By Steph Sherer, Executive Director, Americans for Safe Access
With the help of Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) published guidelines for medical cannabis distribution for policymakers in several states last week; the first step in creating independent guidelines for medical cannabis cultivation, distribution, and manufacturing and laboratory standards in each state where medical cannabis is legal. These guidelines will help policymakers create regulations that protect patients’ welfare and reflect the increasingly mainstream position of medical cannabis in contemporary herbal medicine. AHPA is the national leader in promoting safety, self-regulation, and sensible regulations for herbal products. Their decision to embrace medical cannabis as a legitimate medicine brings an influential new partner to our growing national coalition.
ASA helped AHPA find the experts in the medical cannabis field who developed these important new guidelines, and we will keep working together to be sure they are a part of the nationwide conversation about medical cannabis. We are happy to announce that AHPA is co-sponsoring our national conference, Bridging the Gap Between Public and Policy, February 22-25 in Washington, DC. AHPA will also be convening a groundbreaking industry meeting at the conference to keep working on medical cannabis as a medicine – not a dangerous drug.
Register for the conference and historic citizen-lobby day today. There is still time to make a reservation at the beautiful Mayflower Renaissance Hotel, and you have until Friday, February 1, to apply for a conference scholarship. As an added incentive to register now, ASA will give everyone who registers before Friday, February 1, one of our limited edition purple logo lapel pins! You cannot buy these. You can only get one by registering for the conference.
The medical cannabis movement is growing up and going to some exciting places. AHPA is joining a new coalition of advocates that includes patients, organized labor, scientists, researchers, clinicians, and more. This is the team that is going to make a real difference for medical cannabis. As an ASA member, you can be a part of it in Washington, DC. I’ll see you there!
