Group issues report to analyze every medical cannabis program in the country
Washington, D.C., United States, February 21, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — RSVP
Who: Editors and Correspondents (RSVP to receive a blocked copy)
What: Editorial staff/press briefing on Americans for Safe Access “State Report: An Analysis of Access to Medicinal Cannabis in the United States”
When: February 22, 2022 at 1 PM ET / 10 AM PT
Where: Online via Zoom
Why: The ASA will share details about the latest developments in medical cannabis, discuss barriers to access, and suggest ideas for navigating medical cannabis policy in the United States.
agenda:
Steve Shearer, founder and president of ASA
Representative Chris Rapp, Representative of Pennsylvania
Nikki Lully – Patient and Advocate for Medical Cannabis
Abby Rodbush, Director of Governmental Affairs ASA
On February 22, 2022 at 1 PM EDT / 10 AM PT, Americans for Safe Access (ASA) will convene an Editorial Board meeting on the “State of Countries Report: Analyzing Access to Medicinal Cannabis in the United States for 2021.”
The report provides a detailed analysis of medical cannabis programs in each state, the District of Columbia, and five US territories, and provides policy makers and regulators with concrete actions to take in their state to better serve the sick population presented in the form of a report card. This year’s report ranks countries in more than 100 categories and places greater emphasis on patient rights, social and health equity, affordability, consumer protection and product safety.
Most media coverage of cannabis focuses on the commercial side, often conveying a message of success and paraphrasing the impact of the federal ban on banking hurdles and changes to tax codes. In state homes, this is reducing access and, in many states, curtailing medical cannabis programs to make more profits through taxation of adult use programs.
This year, as last year, we continue to see a decline in countries improving laws and regulations that help or protect patients’ access to medical cannabis, which still leaves millions with no hope of access. This reality underscores the need for a renewed commitment to patients that includes not only improved state laws, but also comprehensive federal legislation.
Unfortunately, medical cannabis is still illegal at the federal level, which puts these treatments out of the reach of millions of Americans. The problem and companies serving patients have reached a stage of developmental stability, not medicine by locking themselves into a permanent state of “compassionate use”.
The state-by-state compassionate use model ignores those patients who live in states reluctant to pass medical cannabis laws, and federal employees, contractors, and veterans who use medical services to help veterans. In states with medicinal cannabis laws, this model does not address many of the medical or logistical needs of patients, but rather serves only a privileged class of Americans. On the logistical side, there are deserts for access points, traveling from country to country is challenging if not impossible, many private companies still test drug for cannabis, and the cost of paying for the drug is prohibitive for many. On the medical side, many doctors are still reluctant to recommend cannabis, health insurance does not cover cannabis, few cannabis products are standardized or consistently available, and little research is being done to support claims of effectiveness.
In its editorial board/press briefing, the ASA will share details on the latest developments in medical cannabis, discuss barriers to access, and suggest ideas for navigating national medical cannabis policy.
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