ASA Activist Newsletter
In the June 2020 Issue:
- Cannabis Prohibition Seen as Central to Racial Injustice
- ASA Offers Solution to Cannabis Research Block
- ASA Supports Essential Workers, Offers Free Memberships
- Free Online Webinar on Extraction Analysis June 18
- ASA Survey Seeks Information on State Programs
- Book on Medical Cannabis Patients Wins Academic Award
- Activist Profile: Joy Grainge, Naperville, Illinois
- Action Alert: Urge the Senate to Allow Safe Banking!
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Cannabis Prohibition Seen as Central to Racial Injustice
As Black Lives Matter protests have
swept the world, federal and state lawmakers have begun to focus on
the connection between the war on drugs and the disproportionate
impacts of police misconduct on African-Americans.
A resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives not only condemns
police brutality but specifically calls out the war on drugs as a
source of racial injustice. House
Resolution 988 notes that African Americans are far more likely
than whites to face drug charges, despite rates of consumption being
effectively the same. The resolution was introduced by Rep. Ayanna
Pressley (D, MA-7 and currently has 173 cosponsors.
U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) similarly identified the racial
disparities in cannabis enforcement as a root part of police killings
of African Americans in an
interview on MSNBC.
In Illinois, officials announced that $31.5 million in cannabis
taxes will be directed to restorative justice grants. The Restore,
Reinvest, and Renew (R3) program directs monies to “communities
impacted by economic disinvestment, violence and the severe and
multilayered harm caused by the war on drugs.”
In Colorado, Rep. James Coleman (D) introduced HB
1424, a bill that would establish restorative justice components
for determining social equity licenses and participation in the
state’s business accelerator program.
In New York, protests have spurred legislators to take up the Safer
NY Act, a group of five bills that would enact police reforms and
legalize adult-use of cannabis. State Sen. Julia Salazar (D) issued a
statement urging her colleagues to “legaliz[e] marijuana with strong
attention paid to ensuring that resources are reinvested in
communities most harmed by prohibition.” The dual measures that would
do so are Assembly Bill
617 and Senate Bill 527.
In Nevada, Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) introduced a clemency resolution
that would pardon all Nevada residents who have convictions for
cannabis possession. The state Board of Pardons Commissioners will
take up the matter this month. Current state law allows individuals to
petition for expungement of convictions for an ounce or less of
cannabis. The governors of Illinois and Washington state have issued
similar blanket pardons.
In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom identified the state’s cannabis
legalization efforts as “a civil rights call.” Ending cannabis
prohibition is part of confronting racial disparities in the criminal
justice system, he said, and advancing “broader criminal justice
reform to address the issues of the war on drugs.”
In Virginia, Gov. Ralph Northam said that racial inequities in the
state are being addressed by the recent decriminalizing of cannabis
through SB
2, which removed the threat of incarceration for possession and
sealed criminal records. He also called for the state to consider full
adult-use legalization.
“Our federal cannabis laws are a historical framework of
discriminatory policies designed to harm and disrupt the lives of
black and brown people. These laws also have been used by federal
enforcement agencies to subdue progressive social movements working to
dismantle institutional racism and remove the lawmakers who maintain
these systems.” said Debbie Churgai, ASA Director. “The public outrage
following the death of George Floyd should make it clear to our
elected leaders that it is no longer acceptable to support, accept or
ignore this framework of discrimination. Like the legacy represented
by Confederate monuments blighting the landscape across our country,
these laws too must be torn down.”
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ASA Offers Solution to Cannabis Research Block
In response to proposed rules for
expanding federally licensed cannabis cultivation for research,
Americans for Safe Access is urging the creation of a new agency
dedicated to cannabis regulation and oversight. On March 23, the Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA) released proposed
rules growing cannabis in bulk for research purposes.
Currently the U.S. has one farm operated by the National Institute
on Drug Abuse which has been unable to meet the demand for pending
medical studies. In 2016, the DEA announced it would issue more
licenses, and 33 research institutions applied, but the government has
taken no action.
ASA has submitted comments suggesting federal officials separate
research activities from law enforcement agencies such as the DEA.
ASA has proposed a new agency, the Office
of Medical Cannabis Control (OMCC), which would oversee the
research program and enable state-licensed cultivators to provide
medical cannabis to researchers. The NIDA farm has been criticized for
being unable to provide research cannabis that reflects the diversity
or quality of cannabis products currently on the market.
“When it comes to cannabis research, politics are often put before
patient needs,” said Debbie Churgai, ASA Director. “Creating a
dedicated agency will ensure research needs are met and simplify the
regulatory environment nationwide to make medical cannabis accessible
and safe for patients everywhere across the U.S.”
Read
ASA's blog on the proposed DEA rules
Read
ASA’s full submitted DEA comments
Read
more about the Office of Medical Cannabis
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ASA Supports Essential Workers, Offers Free Memberships
Cannabis businesses and workers have
been deemed essential for serving patients during the COVID-19
restrictions, and Americans for Safe Access is saying thank you to
them with FREE memberships to all that are working during this
crisis.
“If your business is open, no matter what you do, you and your
employees are welcome to sign up for our free membership,” said ASA
Director Debbie Churgai.
New business members in the last month include Florida Primary and
Specialty Care, For the love of Charlie, Kannabis Works,
KC Financial Services, Los Angeles Patients and Caregivers Group,
Mindful Health, LLC, The Blind Leaf, Revision Wellness, RN4Wellness,
The Cedar Group, Vireo Health, and Zen Leaf
Dispensary.
Sign up at: www.safeaccessnow.org/covid-19_business
or www.safeaccessnow.org/covid-19_employee
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Online Webinar on Extraction Analysis June 18
PFC Director Heather Despres is
presenting information for manufacturing operations on June 18 as part
of the Science of Cannabis Extraction Online Symposium. Despres will
explain Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and third-party
certification and auditing as a tool for cannabis and hemp
businesses.
Registration is free for this analytical chemistry webinar and the
day-long symposium on topics in cannabis and hemp extraction. Register
at https://science-cannabisextraction2020.vfairs.com/
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ASA Survey Seeks Information on State Programs
One of the major projects ASA undertakes each year is the State of the States report. This report analyzes
medical cannabis programs throughout the United States on how they are
best serving patients. In this report, ASA evaluate dozens of criteria
across five areas of patient access and give each program an A-F
score.
Since ASA grades programs on how well they work for patients and
potential patients, medical cannabis patients and caregivers are being
asked to complete a survey. The information gathered will help ASA
identify gaps between laws and regulations, as written, and the
experience of patients in the state.
The short survey can be found at www.safeaccessnow.org/2020survey.
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Book on Medical Cannabis Patients Wins Academic Award
The American Sociological Association
has recognized a book coauthored by Michelle Newhart PhD and ASA’s
William Dolphin with a prestigious award. The Medicalization of
Marijuana: Legitimacy, Stigma, and the Patient
Experience (Routledge 2019) has won the Donald W. Light Award for
the Applied or Public Practice of Medical Sociology. The book is based
on a qualitative research study of patients enrolled in Colorado’s
program.
The committee said they were impressed by the book’s “in-depth look
at patients’ experiences navigating the social, legal, and medical
landscapes of medical marijuana use” and found the “research to be
exceptionally timely, compelling, and comprehensive.” While clinical
studies have been expanding, little research has considered the lived
experience of people who use cannabis medicinally.
“We’re thrilled to receive this honor,” said Newhart. “Patient
behaviors and experience deserve much more study, so we really
appreciate how it highlights cannabis as a worthy topic of medical
sociology.”
Newhart and Dolphin recorded a free ASA webinar discussing their
book and the study's findings that can be viewed at https://www.safeaccessnow.org/the_medicalization_of_marijuana_webinar.
The Medicalization of Marijuana is available on Amazon
and from the
publisher.
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Activist Profile: Joy Grainge, Naperville, Illinois
Joy Grainge turned to medical cannabis
after she injured her neck in 2006, developed spinal stenosis, and
then discovered that she had arthritis throughout her body. That was
eight years before Illinois, where she lives, got a medical cannabis
program running, so she had to rely on the underground market for
access.
She had used cannabis socially as a young person, but, like many
people, by her early to mid-twenties she decided she was “an adult
now” and adults don’t smoke, so she had stopped. Once that she needed
to control her severe chronic pain, that view changed, and she
immediately became involved in Illinois state politics.
Joy was a lone voice in her town of Homewood, a southern suburb of
Chicago, but she connected with activists in the state capital of
Springfield to lobby state lawmakers. She also found Americans for
Safe Access, becoming a devoted volunteer for Chicago-area events, and
in 2013 was an attendee at the inaugural National Unity conference,
where she got a chance to lobby her federal representatives in
Washington, D.C. Joy has been back to D.C. for several more Unity
conferences, and has been a stalwart ASA volunteer for events in the
Chicago area.
When Illinois enacted safe access for patients on January 1, 2014,
Joy went to work with her city officials, meeting with the mayor and
city council to get a dispensary location approved. Again, she was a
lone voice, but an effective one.
“Our mayor was very supportive, and most of the city council was
open minded,” Joy says. “I think that they saw the benefit to not just
the residents but the city in general.”
The city approved the zoning for a dispensary, and Joy says “great
folks came in.”
For all that work and accomplishment, Joy still hesitated to enroll
in the state program. She was concerned about what the impact of
getting a medical cannabis card might be on her driver’s license, and
she “had other options.”
By 2018, Joy’s concerns had been allayed by watching how the
program rolled out, and she decided the benefits outweighed the risks
and she registered with Illinois’ medical cannabis program.
Joy’s citizen lobbying has always been
a combination of state, local and federal, but she’s also done
outreach within her church.
“In 2018, I went to the Unitarian Universalist church conference in
Kansas City with a big poster on cannabis and the Golden Rule,” Joy
says. “People were encouraged and liked the compassionate aspect and
diversion from jail -- it went really well.”
Since January 2020, when the Illinois legislature became the first
to make access legal for everyone age 21, Joy has had difficulty
finding the products she relies on to control her pain.
“The state has a supply problem now. Strains are unavailable and
prices are up,” Joy says. “Many people think products are being held
back for the rec market. I’ve had to make do.”
Joy lives in Naperville now, a more western suburb of Chicago, and
remains very active, participating in the multi-state facebook group
The Medical Cannabis Community and attending city council meetings to
lobby them to allow more access. Illinois law allows municipalities to
opt in or out of allowing cannabis sales.
“Locally, I work with Opt-In Naperville,” she says. “The city had
been talking about an adult-use dispensary, but there has been lots of
push back from city council members and others who are part of the
state’s Opt Out movement.”
The Naperville city council place a referendum about
the matter on the March primary ballot. It passed, but the measure was
nonbinding. A majority of the council said they would follow the will
of the voters, but they have yet to vote. The city has solicited
public comment and will hold a workshop in two weeks.
“We do have a medical dispensary operating, and with COVID-19
they’ve been allowed to operate a drive-thru service, but a delivery
service would be helpful,” Joy says. “I hope we get adult-use in town,
and on-site consumption would be nice.”
Joy would like to see Illinois adopt a policy of allowing cannabis
consumption anywhere tobacco smoking is allowed.
“I live where you can’t have it, so where am I supposed to go?” Joy
asks. “I can’t be at home, can’t in my car, and can’t in public – that
needs to be fixed.”
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Action Alert: Urge the Senate to Allow Safe Banking!
When the House passed the last COVID-19 relief bill, they included
provisions that would change banking rules to allow cannabis
businesses to access the same financial services other businesses rely
on. The Senate is now considering its own version of the HEROES Act,
and safe banking is in danger of being left out.
Contact your Senators today to urge them to allow safe banking for
cannabis businesses. Take action now at https://www.safeaccessnow.org/safebanking_provision_heroes
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