Don’t Ban Safe Access to Medical Cannabis in Long Beach!

Dear Friend,

Some members on the Long Beach City Council want to ban medical cannabis patients’ cooperatives and collectives in the city, and Americans for Safe Access (ASA) needs your help today to stop them! Can you take a minute right now to ask your representative on the City Council to reject a ban, and work instead to improve the city’s medical cannabis ordinance? Those in neighboring communities can also sign an online petition to the City Council.

ASA’s online action center makes it easy to find your City Council representative and send a message right now! Just enter your address, send an email message, or make a phone call right now.

Most of the legal medical cannabis patients in Long Beach rely on cooperatives and collectives for safe access to the doctor-recommended medicine they need to treat the symptoms of cancer, HIV/AIDS, Multiple Sclerosis, chronic pain and other serious conditions. Closing these facilities would deny medicine to legitimate patients, and may place them at unnecessary risk in the unregulated illicit market for cannabis. That is not what residents of Long Beach want to see!

The recent Appellate decision in Pack v. City of Long Beach limits the ability of the City of Long Beach to regulate medical cannabis cooperatives and collectives to some degree. However, the decision does not take away all of the city’s authority to regulate medical cannabis associations. The city can still protect patients and community members without banning patients’ cooperatives and collectives.

Visit ASA’s online action center to speak up today. Your representative needs to hear from people in his or her district right now – before they consider banning safe access. Send a message or make a phone call right now.

Thanks for helping,

Don Duncan
California Director

P.S. – Residents of Long Beach and neighboring communities can sign the online petition, too!

Long Beach Residents – Send a message or make a phone call right now!

Click here to sent the following letter to your councilperson:

Subject: Don’t Ban Safe Access to Medical Cannabis in Long Beach!

Dear Council Member,

I am writing to urge you to reject a ban on medical cannabis patients’ cooperatives and collectives in the city, and to work with stakeholders to find a regulatory solution that works for legal patients and the community at large. Most of the legal medical cannabis patients in Long Beach rely on cooperatives and collectives for safe access to the doctor-recommended medicine they need to treat the symptoms of cancer, HIV/AIDS, Multiple Sclerosis, chronic pain and other serious conditions. Closing these facilities would deny medicine to legitimate patients, and may place them at unnecessary risk in the unregulated illicit market for cannabis.

Research conducted by Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the nation’s leading medical cannabis advocacy organization, shows that sensible regulations reduce crime and complaints around medical cannabis cooperatives and collectives. The City of Long Beach has already adopted an ordinance to facilitate safe access to medical cannabis. Some provisions of that ordinance may be overturned, if the California Supreme Court upholds the Appellate decision in Pack v. City of Long Beach. However, this decision does not entirely bar the city for exercising appropriate oversight, not does it require the city to ban patients’ cooperatives and collectives outright.

The adverse decision in Pack v. City of Long Beach may provide an opportunity to revisit the city’s medical cannabis ordinance to find solutions that work for all of the stakeholders in the community – legal patients, neighbors, medical cannabis professional, law enforcement, and other. Please reject calls for a ban on medical cannabis patients’ cooperatives and collectives and work with us to find a better solution.

Thank you,

Click here to sent the letter above to your councilperson.

Thank you for your time!