Some people with serious medical conditions rely on medical cannabis access to reduce the extremely painful and disruptive symptoms they experience. When asked about the push for medical versus recreational, Lindeen explained, “We need medical to be legalized first because our loved ones’ lives are on the line. “We hope that with the recent statements from Biden, the signals from the political climate, and the political momentum that's been building, we can gain some critical mass behind the ASA Air Shred Challenge.” Lindeen stated “It’s a donor, membership, and awareness campaign, and we appreciate any way that people can participate, because, at the end of the day, it impacts the patient the most.” She created the ASA Air Shred Challenge to spread awareness that ASA drastically needs financial support and to help bring the focus back to the patient. She joined ASA to help with corporate partners and fundraising efforts just a few months ago, furthering her dedication to the fight for medical access for patients. When the University of Maryland launched its Medical Cannabis Science and Therapeutics Program (MCST), she applied and was accepted into the program, where she was a part of the second graduating class. She’s been treating him with cannabis from the illicit market since 2013 because that was the only way to get access.īecause of this, she got involved with Texas Advocacy in 2014. Her son, who is now a pre-teen, was diagnosed with LGS or Lennox Gastaut Syndrome, which is a type of epilepsy disorder that causes different types of seizures, particularly tonic (stiffening) and atonic (drop) seizures. Piper Lindeen, the Corporate Development Manager for ASA, and creator of the Air Shred for ASA Challenge, has even closer ties to the desire for federal medical legalization. Still, with many organizations having a charitable element to their brand values, ASA hopes their new awareness campaign will encourage brands to sponsor - even at the base level. In the same breath, it’s well understood that cannabis brands face high costs to merely become licensed, let alone fully operate in the green. With United States cannabis retail sales projected to reach $33 billion by the end of 2022, and an illicit market estimated to be worth nearly $47 billion, a $1,000 corporate sponsorship seems like an affordable way to support legislative change and the fight for medical access. Maybe the more shocking revelation is that an ASA corporate sponsorship starts at only $1,000 a year, or $100 a month. To date this year, we have only received a handful of corporate donations.” We’ve seen all the major brands speak out about the need for pressure, but out of the donations we’ve received - nearly all of them have come from patients, advocates, and volunteers. “But doing this work takes funding, and we are a non-profit organization. to keep cannabis essential - and they did! It was a huge moment of celebration for us, and a milestone that we knew could influence change,” she explained. During Covid, ASA sent letters to every governor in the U.S. We’ve seen our hard work and persistence pay off little by little. “We’ve been fighting for medical access for years at the legislative level. But one thing struck a chord with Debbie Churgai, Executive Director of Americans for Safe Access, who spelled it out like this. One organization, Americans for Safe Access (ASA), was thrilled to hear so many voices calling for legislative change. At this realization, many professionals in the cannabis industry made public calls for action, to push politicians further in the direction of expungement, legislative change, and the re-scheduling or de-scheduling of cannabis as a drug. Although many praised the news at first, it soon became evident that not a single person would be freed from a prison sentence. Nearly one month ago, President Biden delivered the announcement that he would be pardoning those who had been charged with federal non-violent cannabis possession crimes.
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