By Steph Sherer | Executive Director, Americans for Safe Access
A protest at LA's Edward R. Roybal Federal Building (255 E. Temple, 90006) is scheduling for noon on Monday, Oct 24.
The federal government has launched a major new attack on medical cannabis patients and providers, and Americans for Safe Access (ASA) is calling on you to fight back.
The Drug Enforcement Administration is raiding cultivators and providers.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is threatening to prosecute property owners who rent to medical cannabis tenants – and to confiscate their property!
The Internal Revenue Service is auditing patients’ associations, and under federal pressure, banks are denying services.
Even the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives is trying to deny patients their Second Amendment rights.
Things look bad, but we know that grassroots power can make a difference.
ASA is responding to the federal escalation with a campaign to put political pressure on the DOJ, reframe the public dialogue about medical cannabis, and fight back in court.
We are also gearing up to support local organizers who are fighting state and local efforts to roll back safe access in their communities.
You can be a part of this campaign right now. Here are five things every patient and advocate can do to fight back:
1. Call or email your Representative in the US House of Representatives to support and cosponsor Barney Frank’s (D-MA) HR 1983. This bill will reschedule cannabis under federal law and protect patients and providers in states where medical cannabis is already legal.
2. Email President Obama and ask him to stop the federal attacks on medical cannabis. The President must live up to the promises he made of a more enlightened federal policy.
3. Sign the petition to the White House to help show overwhelming public support for medical cannabis and opposition to the federal crackdown.
4. Speak up in the media. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, call into a radio or internet talk show, or post comments to stories online. Use ASA’s Advocates Training Center to get ready.
5. Organize or attend a peaceful protest against the federal crackdown in your community. If the President is visiting your hometown as part of his re-election campaign, consider timing your event to coincide with his visit. Use ASA’s Advocates Training Center to learn more about organizing and promoting public events.
We have stopped federal escalations before, and with your participation, we can do it again!
There is one more thing you can do to help today. Please make a contribution to help support ASA’s work to end the federal crackdown. and help us put political pressure on the DOJ, mount a proactive media campaign, and fight back in court.
Read ASA’s press release and blog for more information about the federal escalation.
