MEDIA ADVISORY

[jamessr]

MEDIA ADVISORY
Americans for Safe Access
For Immediate Release: February 17, 2011

Medical Marijuana Patient Advocates Hold First-of-Its-Kind Virtual Nationwide Conference
Hundreds of activists in more than 20 cities will engage in skills-building and strategic planning

Oakland, CA -- As the issue of medical marijuana heats up across the country, leading patient advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) will hold a two-day interactive, virtual â??Boot Campâ?� February 19-20 to train hundreds of U.S.-based activists in skills-building and strategic planning. This first of its kind nationwide conference on medical marijuana will be conducted in more than 20 cities in 9 states, including Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, and Washington, D.C.

ASA has held numerous trainings over its 9-year history, but this will be the groupâ??s first decentralized virtual conference in an attempt to better reach patient advocates, building greater breadth and depth in the medical marijuana movement. â??I think itâ??s really important for people to understand that they are the power,â?� said U.S. Representative Sam Farr (D-CA) in a promotional video for the conference. â??Government is lent to us and you hold the power toâ?¦change the laws of this land,â?� continued Representative Farr. â??If you want to change things, all you have to do is get involved.â?�

Conference participants will be trained in outreach and recruitment, coalition building, leadership development, lobbying public officials, organizing protests and rallies, and working with the media. Once trained, patient advocates will have greater skills with which to develop strategies for protecting and expanding patientsâ?? rights, as well as adopting medical marijuana policies in states without such laws. â??Activists across the country are clamoring for the skills to bring about change at the local and federal level,â?� said ASA Executive Director Steph Sherer. â??This historic conference is an attempt to satisfy that demand and to build a stronger medical marijuana movement in the U.S.â?�

From grappling with local regulatory ordinances to passing new state medical marijuana laws, the work of patient advocates has been challenging and ongoing. Literally hundreds of local governments in medical marijuana states are deliberating land use laws that dictate how patients can cultivate and obtain their medicine. More than a dozen state governments are also currently considering new statewide medical marijuana laws. â??The â??ASA Activist Boot Campâ?? will provide patient advocates with the skill-set and road map to address these political challenges,â?� continued Sherer.

As the countryâ??s largest grassroots medical marijuana organization with more than 50,000 members in all 50 states, ASA is also using this conference to help push for a meaningful federal policy. Based on a conviction that Americans deserve the right to choose their own form of health care treatment whether they live in California or Florida, ASA is providing activists with the tools to bring about equal rights for all of the countryâ??s sickest and most vulnerable citizens.

Further information:
Promotional video clip with U.S. Representative Sam Farr: 2011 : MedicalMarijuana411.com | The Daily Dose | Medical Marijuana â?¦ to-action/
ASA Boot Camp flyer: ASA : The page you requested could not be found â?¦ t_Camp.pdf
ASA Boot Camp registration info: ASA : A National Call to Action!

jamessr Reviewed by jamessr on 02-18-2011. MEDIA ADVISORY MEDIA ADVISORY Americans for Safe Access For Immediate Release: February 17, 2011 Medical Marijuana Patient Advocates Hold First-of-Its-Kind Virtual Nationwide Conference Hundreds of activists in more than 20 cities will engage in skills-building and strategic planning Oakland, CA -- As the issue of medical marijuana heats up across the country, leading patient advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA) will hold a two-day interactive, virtual â??Boot Campâ?� February 19-20 to Rating: 5

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