Cannabis Businesses & Professionals Unite for National Medical Cannabis Program

*WASHINGTON* — Cannabis Businesses & Professionals United for National
Medical Cannabis launched September 16. The new Americans for Safe Access
(ASA)Action Group was formed to unite cannabis businesses, professionals,
and investors behind a bold national vision: the creation of a
comprehensive medical cannabis framework in the United States.

The launch comes at a pivotal moment. On September 10, the House
Appropriations Committee advanced the FY2026 Commerce, Justice, Science,
and Related Agencies (CJS)budget bill, which included provisions that would
allow the DEA to once again interfere with state cannabis programs and
block the President from making any determination on cannabis scheduling.
As these threats grow, patients remain the only ones consistently fighting
back.
Why a national program matters

For more than a decade, cannabis reform in Washington has been stagnant.
Despite new state programs, growing public support, and billions invested,
federal progress on banking, tax fairness, and interstate commerce remains
out of reach. Patients continue to face stigma, discrimination, and
inconsistent access to medicine.

Medical cannabis programs were established as compassionate stopgaps during
the War on Drugs, but after 25 years, many are at risk of collapse due to
inadequate federal support and state frameworks that prioritize adult use.
Patients remain vulnerable to eviction from federally funded housing, loss
of employment due to drug testing, custody challenges for parents,
exclusion from protections under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),
and barriers for veterans within the VA healthcare system.

Meanwhile, federal prohibition perpetuates inconsistent product quality,
fragmented labeling standards, and safety risks from unregulated markets.
Without a national framework, patients and businesses alike operate within
a patchwork system that hinders research, innovation, commerce, and
healthcare integration.

A national medical cannabis program that provides clarity for researchers,
stability for businesses, tools for healthcare professionals, and dignity
for patients is imperative.

Such a program would be transformative:

- *For patients:* safe, consistent, affordable access to medicine and
life-changing legal protections
- *For the healthcare sector:* Education and resources for clinicians,
integration and innovation for overburdened systems, and added stability to
profitability.
- *For society:* a shift from prohibition to science, from stigma to
dignity, and from fragmentation to a unified approach.

“There is such a wealth of knowledge about medical cannabis that is not
being utilized,” said Karen Jaynes, MS, eRYT, medical cannabis integration
consultant. “If we apply it, we can build a strong medical framework. Both
medical and adult-use can thrive, but they need separate, intentional
pathways in a post-prohibition world. If we want sustainable progress, we
cannot afford to treat medical cannabis as an afterthought.”
Building a patient-centered future

Cannabis is a botanical medicine, and existing systems for drug approval
were never designed for complex plant-based therapies. Rescheduling
cannabis may be a step forward, but it also highlights the need for a new
regulatory path that integrates cannabis into healthcare without forcing it
into frameworks built for single-compound pharmaceuticals.

ASA has long advocated for a patient-centric national approach, including
removing criminal penalties, creating regulatory pathways for medical
access, establishing safety standards and clinical guidelines, ensuring
cannabis is recognized as a legitimate medicine within the healthcare
system, and establishing a new Schedule VI classification and an Office of
Medical Cannabis & Cannabinoid Control (OMC) within HHS to oversee cannabis
and cannabinoid medicines.

“Picture what it will look like when every patient in America — no matter
their state, income, or condition — has safe access to cannabis medicine,”
said Holly Lang, PharmD, a pharmacist working in Pennsylvania’s medical
cannabis program. “That visual is stunning for patients. That’s progress
for society.”
The path forward

ASA has played a central role in shaping the cannabis landscape, from
drafting state medical frameworks and developing product safety protocols
to leading international advocacy and securing DOJ budget protections that
shield patients and providers. But ASA is clear: lasting change will only
come through a comprehensive national program.

“We survived through the time of federal raids and prosecutions. No one was
more relieved than I when ASA first passed the DOJ budget protections,”
said Aundre Speciale, a 20-year California dispensary operator and founding
member of ASA. “But ‘cease-fires’ are supposed to be temporary. A decade
has gone by with no changes to federal cannabis policy, and now we are all
at risk.”

A national medical cannabis program would stabilize demand, provide tools
for medical professionals, guarantee dignity for patients, and allow U.S.
businesses to compete globally in a field where other countries are moving
forward rapidly. The new Action Group will help deliver that future by
mobilizing business leaders and professionals to advocate along with
patients for Congress to act.

“Patients deserve medicines that are studied, standardized, and trusted —
and businesses deserve the clarity to invest in that work,” saidOtha Smith
III, CEO of Tetragram. ”The Businesses & Professionals United for National
Medical Cannabis Action Group is the bridge we need to align science,
policy, and patient care. A national program will finally unlock the
research potential that has been stalled for decades.”