[Courtesy of ASA] ASA Co-Sponsors Largest HIV/AIDS Lobby Day Support Hundreds of Advocates As They Tell Congress that Access Matters to People Living with HIV/AIDS! Dear ASA Supporter, This month, Americans for Safe Access (ASA) will co-sponsor the largest annual HIV/AIDS constituent-based federal advocacy and education event in the US – an event which marks a major expansion in the national health care coalition advocating for medical cannabis therapies and research. Hundreds of HIV/AIDS patients and their supporters will visit Congressional offices on Capitol Hill to talk with Representatives about increased federal support and appropriations for domestic and global HIV/AIDS prevention, research, housing, and – for the first time – medical cannabis! ASA Participates in Largest HIV/AIDS Advocacy Event Organized by our partners, the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA), AIDS Watch is the largest annual AIDS-related advocacy event in the United States. ASA staff will be providing a three-hour workshop during the AIDSWatch training day and will distribute up-to-date printed materials to prepare AIDS Watch participants to lobby their Congressional Representatives on medical cannabis issues. ASA believes that by forging new relationships with public health and condition based organizations like NAPWA and by working together on common goals, we can overcome government stonewalling and create long term solutions that provide safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research. You can help us maintain our commitments and build new partnerships by becoming a member of ASA. If you are already a member, I want to thank-you for your support and encourage you to become a sustaining member. Your contribution will make a real difference for tens of thousands of Americans who use medical cannabis to treat the symptoms of HIV/AIDS and other serious illnesses. AIDS Watch is a flash point in ASA’s federal advocacy campaign, but we are working in Washington, DC, every day to create safe and legal access to medical cannabis nationwide. Our efforts to implement and adopt compassionate legislation in the states are hampered by outdated and unscientific federal policies. Safe access in communities ultimately depends on changing federal law. Building a Coalition: ASA's Partnership with NAPWA We are particularly excited about our work with NAPWA because they are the oldest national AIDS organization in the United States and the oldest national network of people living with HIV/AIDS in the world. Our partnership with NAPWA began when ASA presented two workshops at their twelfth annual Staying Alive Access Matters Summit – a medical education symposium focusing on access to HIV medications, medical care, support, HIV education and AIDS prevention. Our exhibition display and workshops were well received by the conference attendees – consistent with current data that indicates over 37 percent of people living with HIV/AIDS report using medical Cannabis as a part of their HIV treatment regimen. NAPWA decided to formally partner with ASA in 2007 following a series of meetings between our staffs and Directors. That partnership was further enhanced when NAPWA’s Development Director, Tom Kujawski, agreed to join ASA’s Board of Directors! This is exciting work, but we can not do it without your support. Many medical cannabis supporters see the work that ASA does and assume that we are an organization funded by millionaires and large grants. Nothing could be further from the truth. We rely on true grassroots support from people like you. If you believe that building coalitions and changing minds in Congress can make a difference, then help support our strategy and commitment to do so. ASA needs you right now. Visit our website today to make a monthly pledge of support. Just $10, $15, or $25 per month makes a difference. You may also choose to make a larger one-time contribution to help us at this strategic moment. With your support, we know we have the money to keep doing this important work. Thank you for your generous support!