Compassion Center, along with Coalition For Patient Rights (CPR) and allied organizations, calls on the DEA to fully deschedule cannabis, not reschedule it to CSA Schedule III. The move seeks to preserve patient rights to home-grown medicine, ensure affordable access, and protect small businesses. Compassion Center and CPR will be joining a unified rally of the people, taking place on December 2nd at the DEA Museum, demanding fair reforms on cannabis laws for patients nationwide. Join CPR In Supporting Compassionate Cannabis Reform!
LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESSWIRE / October 24, 2024 / Compassion Center, a pioneering leader in integrative and alternative healthcare, mental health and medical cannabis advocacy, announces its solidarity with the Coalition For Patient Rights (CPR), United Empowerment Party and Nicholas Barreto, Atlas Alchemy LLC and The Key, Dopeass Glass and Jack Long, Elune Solutions,Farmer Tom Organics and Farmer Tom Lauerman, Medical Cannalyst Consulting Group LLC (MCCG), Integrative Providers Association (IPA), the Stormy Ray Cardholders' Foundation (SRCF) and Cannalogix, and other allied organizations in urging the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to fully DESCHEDULE cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) NOT RESCHEDULE. This joint effort seeks to empower and protect patients and patients' rights, and their medical providers' licenses, particularly in states where medical marijuana is legally established and accessible, and further prevent harm to vulnerable communities under any reclassification to CSA Schedule III.
CPR Members at a town hall meeting
FACT: 70% of the U.S. constituency are in favor of descheduling and are against rescheduling. With over 43K comments, to the DEA Scheduling Proposal, the people have not only spoken out about rescheduling, but have taken affirmative action against schedule III and want total descheduling of marijuana (cannabis). This is the most comments in history for any proposal ever- according to the federal register. Coalition For Patient Rights (CPR) encourages the federal government and our lawmakers to take notice, and listen to the widespread voice and will of The People: Vox Populi.
Patients, caregivers and their families are encouraged to take an hour out of their day and get involved by contacting each of their state legislators and congressional representatives to voice their continued support for this effort, and then to donate directly to CPR and its patients' rights campaign via Compassion Center, scanning the attached QR code or visiting the CPR website at: https://coalitionforpatientrights.org/donate/
While many businesses can donate directly to CPR and apply that donation towards their tax liabilities, individual contributions to CPR via the Compassion Center are considered tax deductible to the extent of an individual's tax circumstances and liability because Compassion Center is a 501(c)(3) charity.
The DEA's recent consideration, and redirection in Rescheduling cannabis to Schedule III has raised significant concerns within the medical cannabis community, and rightly so, too. While this move may appear to alleviate some barriers for patients and producers alike- like opening up doors to insurance billing and reimbursements for patients and/or alleviating banking restrictions for dispensaries and/or producers- it would, however, directly impose new, stringent regulations that would cripple patients' ability to grow their own medicine and severely impact their current supply chains. The CSA Schedule III classification introduces severely heightened oversight with supervision, and tracking of the various ingredients used to produce cannabis, disproportionately infringing upon patient rights and civil liberties while simultaneously affecting the dispensaries, producers and processors, and the very patients who rely on the plant for relief so the intended benefits will be lost in the red tape that is used to hold it together.
"We simply cannot afford to marginalize and disadvantage patients any further by restricting their legal access to their specific home-grown cannabis cultivars, nor by making it harder for their producers and their local dispensaries to continue serving the community," said Julie Monteiro, RN, BSK, President of Compassion Center and Integrative Providers Association (IPA). "A CSA Schedule III classification will only burden our patients more, many of whom are considered indigent, with overreaching restrictions, while leaving taxpayers in a difficult position as these patients exhaust all their financial resources and state support through systemic suffering."
Patients, particularly those in medically underserved and economically disadvantaged communities, have found home cultivation to be a lifeline in managing their chronic health conditions. Some of those patients have developed an entire routine around healing through cultivation and connecting with their plants. A move to Schedule III would make home growing of cannabis illegal, forcing these patients to rely exclusively on state licensed dispensaries, and the products that those dispensaries may have on hand. CPR feels that this is asking for trouble, especially with the traditions of the cannabis industry focusing on what is making the most profit and not necessarily on what makes the most impact on symptoms. Dispensaries are currently strained by disproportionately leaning burdens where they are expected to simultaneously compete with other dispensaries and the illicit market, while navigating ever-changing state laws and regulations. Producers themselves would face extensive oversight and additional costs to produce and market their produce, resulting in diminished access to affordable cannabis, ultimately harming those who need it most.
Compassion Center stands united with the Coalition For Patient Rights (CPR) in advocating for the full Descheduling of cannabis to ensure equitable access for all patients, maintaining their right to grow their own whole-plant medicine, and protecting the small businesses that serve as pillars of the medical cannabis industry. Descheduling cannabis is the only real way to truly eliminate the unjust and excessive regulations that have historically and disproportionately criminalized a plant with proven therapeutic benefits.
"We are at a crossroads," says James B. "J.B." Creel, PgM, an administrator and registered lobbyist for the Compassion Center and the Integrative Providers Association (IPA). "Descheduling the cannabis plant presents an opportunity for our lawmakers to realign public policy with the needs of our patients and mother nature, and the cannabis industry in general, particularly in states that have led the way in cannabis reform. Anything less will just push patients further into hardship, harming small businesses, and placing unnecessary burdens on hardworking taxpayers, all while strengthening the illicit market."
The Compassion Center and its coalition partners urge the DEA to prioritize patient rights and public health while balancing liberty and freedom with economic fairness by descheduling cannabis, creating a framework that supports the freedom and wellbeing of those who rely on it most.
Call To Action:
December 2nd Deschedule Not Reschedule Rally: Join CPR, Compassion Center and our Allies on December 2nd, 2024 across the street from the DEA Hearing at the DEA Museum, 700 Army Navy Dr, Arlington, VA, 22202. Starting at 8 AM with assembly beginning at 7:30 AM, for what forecasters believe will be the most historic cannabis hearing ever on rescheduling from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). We are demanding the full Descheduling, however, Not Rescheduling to ensure equal access and address the historical injustices of the failed War on Drugs. Prohibition has led to discrimination in rental housing, healthcare, mental health, family law, criminal justice and other legal systems, denying the many millions of Americans who use medical cannabis access to its well-documented therapeutic and proven medical benefits, despite minimal risks for addiction and/or adverse effects on health. Rally with Us during the DEA Hearing to Reschedule Cannabis. United organizations are in support of FULLY DESCHEDULING CANNABIS AND NOT RESCHEDULING.
For more information on the December 2nd Rally, visit: https://www.DescheduleNotReschedule.info
For more information on Coalition For Patient Rights, visit: https://www.MyCPR.us
Donate to CPR: Volunteer your time or contribute cash in support of the DEA Hearing Delegation, visit: https://coalitionforpatientrights.org/donate/
For more information on Compassion Center, and its integrative medical cannabis clinic and the various state medical cannabis program registrations, visit: https://compassion-center.net
For information on the December 2nd Rally Organizers, please reach out directly to: Nick Baretto nicholas@deschedulenotreschedule.info and United Empowerment Party - Sephida Artis-Mills Sephida@unitedempowermentparty.org
For more information on Compassion Center and its patient advocacy efforts, please visit: https://www.Compassion-Center.org or call 1-844-THC-COMPASSION.
About Compassion Center
Compassion Center is a pioneering leader in integrative healthcare and medical cannabis advocacy since 2001, serving patients in Oregon and 18 other states. The organization is dedicated to creating equitable access to medical cannabis, integrative and alternative healthcare and mental health care solutions, particularly for underserved, marginalized, and economically disadvantaged populations.
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Contact Information
Sophaur One
Director of Communications
sophaur.one@compassion-center.org
844-842-2667 Ext 1
James Garvey
CIFR Director of Collaborative Programs
james.garvey@compassion-center.org
844-842-COMPASSION Ext 1
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SOURCE: Compassion Center
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