San Diego Americans for Safe Access

04/28/2026

The new rescheduling order brings new opportunities for protecting patient access.

Breaking News: DOJ Order and DEA Hearing Notices Published in Federal Registry! Links in this blog!

"Is ma*****na legal now?”

The short answer is: medical cannabis patients in states with medical cannabis laws are now on very different federal footing, but cannabis is not fully legal.

The new federal scheduling recognizes the medical value of cannabis and creates new opportunities for patient rights, research, and healthcare integration — but many details still depend on agency guidance, state action, Congress, the courts, and our ability to mobilize!

Let's do this!

www.safeaccessnow.org/is_cannabis_legal_now *****naismedicine

04/28/2026

Rest in peace, Hopper. You will be greatly missed.

04/23/2026

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-places-fda-approved-ma*****na-products-and-products-containing-ma*****na

In accordance with President Trump’s December 18, 2025, Executive Order on Increasing Medical Ma*****na and Cannabidiol Research, the Justice Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) today announced the issuance of an order immediately placing both FDA-approved products containing ...

04/23/2026

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-places-fda-approved-ma*****na-products-and-products-containing-ma*****na

04/09/2026

It is Time to End Medical Cannabis Patient Discrimination

We are mourning the passing of Patrick Navarro, a medical cannabis patient whose experience helped expose a devastating reality: stigma and outdated assumptions about medical cannabis still deny patients fair access to organ transplant opportunities.

Patrick Navarro’s story put a human face on a problem that many families do not discover until they are already in crisis. Even in states with medical cannabis laws, transplant program policies can remain inconsistent, unclear, or shaped by stigma rather than evidence-based care. For patients with end-stage organ disease, delays or barriers tied to medical cannabis can have life-or-death consequences.

The final months of medical cannabis patient Patrick Navarro’s life, and the ordeal his family endured, were the catalyst for ASA’s Stigma with a Body Count: Medical Cannabis & Organ Transplant Policies. Patrick’s wife, Cindy, reached out to Americans for Safe Access after receiving written notice that UCSF had declined Patrick for lung transplantation. The reason was explicit: “long-term ma*****na use raises concerns regarding the ability to maintain durable abstinence after lung transplant.”

Today, ASA launched the Navarro Family Organ Transplant Resource Center
www.safeaccessnow.org/transplant_center
Read the Release:
www.safeaccessnow.org/rip_patrick
*****naismedicine

04/08/2026

Hi everyone! I’m Shelby, Chair of the San Diego Chapter of Americans for Safe Access, and I have some personal news to share: I’ll be stepping down from the Chair position later this month to pursue some exciting new opportunities. Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll remain involved with ASA and the work we all care about.

But first, I want to take a moment to reflect.

Over the past three years—first as Co-Chair alongside the incomparable Terrie Best, then as Chair—this work has shaped me, both personally and professionally. I’ve made connections I’ll carry for life and had a front-row seat as San Diego’s medical cannabis movement evolved in ways that genuinely matter.

Read on to see what I’m most proud of accomplishing together.

Shelby Huffaker steps down as San Diego ASA Chair after three years, reflecting on key advocacy wins and expressing gratitude before passing the torch to new leadership.

03/11/2026

02/17/2026

How are you feeling now that the federal government has passed most of its FY26 budget?

Check out my new opinion piece in Ma*****na Moment to learn about the impact the FY26 budget will have on patients and what it might mean for the future of medical cannabis access in the U.S.

https://www.safeaccessnow.org/fy26_uncertainty *****naismedicine

02/02/2026

https://www.kpbs.org/news/public-safety/2026/01/30/cops-have-to-treat-ma*****na-in-your-car-differently-after-new-california-supreme-court-ruling

If you can’t easily consume it, having ma*****na in your car does not give California police the right to search the vehicle.