To celebrate the growing support for medical cannabis and the spread of safe access in medical cannabis states throughout the nation, Americans for Safe Access (ASA) organized Medical Marijuana Week 2008. Medical Marijuana Week has taken place the last five years during the week of February 15th, or 2/15, to commemorate the passage of Proposition 215, California's medical cannabis law.

Each day during the week, Americans for Safe Access announced opportunities to advance safe access to medical cannabis, through actions such as educating one's community, meeting with U.S. Senators, writing letters to the editor, and more. They reminded participants that wearing medical marijuana-related t-shirts, stickers, hats, bags, or sweatshirts can serve as icebreakers or ways to start talking about medical cannabis. Local events in the Bay Area included Sunday's Medical Marijuana University, as well as film screenings, a legal training on Tuesday evening in SF, a Valentine's Day seed planting at SF City Hall, and a photo/video shoot of patients' testimonials. On Friday evening, SF Patients' Cooperative hosted a Unity in the Community event to discuss starting a medical marijuana community center. On Saturday, Medical cannabis researcher Jahan Marcu spoke at a Los Angeles ASA meeting, while a civil disobedience training for emergency response was held in Oakland. On Sunday night, SF ASA hosted a party.

The national daily actions included:
Monday: Joining Americans for Safe Access, which is the nation's largest organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research.
Tuesday: "Meet Your Senators" On Tuesday and Wednesday during Medical Marijuana Week activists throughout the country "dropped in" on their U.S. Senators’ district offices to talk about supporting access for FDA-approved medical cannabis research. They hope that senators will sign on to the letter Senators Kennedy and Kerry are circulating to enable FDA-approved research.
Wednesday: Put Pens to Paper for Research Participants wrote letters to the editors of local newspapers, calling on their Senators to support access for FDA-approved medical marijuana research. ASA says, "FDA-approved research is key to safe access nationwide."
Thursday: Meet Your Match Patients nationwide have joined together to form condition-based unions to further promote medical cannabis research and advocate for safe access to medical cannabis through the Medical Marijuana Unions project.
Friday: Meet the Movement and Get Organized On Thursday, ASA released its first ever National Field Report, which paints a comprehensive picture of the local, state, and national campaigns ASA’s chapters and affiliates work on and also highlights the 2007 accomplishments in the field. ASA hoped that on Friday, people would be inspired to found or join a chapter of the organization.
Saturday and Sunday: Walk Your Talk On Saturday and Sunday, ASA suggested that participants download and print out a petition calling on their U.S. Senators to support access to materials for FDA-approved medical cannabis research. ASA has an interactive map, so that petitions could be addressed to participants' own U.S. Senators.

Medical Marijuana Week announcement | San Francisco ASA's Medical Marijuana Week | Americans for Safe Access