ASA Co-Sponsors Largest HIV/AIDS Lobby Day

*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legislation in the states are hampered by outdated and unscientific federal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. <http://www.americansforsafeaccess.org/Donate> Just $10, $15, or $25
per month makes a difference. You may also choose to make a larger one-time
donation to help us at this strategic moment.
<http://www.americansforsafeaccess.org/Donate> With your support, we know we
have the money to keep doing this important work.

Thank you for your generous support!

Sincerely,

Caren Woodson
Director of Government Relations
Americans for Safe Access

Visit
<http://www.napwa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=19>
for more information about AIDSWatch.
Visit <http://www.napwa.org/> to find out about our partners at NAPWA.