Freedom Leaf INTERVIEW How are things going at Americans for Safe Access? Wonderful, but busy! The last two years have been really exciting, but keeping track of the needs of 40 states is a bit challenging. It’s a dream come true to work with mainstream organizations such as the American Herbal Products Association, American Chemical Society, Epilepsy Foundation, American Herbal Pharmacopeia and The AnswerPage. The Patient Focused Certification program is going really well, and it’s great to know that we can point patients toward safe products. We’re also engaging on the international level through an organization we helped launch in March, the International Medical Cannabis Patients Coalition. To what degree do you feel ASA is responsible for medical marijuana laws enacted since 2002?
Steph Sherer
Interview by Steve Bloom In 2002, when Steph Sherer founded Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the cannabis community looked very different than it does today. At a time when all the U.S. reform movement’s leaders were male (and white), Sherer became the first woman to lead a major marijuana advocacy organization. Since then, 15 more states have passed fairly broad medical cannabis laws, largely due to the increased involvement of women. We asked Sherer, who continues to serve as ASA’s Executive Director, to comment on ASA’s accomplishments and future goals, and the general state of medical marijuana in America.
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Until ASA stood up for access, the national debate around medical cannabis was focused solely on the legality and ethics of arresting and prosecuting patients for cannabis use. That experience is real, but reflected only a fraction of the experiences that patients and this community were having on a daily basis. ASA brought the patient’s voice to the table, and we shifted the debate to the real concerns of patients: legal access to medicine, and patients’ civil rights. This has meant the addition of distribution programs, civil protections and product safety protocols to medical marijuana laws. ASA has been engaged in every state process. Medical marijuana laws have become increasingly restrictive. Where do you stand on laws that don’t allow smoking, and strictly limit the number of qualifying conditions, as well as restrict strains and products, such as edibles? ASA has model legislation that we’re always striving toward; our work includes continuously monitoring and improving these laws. We have to do this by showing
december 2015