Americans for Safe Access Releases State Cannabis Report Cards
Americans for Safe Access, often referred to as simply ASA, released its cannabis report card yesterday. Entitled “Medical Marijuana Access in the United States: A Patient-Focused Analysis of the Patchwork of State Laws,” the report rates each state’s medical cannabis laws under a variety of categories, such as patient’s rights, legal constraints and overall accessibility to medical cannabis. While the report is 89 pages long and contains a wealth of positive information, the organization’s report card aims to help simplify the pros and cons of each state’s individual programs (see page 32 for the beginning of the state breakdown).
For example, California received a B+, Colorado a B-, Michigan a B+, Oregon a B and Washington a C-. There were no A rated states. Among the 45 states reviewed, the most negative states were Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming—all of which received an F-.
The ASA also arranged this report for the year of 2015 as well, and found that there were many improvements, “National trends in medical cannabis policy are generally moving in a positive direction,” the report stated. “2016 brought in six new medical cannabis states and almost every state improved their program through legislation or regulatory improvements. Our grading shows incredible improvements from 2015 to 2016 for a program that also expanded nationally by just over 12 percent.
It’s comprehensive guides such as this one that can stand to benefit the medical cannabis community as a whole. Progress is being made, but there’s always room for improvement. The ASA feels the same way, and hopes that the report will help guide those who want to continue to advocate for patient’s rights, “The future can be bright for medical cannabis patients, if state lawmakers and regulators adopt and implement comprehensive programs that improve the quality of life for patients and their loved ones.”
