WASHINGTON — Americans for Safe Access launched Cannabis Safety Month September 1 with the Cannabis Safety Month Opening National Forum: Framing the Conversation.
The virtual forum brought together campaign partners and stakeholders to identify key safety concerns and introduce the campaign’s solutions-focused approach. Together, the speakers represented the interconnected issues that shape cannabis safety, including patient access, accurate information, regulatory enforcement, community confidence, healthcare integration, and the continuing public health consequences of prohibition.
“We are winning recognition for cannabis as medicine, but recognition is not enough,” said Steph Sherer, founder and executive director of Americans for Safe Access. “When legitimate safety concerns go unanswered, fear and misinformation fill the gap. Cannabis Safety Month brings stakeholders together to examine the evidence, identify solutions, protect patients, and build support for national medical cannabis legislation.
“Cannabis Safety Month brings these stakeholders together to examine the evidence, explore strategies for addressing concerns, assess what is working, and identify practical solutions,” she continued. “Safety and access are not competing goals. Addressing concerns honestly is how we protect patients, build public confidence, and clear the path toward comprehensive national medical cannabis legislation.”
Sherer opened the forum by introducing the purpose of Cannabis Safety Month and outlining the campaign’s September programming. The campaign is guided by the message “Recognizing Community Concerns. Spotlighting Solutions. Building What Comes Next.”
Framing the national conversation
The opening forum examined cannabis safety from several perspectives that are often discussed separately but must be addressed together. Speakers explored the importance of evidence-based public health policy, the safety consequences of access deserts, the information gaps facing veterans, the limitations of regulations that are not adequately enforced, and the responsibility of the cannabis community to address the concerns of parents and other community members.
Event details
Speakers included:
- Steph Sherer, founder and executive director, Americans for Safe Access.
- Sasha Kalcheff-Korn, executive director, Realm of Caring.
- Shanetha Marable-Lewis, MS, executive director, Veterans Initiative 22.
- Julie K. Johnson, PhD, cannabis policy researcher and applied policy leader.
- Kimberly Cargile, MS, owner and CEO, A Therapeutic Alternative.
The forum was free and open to patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals, researchers, regulators, policymakers, advocates, cannabis professionals, journalists, parents, veterans, employers, public health professionals, and members of the public.
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