“The Life She Deserves: Medical Marijuana in the United States”

REF: https://american-safe-access.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asa_june2018_news.pdf

Sixth Annual Unity Conference Highlights Opioid Crisis: On May 24, the plenary sessions of Americans for Safe Access's (ASA) 6th annual conference started out with a screening of “The Life She Deserves” along with Q&A with Beth Collins and the documentary’s director, George Burroughs, and writer-producer John Hudak of the Brookings Institution. Following the documentary screening, participants enjoyed a full day of expert panels on medical cannabis policy, product safety, education, research, and action and learned how all these tie into helping the opioid epidemic.

During the first panel, conference attendees heard more on the opioid crisis. Moderated by ASA’s Director of Government Affairs David Mangone, “Intervention: How Government Can Save Lives” details how some government officials are working to break down barriers to opioid alternatives and end the epidemic. Panelists included New York Assembly Member Daniel O'Donnell; West Virginia State Senator Richard Ojeda; West Virginia Candidate for U.S. Congress Kendra Fershee; Pennsylvania State Senator Daylin Leech; and Dr. Chanda Macias, Owner National Holistic Healing Center.

The second panel of the day was “Preventing Poison: Consumers’ Role in Quality Assurance.” Moderator Jahan Marcu, PhD, ASA’s Chief Science Officer and Director of the PFC program, led a discussion of the disparity between medical-grade cannabis and lower quality alternatives, as well as regulatory standards for product purity and safety. Panelists were Nic Easley, CEO of 3C Cannabis, Ezra Pryor, Heidolph North America Applied Market Specialist; Trish Flaster, Executive Director, Botanical Liaisons; and Jeff Raber, PhD, of The Werc Shop, an analytic laboratory.

Following lunch, ASA Associate Director, Debbie Churgai, led the panel “Connect Four: Educating Patients, Physicians, Providers, and Policy Makers,” which featured a discussion of how various stakeholder groups can spread the truth about medical cannabis. Panelists include Meredith Fisher-Corn MD, editor-in-chief of TheAnswerPage.com, one of the leading online medical education resources; Deb Kimless MD, medical director of ForwardGro, one of Maryland’s premier growers of medical cannabis; Sarah Laucks, director of education and events for Abilities Expo, which produces shows all over the country for the community of people with disabilities; and Debby Miran, a former commissioner of the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission.

The panel from the International Cannabis and Cannabinoids Institute (ICCI) in the Czech Republic focused on the global response to treating pain with cannabis. Moderated by ASA Executive Director Steph Sherer, panelists included ICCI CEO Pavel Kubů; Tomas Sadilek, ICCI director of government affairs; and Ethan Russo MD, ICCI’s director of medical research.

Concluding the day was “People over Process: Making Lives a Priority in Public Policy,” which showcased successful citizen lobbyists who described how to be effective. Moderated by ASA Board of Directors member Don Duncan, other panelists were Christine Stenquist from Together for Responsible Use and Cannabis Education; Julie Prom, director and veterans outreach coordinator for Illinois Women in Cannabis; Ellen Lenox Smith, co-director of the U.S. Pain Foundation; and Diana Dodson, who has participated in clinical cannabis trials and advocated in the media.

Clare, J. (2018, Jun. 6). There is Still Some Powerful Resistance to Medical Marijuana. Retrieved from https://www.marijuanatimes.org/there-is-still-some-powerful-resistance-to-medical-marijuana/