Dear Friend,

While we often look forward to get through hard times, it is important to create space to honor those loved ones that will not be continuing with us in 2021, as well as recognizing that 2020 was a hard and frightening year for everyone. I want to say a special thank you to the essential cannabis workers that risk their lives everyday to continue to provide medicine to patients.

I also want to say thank you to our members, supporters, partners, and donors; your support ensured that ASA’s mission pushed forward even in these uncertain times. In fact, ASA members and staff’s 2020 accomplishments include some of the most impactful milestones in cannabis policy that we have ever seen, including the rescheduling of cannabis internationally. 

At ASA, we know that ensuring safe and legal access to cannabis will require more than just changing a U.S. state law, that is why we have also spent the last 18 years fighting to remove cannabis from Schedule IV at the international level. Our members and staff have testified before the United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organization (WHO), lobbied member states, and generated thousands of letters from over 75 countries to UN Ambassadors calling for reconsiderations of cannabis’ scheduling. In 2016, we even created our own critical review that was delivered to the UN and WHO, which helped prompt the WHO to complete an updated scientific review process of cannabis as a medicine. 

These outdated UN policies have kept patients around the globe from being able to pass federal medical cannabis programs. In fact, U.S. officials have cited these policies as a reason for not changing federal cannabis laws since 1996. This victory was possible due to strategic planning, diligence, and execution that was only possible because of ASA members and donors that had the foresight and patience to see us through to this goal. 

There are still millions of patients around the globe, and even in our own country, that still do not have safe access to cannabis medicines. We have a plan, and with every year Americans for Safe Access gets closer to this goal.  We want nothing more than to keep up this work in 2021, but this work can only happen with your support. 

Our promise to you is that, no matter what, even through a global pandemic, we will do all that we can to continue to keep making safe access to cannabis a reality globally. So before this year ends,  I will be supporting ASA with a donation to help continue fighting for patients in 2021. I hope you will join me.

Happy New Years,

Steph Sherer,
Founder and Board President
Americans for Safe Access
http://www.safeaccessnow.org/