Due to the coronavirus pandemic, ASAhas moved this year’s National MedicalCannabis Unity Conference from an in-

person conference to an online conferencethat will take place Friday, March 27 fromnoon to 6:00pm Eastern time.

Going to an online format for panel presenta-tions protects public health and allows ASA tomake the conference more affordable andaccessible. Special online registration for ASAmembers is only $25, and there is an option toboth become a member and register for just$50. Please note that the registration deadlinefor the Friday conference is Tuesday, March 24.

ASA’s online conference will include a full dayof panel discussions with leading experts onmedical cannabis. The conference will begin atnoon with an overview from ASA PresidentSteph Sherer and Interim Director Debbie

Churgai. Sponsor highlights and patient storieswill be presented between each panel.

1:00-2:00p. No Patient Left Behind: Transition-ing State Programs and the Campaign forPatients. How do states transition from med-ical to recreational or CBD-only to medical andensure that patients are still prioritized interms of access and quality of product?

Panelists are Ngiste Abebe of Columbia Care,Nichole Snow of Massachusetts PatientAdvocacy Alliance, Christine Stenquist ofTRUCE, and ASA’s Steph Sherer.

2:15-3:30p. Lessons to be Learned:International Landscape and How It Can ShapeUS Policy. What are the challenges and bestpractices that we can learn from these coun-tries? Panelists are Nic Easley of 3C CannabisConsulting, Michael Krawitz of Veterans forMedical Cannabis, and Hilary Black of CanopyGrowth.

3:45-4:45p. Safety First: How Science &Research Can Impact Patient Safety. Hear fromleading experts about developments inresearch and science that have added to theargument for a cannabis-accessible country.Panelists are Josh Crossney of Cannabis ScienceConference, Julie Armstrong of Aurelius Data,and Antonio Frazier of CannaSafe Analytics.

5:00-6:00p. Statement from ASA InterimDirector Debbie Churgai, followed by closingremarks from ASA President Steph Sherer.

Register by Tuesday, March 24 at asaunity.org.

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 juanMarch 2020 Volume 16, Issue 3

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

Unity 2020 Now Online and More Affordable

USDA Updates HempTesting Rules

Last month, the U.S. Department ofAgriculture (USDA) announced it would delaya registration requirement for laboratoriesbeing used to verify hemp crops as legal.Previously, the USDA had indicated all labswould have to be registered with the DrugEnforcement Administration (DEA) before cer-tifying hemp crops as meeting the federal lim-its for THC content under the 2018 Farm Bill.

ASA submitted comments to USDA on therule, noting this is problematic because thereare only 47 such laboratories across 25 states,and this could create a bottleneck for testing.

ASA recommends removing the DEA-registra-tion requirement entirely instead of just delay-ing it. The requirement for labs will go intoeffect once the final rule is issued or onOctober 31, 2021, whichever is sooner. Untilthen, labs that are not yet registered with theDEA can conduct testing on hemp as long asthey comply with the requirements set forth inthe interim final rule.

A new report from Americans for SafeAccess shows how to resolve the con-flict between federal prohibition and

state laws that regulate access to medicalcannabis for over three million patients acrossthe country. The report, Endingthe Federal Conflict: Changingthe Paradigm on MedicalCannabis, calls for deschedulingcannabis or rescheduling it toallow it to be used as a frontlinemedication. ASA is also urgingthe creation of a new federalagency, the Office of MedicalCannabis Control (OMCC) thatwould have centralized regulato-ry authority over medicalcannabis research, production,and distribution.

The only protection for state medical cannabisprograms in federal law is a budget bill, sub-ject to change each year, that prohibits theDepartment of Justice from spending moneytargeting medical cannabis patients or theprograms in which they are enrolled. Plans forlegalization at the federal level have beenintroduced for years with little impact. It istime for a new approach to cannabis policy.

Currently, nearly a dozen different federalagencies play a role in the decision-makingprocesses relating to the scheduling of

cannabis. These agencies differ from oneanother in their aims, methods, and missions.This stymies progress on important researchand federal recognition of cannabis as medi-cine. Since California created access to medical

cannabis in 1996, 33 states havecreated robust medical cannabisprograms and another 14 statesallow legal access to limitedforms of cannabis products.

ASA’s model legislation providesa new regulatory framework forcannabis and removes restric-tions on research. The proposedOMCC would establish consis-tent national oversight of oper-ating licenses, minimum stan-

dards for labeling and packaging, standardsfor cultivation, and standards for testing forpesticides, heavy metals, contaminants, adul-terants, and other potential threats to health.States would have to meet the proposed newfederal standards, and those with more strin-gent rules than the federal guidelines wouldbe allowed to keep them in place.

The proposed legislation would also stream-line research access for medical cannabis bycentralizing study approval under the newOMCC. Currently, researchers must get theapproval and cooperation of the Food and

ASA Urges New Federal Cannabis Agency

Continued on page 2

At an age when most competitive athleteshave called it quits, Anna Symonds is still onthe rugby pitch, 20 years after her first scrum.She credits cannabis for that.

Originally a soccer player, Anna switched torugby in college and continues to play at theelite level in the USA Rugby Women's PremierLeague. As with most all aging athletes, Annafound her injuries started to accumulate overthe years.

“Some things you never completely healfrom,” she says. “Recovery takes longer.”

Rugby, like many contact sports, has a bigdrinking culture, with matches followed bysocials with the opposing teams. The alcoholwill temporarily numb the pain of playinghard and hitting the ground with no protec-tive gear, but Anna discovered she felt evenworse the next day, with alcohol intensifyingthe inflammation.

As a player on the west coast, Anna had team-mates who always used cannabis. She substi-tuted it for alcohol right after a game andexperienced immediate pain relief and antiin-flammation.

“I was like, Woah! This is medicine!” sheremembers. “It was an ‘aha’ moment.”

Starting in 2013, Anna began using cannabismore systematically, honing her use to supporther performance and wellness. At the sametime, she was training a lot, having addedMixed Martial Arts to the rugby, and shefound her drinking tapering off, so she madea decision to cut out the alcohol.

That was when she began to identify as a med-ical cannabis user. That fall, she injured herback, herniating a disc with two bulging discsabove, creating chronic back pain.

“I was prescribed painkillersand muscle relaxants,” Annasays. “But cannabis was byfar the best for managingthat pain and muscle spasm,and also to continue beingan athlete.”

In 2014, Anna saw whatcannabis can do for manag-ing even more serious condi-tions, as she provided sup-port for a good friend withaplastic anemia who neededa bone marrow transplant.As she sat at his side throughmonths of chemotherapy,her friend, who is healthyand thriving now, shared hisbelief that “medibles” were what allowed himto survive the treatment process.

“My belief in cannabis comes not just from myexperience but what I saw at his side,” Annasays. “It was very powerful.”

Since Anna lived in Oregon, where medical usehas been allowed since 1998, she had a friendwho was an organic medical grower she couldtrust for access. But in early 2016, as Oregon’snew adult-use rules pushed medical cultivatorsinto the new system, Anna decided she need-ed to get involved with the medical providers.

“I got my medical card then, which mightseem counterintuitive, but I felt it was a politi-cal issue,” she says. “I needed to take a standthat I use this medically, that this is a medicalissue.”

Anna started applying her communicationskills to helping medical growers with their

paperwork for the transition.In the process, she becameconcerned with how tomake cannabis available foreveryone in the face of newtaxes and fees.

This made it natural for Annato begin work in thecannabis industry as anactivist. In 2017, she beganher current job as a cannabisscience educator for EastforkCultivars.

Anna is also working tomake cannabis more avail-able as a treatment in sports.She is part of the organiza-

tion Athletes for Care that has petitioned theWorld Anti-Doping Association (WADA) toremove THC from its list of banned substances.

Anna will be starting her 20th season inwomen’s rugby this year as openside flanker#7, a demanding position. She’s excited to getback on the pitch and eager for more oppor-tunities to spread the message about howcannabis has helped her.

“How could I not use any chance that I have toshare the truth and a message of freedom andrights around health and wellbeing?”

Activist Profile: Anna Symonds, Portland, Oregon

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Mail to: Americans for Safe Access, 1624 U Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20009

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JOIN TODAY!

ACTION ALERT: Lobby Congress from Home! With ASA’s 2020 National Medical Cannabis Unity Conference going online, the annu-al lobby day is, too. This is your best chance to urge your elected officials to improveand expand safe access. ASA will coordinate your efforts by email and on the phoneso we can expand our impact even further. RSVP to receive notification on March 26about contacting your elected officials at www.safeaccessnow.org/lobby2020.

Drug Administration, the Drug EnforcementAdministration, and the National Institute onDrug Abuse, which has created significant bar-riers and delays that have blocked manyresearch studies.

Under ASA’s proposal, the new OMCC wouldestablish at least one federally funded medicalcannabis research and development center,establish a federal system of laboratory stan-dards, and create a program for certifyingresearch on medical cannabis.

To learn more and view the full report anddraft legislation, visit safeaccessnow.org/omcc.

OMMC, continued from page 1