Meet with Your Elected Official
In this new time of political change, we all have an obligation to know our elected officials and to speak our minds to them. Take this day to schedule a meeting with your federal lawmakers (hint: you have 3 of them!). You don't even have to come to DC to do it! All Members of Congress have offices in their local districts, and it’s quick, easy, and important to introduce yourself and explain why you support medical cannabis. Also, it's a chance to drop off ASA’s policy recommendations to their local offices.
ASA just held it's first Federal Lobby Day in DC on February 25 with over 300 medical cannabis advocates who personally met with their Member of Congress or their staff. By reaching out and meeting with your congressperson in your local district, it further strengthens the message that medical cannabis is an important issue that needs to be addressed.
Your elected officials want to hear from you (it's their job)! Start building a relationship with them right away. Like any relationship, it starts with an introduction.
Step 1 - Find Your Official: Visit ASA's legislator lookup to find out which three federal lawmakers represent you (two Senators, and one Representative).
Step 2 – Make the Appointment: Call their offices to set up appointments to speak with someone about medical cannabis. Tell the scheduler that you’re a concerned citizen – and want to talk about this very important issue. They may ask you to submit a written request for the meeting. Get help for that here. And send an email to action@safeaccessnow.org to tell us when you’ve scheduled your meeting.
Step 3 - Prepare: Print a copies of our fact sheets for HR 689 and HR 710.
Step 4 - How the meeting will go: Very simple. Introduce yourself. Talk about why you support medical cannabis. Drop off ASA’s literature. You don’t need to be an expert on the topic. Just be yourself. Have a conversation. Tell them why it works, or how you’ve seen it impact the lives of those you love. Elected officials want to know how everyday people feel about issues, not always just the experts.
Step 5 - Let Us Know: Fill out our online form to let us know how the meeting went, or print it outprint it out and email/fax/mail it to us. Then our Director of Government Affairs will meet with the same offices in Washington DC and fill in the blanks!
In this age of change we have a responsibility to take control over the decisions made by our Congressional representatives. It will get easier every time, you’ll be empowered to take part in your democracy, and it will be effective.
