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Welcome and Opening Remarks by Steph Sherer and Debbie Churgai
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About the talk
ASA Founder Steph Sherer and Executive Director Debbie Churgai will welcome you to Unity and explain the
importance of this event and how it contributes to our 2021 advocacy. They will also prepare you for the events of the day and how to use the Hopin conference platform.
00:05 Welcome and greetings from Steph Sherer
01:43 A moment of silence
02:45 Americans for Safe Access
04:35 The medication for patients during and after the crisis
05:32 Expand the card programs
07:25 First distribution programs for cannabis in the world in the United States
08:45 The different issues at different levels
09:27 Legalization for safe access
10:00 How much it takes to pass a law
11:44 The federal raids
11:59 The programs for more privileged people of the society
13:35 Individuals that are not able to get served through our medical cannabis patience
17:21 How implementation is going
18:01 The process of implantation
19:13 Q&A
21:00 The federal legalization
23:00 Closing thoughts
About speakers
Steph Sherer is founder and President of Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the largest national member-based organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists, and concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research. Her direct experience with the medical benefits of cannabis and her political organizing background led Steph to form ASA in 2002 with the purpose of building a strong grassroots movement to protect patients and their rights. As a powerful advocate, a skilled spokesperson, and an energetic initiator of campaigns, Steph has trained over 100,000 individuals across the country on civic engagement. Steph has become the foremost international leader and expert on medical cannabis patient advocacy and, alongside American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), has created the first industry standards in the areas of distribution, cultivation, analytics, and manufacturing, packaging and labeling.
View the profileAs the Executive Director, Debbie manages all day-to-day aspects of the organization, including ASA's Patient Focused Certification (PFC) and Cannabis Care Certification (CCC) programs. She has served as a writer, editor, and reviewer on many ASA publications including the Cannabis and Cannabis Resin Critical Review Document that was sent to the United Nations. Debbie first entered into the medical cannabis field by helping a company write their State license applications for cultivating and manufacturing medical cannabis. She worked in conjunction with horticulturists, physicians, and patient advocates and learned a great deal about the industry. She joined ASA in February of 2016 as the Executive Assistant to the Executive Director, Steph Sherer and quickly worked her way up to managing programs. Her previous work experience was in the Behavioral and Public Health fields working on projects in tobacco regulation and substance abuse prevention and treatment. She holds a Master’s degree in Psychology.
View the profileHey everyone. Thank you so much for being here today. My name is Debbie Shore guy. I'm the executive director of Americans for safe access. I want to know I want to give you. I want to give everyone a special thanks to our sponsors. Dr. Bronner's me maps, Columbia care, Hawthorne gardening marimed. He's 3C cannabis comprehensive herbivore Botanicals, and please support these businesses because they do care about patient access. And so thank you again to our amazing wonderful sponsors. We cannot. Thank you enough. We cannot
do anything without your support. We really appreciate it. I want to say thank you to everyone who donated to the conference. We decided to do a pay-what-you-can option this year, because we know a lot of people, especially this year, may not have extra funds, and so, we will make this conference available to everyone, but we were very pleasantly surprised that so many people did donate, and we really appreciate that. I see you. I thank you. I, I really appreciate that so much. Even if it was just $10, you know, we appreciate the support. So right now,
you're currently on the main stage. This is where all the Live program will be happening and you can do the full schedule at the top of the page, where there is a little calendar iPod. On your right, you can send messages. Interact with each attendees. Would love to know who is here. So, please give us a shout out. Let us know where you're from and what organization or company. You represent a funny also on your right is a human, a shot. You can ask questions any time here. On the right or the people tab, where you can see who's in the event, send direct messages or
you can start on your left, check out the contents. We have kids in cannabis how to have a conversation. We have the USB perspective on cannabis quality. So please check out those those presentations. Also, on the left is not working button. So click on it and you'll be connected with another attendee. Also looking to connect, you'll have three minutes to chat and at the end of the event, you get a summary of all the connections you made during the Right after the program. Today. We will have we called virtual
medication stations for members today. There will be a session dedicated to Veterans Ace of chapters, lgbtq Community, a POC, community, and seniors. And also be a general one tomorrow, starting at 8 p.m. We are hosting a member social and staff will be on there as well. So we just we look forward to seeing you. So I just want to say Unity is really special for me. I actually started working at Americans for safe access. Just three weeks before our lesson 16. And when I start working, at least I was really supposed to be temporary
position, but I just fell in love with the community and the people in the organization. Unity was a huge part of that. And I just knew that I never wanted to leave. And so I'm so excited to be welcoming you to our ninth Conference. Next year, is going to be so exciting. Hopefully in person cuz it's going to be our Ten Conference and our wedding Americans for safe access celebration. So, it's going to be a really great event next year. It's a start off today. I want to introduce you to someone that actually really needs no introduction. And that is the president founder of Asus -
year. Hello everyone. I wish I was in the same room with you. All. I miss you all so much. I am here with Debbie Solis. And I just want to say thank you to Debbie. You're doing such an amazing job. And I know the members are so excited to have you at the helm as am I and I just want to say, thanks everyone for joining us today. This is you do a little bit of la la Land's, End, covid X, but the interesting a backdrop has been a really important year for us. A lot of the work in groundwork that we've been doing over almost 20 years. Last
19 years. You'll really paid off in this in this crazy time, but I do want to start off the conference by just taking a minute to recognize how many people does country has lost for the globe has lost during this pandemic. How stressful has been for everyone? And we also outside of the of the pandemic. We also lost some pretty important people in our community and we were in person, it would be a big gap where those people usually are. And I wanted to say, You're just a little. Thank you and goodbye
to Charlotte Figi who inspired a nation behind medical, cannabis, Dion, margraf. I don't know if you guys I'm sure, you know him. He started our San Diego chapter. He also whenever I tell the story about being a patient's and my doctor recommended cannabis, he was the person that I reached out to you for asking you like to say, he was the one who listen to reggae and and then you may not know this individual Steve box. He's a colleague of mine at marijuana policy project
when I first started Americans for safe access, and we worked together for years. She just passed away and he will be very missed Steve and I dropped the language for the amendment to the doj budget and now protects patience. So he's definitely will be truly missed and we send our love to to their family members, but here at Americans for safe access you over the years. We have lost quite a few of our family members and I think, what is interesting during this time is it was talking to Debbie today. That was actually kind of surprised that we didn't lose more of our members
during the pandemic realize. It actually many of our members live, a life of a Sheltering in place because of the because of their medication. And I think that this is a very interesting time to advocate for federal law changes as well as more rights civil rights. For a patient has a whole nation. Just experienced what it feels like to be a medical not being able to travel, not being able to leave your home sometimes and user all things that are patients know to well. And now that the whole
nation has experienced this amazing time for us to Belk dresses. And finally changed bever law so that we can all have the same rights as anyone else living in this country. And so, I want to do at this point out that the during the last time we faced to the South American states, has made medical cannabis, business has deemed it essential businesses during this very scary time. And I think that is such a huge change from when we started Americans for safe access and you want to say
thank you to all the essential workers, everyone who went into dispensaries and then tickle Division. Center is risking their lives to bring us medicine, very appreciated. And then of course when you change the scheduling at the UN, which is something that that our members have been working on since 2003 and we're moving into a new presidency and administration and a new Congress and you this year We have a lot of amazing things behind us and a lot of wind in our sails so that we can really look at this session of Congress.
As the last time, the Cannabis will be illegal federally. And that means that everyone here. During this conference. You going to learn everything about our comprehensive Federal legislation, you're going to learn about the patients that are left behind in the state by state program. The patients that you do not have the access that that many people enjoy. And yeah, really you. I'm hoping that everyone will leave here feeling. It's inspired excited and enthusiastic about changing federal law, but also have the talking points and the skill set to give convinced not only your
friends and family, but your state and federal representatives, and this is going to be one of the last year's that we see cannabis as an illegal medication in this country. Again, thank you all so much for being here, and thank you. That is the staff for putting us together. And I hope you guys are ready for an amazing program. We really have put together something very special for you. Not a special thing you while I'm in person, but enjoy the next couple days. I'm going to see you a few times on the program and enjoy the day again. Thank you so much as the staff.
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