhow various stakeholder groups can spreadthe truth about medical cannabis. Panelistsinclude Meredith Fisher-Corn MD, editor-in-chief of TheAnswerPage.com, one of the lead-

ing online medical education resources; DebKimless MD, medical director of ForwardGro,one of Maryland’s premier growers of medicalcannabis; Sarah Laucks, director of educationand events forAbilities Expo,which producesshows all over thecountry for thecommunity ofpeople with disabilities; and Debby Miran, aformer commissioner of the Maryland MedicalCannabis Commission.

The panel from the International Cannabisand Cannabinoids Institute (ICCI) in the CzechRepublic focused on the global response totreating pain with cannabis. Moderated by

ASA Executive Director Steph Sherer, panelistsincluded ICCI CEO Pavel Kubů; Tomas Sadilek,ICCI director of government affairs; and EthanRusso MD, ICCI’s director of medical research.

Concluding the day was “People over Process:Making Lives a Priority in Public Policy,” whichshowcased successful citizen lobbyists whodescribed how to be effective. Moderated byASA Board of Directors member Don Duncan,other panelists were Christine Stenquist fromTogether for Responsible Use and CannabisEducation; Julie Prom, director and veteransoutreach coordinator for Illinois Women inCannabis; Ellen Lenox Smith, co-director of theU.S. Pain Foundation; and Diana Dodson, whohas participated in clinical cannabis trials andadvocated in the media.

Americans for Safe AccessA C T I V I S T N E W S L E T T E R

Defending Pat ients ’ Access to Medical Mari juanaJUNE 2018 Volume 14, Issue 6

Americans for Safe Access • 1624 U Street NW, Suite 200 • Washington, D.C. 20009 202-857-4272 • info@AmericansForSafeAccess.org • www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org

Opioid Crisis the Focus of 6th National Unity Conference

ASA’s 6th Annual National UnityConference began this year with citi-zen lobby day on May 23. Before

heading to CapitolHill on charteredbuses, lobby day par-ticipants heard open-ing remarks from ASAExecutive Director,Steph Sherer, a brief-ing on the “OpioidCrisis and FederalPolicy,” and a work-shop on the “ABC’s ofCitizen Lobbying.” Participants also viewed anintroduction video from Sen. Elizabeth Warren(D, Mass.), who told conference attendees thather state of Massachusetts provides an exampleof what “sensible and safe cannabis market cando to promote public health and safety.” Sheencouraged advocates to work for nationallegislation such as the bipartisan bill she intro-duced with Sen. Corey Booker (D-NJ) to protectthose who participate in state programs fromfederal prosecution. “Thanks for being on theright side of history,” she said.

In the afternoon, over 100 patients and advo-cates gathered in front of the Capitol for apress conference with elected officials to high-light the need for national legislation thatwould allow cannabis to be used as a tool forfighting the opioid crisis.

Speakers at the press conference includedelected officials from both sides of the aisle,

including Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz (FL-1),the chief sponsor of the Medical CannabisResearch Act, which would authorize research

into the medical bene-fits of cannabis, andDemocrat Rep. SteveCohen (TN-9), cospon-sor of the CARERS Actin the House ofRepresentatives.

Also speaking wereadvocates such as vet-eran Patrick Seifert

from Twenty22Many-Olympia and parent-caregiver Mark Zartler. Ethan Russo, Director ofResearch and Development for theInternational Cannabis and CannabinoidInstitute (ICCI) also spoke, as well as veteranNFL running back Mike James, currently a free

agent. James is thefirst NFL player torequest a “thera-peutic use exemp-tion” for medicalcannabis, whichwas featured in arecent CNN docu-mentary. Followingthe press confer-ence, advocatesfanned out to

lobby elected officials and their staffers inscores of meetings arranged by ASA. Advocatesurged lawmakers to pass federal legislation toremove barriers to safe access and research.

ASA Brings Citizen Lobbyists to Capitol Hill

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Patient Advocate of the Year: Jennifer Collins,Virginia – Jenn’s remarkable story and advoca-cy were featured last month in the ASAActivist Newsletter and is recounted in “TheLife She Deserves,” a short documentary fromthe Brookings Institution.

Elected Official of the Year: West VirginiaState Senator Richard Ojeda, an Army Major(ret.) and combat veteran, led the effort onthe West Virginia Medical Cannabis Act(SB386). His role in creating the state’s medicalcannabis program was inspired by a desire todo something about the opioid crisis in hisstate. Currently a candidate for U.S. Congress(3rd District), Senator Ojeda has made accessto medical cannabis a significant part of hispolicy platform.

Chapter, Affiliate, or Action Group of the Year:Together for Responsible Use and CannabisEducation (TRUCE). ASA groups and chapterswork in states all across the country, but med-ical cannabis in Utah presents unique chal-lenges due to the state’s politics and influenceof the LDS church. TRUCE has made impressiveadvances despite that, playing a key role in theUtah Patients Coalition that has just qualified astrong medical cannabis voter initiative for theNovember ballot.

Researcher of the Year: Ryan Vandrey, PhD hasdone groundbreaking work on cannabisadministration and dosing that will help pro-vide a foundation for the development of newcannabis-based medicines. An AssociateProfessor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciencesat the Johns Hopkins University School ofMedicine in Baltimore, Dr. Vandrey also

recently conducted the first series of labelingstudies for THC and CBD products, utilizinglaboratories enrolled in the Patient FocusedCertification program.

Medical Professional of the Year: CarloTornatore, MD. As Chair of the Department ofNeurology and the Director of the MultipleSclerosis Center at Georgetown University, Dr.Tornatore has made medical cannabis a prior-ity for his patients. He includes use of medicalcannabis in his patient education seminars andhas brought it into the mainstream at theGeorgetown Multiple Sclerosis andNeuroimmunology Center, one of the largestand most prestigious in the country.

Journalist of the Year: David Hodes hasworked both as a contributor and editor ofseveral business and cannabis publicationsincluding Cannabis Business Executive. His cov-erage of the intersection of federal policy withthe cannabis industry is invaluable for both theindustry and the public. He is member of theNational Press Club.

Courage Award: Mark and Christy Zartler’sstruggle to treat their daughter Zara’s severeautism, which produces self-injurious behav-iors, with cannabis and keep their familytogether has been a very public one. Facingdown the state of Texas to do what is right foryour child defines bravery for medical cannabisadvocates.

End Pain Not Lives Champion of the Year: U.S.Pain Foundation, which has been ASA's part-ner on our End Pain Not Lives campaign since2017. The U.S. Pain Foundation works toempower, educate, connect, and advocate forpeople living with chronic conditions thatcause pain. Safe access to medical cannabis isone of the foundation’s legislative priorities.

Partner Advocate of the Year: Orrick,Herrington & Sutcliffe. Awarded to a partnerorganization or company that has displayedleadership and courage in their work onbehalf of medical cannabis patients, the 2018honor goes to Orrick for its pro bono legalwork on behalf of medical cannabis patients.

Activist Profiles: 2018 ASA Excellence Award Winners

ACTION ALERT: Help Veterans Get Safe Access!Veterans of military service have a disproportionately high rate of debilitating med-ical conditions that can be treated successfully with cannabis, including chronic pain,cancer, ALS, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, and phantom limbpain. Veterans deserve equal and safe access to medical cannabis, yet the VeteransHealth Administration continues to prohibit its physicians from providing therequired paperwork to enroll in state programs. New legislation would fix that. Tellyour Member of Congress to support equal access for all veterans today! It's easy.Just go to: https://safeaccess.us/Veterans-Access.

Despite a challenge from opponents, a med-ical cannabis initiative has qualified in Utah. Acampaign to get voters in Utah to removetheir names from the initiative’s petitionfailed to attract the support needed.

The lieutenant governor, the state’s electionchief, certified the signatures last month,ensuring it will be on the state’s Novemberballot. Officials say the Utah Patients Coalitionsubmitted 153,894 valid signatures, about40,000 more than needed.

Opponents had claimed that people were mis-led in signing the petition and mounted acampaign to get voters who had signed torevoke their support. Only 1,425 people sub-mitted valid requests to remove their names.

A recent poll found that 72% of Utahans sup-port the measure. Utah voters will decide on aprogram that would license cultivation anddispensary operations to serve qualifyingpatients. Those registered will be eligible toobtain edible and topical forms of cannabisand CBD oils that can be vaporized.

If passed, patient registry cards are to be avail-able by March 2020, and cities will be requiredto allow state-licensed medical cannabis oper-ations. Medical cannabis would be exemptfrom sales tax in Utah.

Steph Sherer introducing the 2018 award winners. Front row (L-R):Katie Golden, US Pain Foundation; Tyler McGreevy, Orrick; CarloTornatore, MD; Ryan Vandrey, PhD; David Hodes; Mark and ChristyZartler. Second row (L-R): Nathan Frodsham and Justin Arriola,TRUCE. Back row: Christine Stenquist and Tom Paskett, TRUCE.

Utah Initiative Makes Ballot