WE NEED YOUR HELP - TAKE ATION NOW!
APRIL 29, 2018
Background:
SF2405, a bill being considered in the Iowa Senate, would modify the THC limit so that patients in Iowa can be realistically treated, adds conditions and removes the sales tax on medical cannabis. It will be eligible for debate in the Senate as early as Monday. Every legislator MUST hear from a patient, family member, or health care provider who is impacted by this in their district. This is where we need your HELP!
Please take 5 minutes to contact your Senator and Representative with the message below
WE HIGHLY ENCOURAGE you to personalize the email message with your personal or family use, benefits you have seen. Any of these things would work. Make sure to note the mg of THC you currently utilize if you are using the products. Please reference the sample letter below to craft your letter.
Please take 5 minutes to contact your Senator and Representative with the message below
- Please ask your friends, family, and colleagues to contact their legislators with the same message
- Encourage others who are interested in this issue to contact their legislators if this is a concern or issue for them
- Attend a town hall meeting, public forum, or legislative coffee. These are regularly held in the district and are published in your local paper. This is a great way to discuss the issue and generate public support for this issue.
- Remember to be respectful and DO NOT reference recreational products. They live in fear of those words.
WE HIGHLY ENCOURAGE you to personalize the email message with your personal or family use, benefits you have seen. Any of these things would work. Make sure to note the mg of THC you currently utilize if you are using the products. Please reference the sample letter below to craft your letter.
Find your Legislators:
Find Your Legislators:
Please find their contact information by clicking below.
https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/find
Please find their contact information by clicking below.
https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/find
SAMPLE EMAIL
Email Message:
SUBJECT LINE: Please Support Senate File 2405 – Corrections to the Medical Cannabis Program
SAMPLE EMAIL: Please Personalize
Dear Representative or Senator (Last Name),
I am a (constituent, parent of a child, patient) in your district. I am writing to ask for your support of Senate File 2405, which makes much needed improvements to the Medical Cannabis program. Most importantly, it would ensure that patients who have approved conditions are actually able to be treated on December 1st 2018 with the right levels of THC and CBD. This bill will ensure that patients are able to receive the treatments they need without being cost or physically prohibitive. I applaud the legislature for identifying these needed changes, prior to products going on the shelf, and for taking the initiative to get these changes made so late in session.
As Iowans, we rely on legislators to pass good legislation, but more importantly to fix things that are wrong. We rely on you to be our advocates, to be the voice of common-sense and truth and reason in an environment that is so often filled with secondary misinformation. We rely on you to be the builders… we know this won’t always be perfect, but we rely on you to be the levers of change to correct any flaws and to build a better program. As patients, we need access to products on day one that can effectively treat our conditions. This requires legislative action and we need you to do that.
I have heard that some legislators are content to just wait till next session. This is unjust and cruel; It gives hope to families that Iowa can finally provide the treatment they have been asking for, yet limits active ingredient in such a way that treatment will be impossible or ineffective for many conditions. It limits access to services, affecting patient and family well-being.
The program isn’t perfect yet, but SF2405 brings us one step closer to a workable program. At the very least, this bill provides Iowans with what they need NOW, and ensures that the program does what it was at minimum meant to do, treat the patients’ legislators said they would treat. This bill ensures patients are getting the treatments they need at a reasonable and acceptable cost. Thank you for your consideration of this important legislation. I hope I can count on your support. Together we can help you help us, the people of Iowa, and make this program one of the best medical programs in the nation, but not without a positive first step. Please let me know if I can provide additional information.
YOUR NAME
CITY
PHONE/EMAIL
SUBJECT LINE: Please Support Senate File 2405 – Corrections to the Medical Cannabis Program
SAMPLE EMAIL: Please Personalize
Dear Representative or Senator (Last Name),
I am a (constituent, parent of a child, patient) in your district. I am writing to ask for your support of Senate File 2405, which makes much needed improvements to the Medical Cannabis program. Most importantly, it would ensure that patients who have approved conditions are actually able to be treated on December 1st 2018 with the right levels of THC and CBD. This bill will ensure that patients are able to receive the treatments they need without being cost or physically prohibitive. I applaud the legislature for identifying these needed changes, prior to products going on the shelf, and for taking the initiative to get these changes made so late in session.
As Iowans, we rely on legislators to pass good legislation, but more importantly to fix things that are wrong. We rely on you to be our advocates, to be the voice of common-sense and truth and reason in an environment that is so often filled with secondary misinformation. We rely on you to be the builders… we know this won’t always be perfect, but we rely on you to be the levers of change to correct any flaws and to build a better program. As patients, we need access to products on day one that can effectively treat our conditions. This requires legislative action and we need you to do that.
I have heard that some legislators are content to just wait till next session. This is unjust and cruel; It gives hope to families that Iowa can finally provide the treatment they have been asking for, yet limits active ingredient in such a way that treatment will be impossible or ineffective for many conditions. It limits access to services, affecting patient and family well-being.
The program isn’t perfect yet, but SF2405 brings us one step closer to a workable program. At the very least, this bill provides Iowans with what they need NOW, and ensures that the program does what it was at minimum meant to do, treat the patients’ legislators said they would treat. This bill ensures patients are getting the treatments they need at a reasonable and acceptable cost. Thank you for your consideration of this important legislation. I hope I can count on your support. Together we can help you help us, the people of Iowa, and make this program one of the best medical programs in the nation, but not without a positive first step. Please let me know if I can provide additional information.
YOUR NAME
CITY
PHONE/EMAIL
TALKING POINTS:
Senate File 2405: Creating a Sustainable Medical Cannabis Program in Iowa
We are fighting to create a sustainable medical cannabis program– right now, before December 1, 2018, when patients can obtain products.
Senate File 2405 provides solutions to create this sustainable program before December 1, 2018.
We are fighting to create a sustainable medical cannabis program– right now, before December 1, 2018, when patients can obtain products.
Senate File 2405 provides solutions to create this sustainable program before December 1, 2018.
- S.F. 2405 REMOVES the 3% THC cap – allowing patients to access products with THC levels that provide effective doses in a practical way and at a reasonable cost.
- S.F. 2405 ADDS eligible conditions to the list of qualifying debilitating medical conditions, allowing more patients an alternative treatment option.
- S.F. 2405 CLARIFIES that medical cannabis products are sales tax free for patients, an important accessibility measure for products that will otherwise be out-of-pocket for patients.
THC Talking Points:
- Our program requires that the manufacturers develop products to treat all conditions eligible under the law.
- Scientific literature has shown that many of the conditions approved need THC in greater or equal amount to CBD for symptom relief.
- The 3% THC cap prevents patients suffering from cancer, HIV, MS, severe or chronic pain, and other pain conditions from practically and cost effectively treating their conditions.
- The cap also makes inhaled doses, like a dry inhaler, unrealistic, effectively denying patients with conditions like esophageal and stomach cancer any methods of treatment.
- For a stomach cancer patient, an inhaled version would likely be the only way for the patient to obtain this medicine
- For a patient who needs 150 mg per day, with the 3% cap it would require the patient to consume 1,000 inhalations per day at a cost of $450 per day
- For a stomach cancer patient, an inhaled version would likely be the only way for the patient to obtain this medicine
- Scientific literature and physician/patient experiences show that patients with these conditions need specific doses of THC per day, which may reach 1,000 milligrams per day.
- The cap does not prevent patients from consuming the milligram dose needed; instead, it makes it harder (by increasing the number of consumptions needed to get to that dose) and costlier.
- For a patient who needs 150 mg – 15 pills per day at a cost of $45 per day
- For a patient who needs 300 mg – 30 pills per day at a cost of $90 per day
- A 90-day supply (quantity confirmed by the Board) with a 3% cap for a patient needing 150 mg per day would be a total of 1,350 pills at a cost of more than $4,000
- By removing the cap, though, we can reduce that amount to 1-2 pills and a few dollars a day.
- The cap means that in order to provide products that can reasonably be consumed (and not making pills that would be impossible to swallow), we’re simply forcing patients to consume and pay for nonmedical filler in the products.
- The cap does not prevent patients from getting any certain level of THC, because the cap is only limiting the products – not how much a patient can consume.
- Scientific literature has shown low amounts of side effects (less than 3% reporting psycho-active effects) and beneficial quality of life improvements in patients receiving up to 1,000 mg THC/day.
- The original intention of this law was to provide treatment to and improve quality of life of patients with approved conditions. With the current cap we will not be meeting the original intention of the bill.
- It is worth noting that for those patients needing a 1:1 ratio of THC:CBD for treatment, the cap is effectively also capping CBD in these formulations.
- This change is widely requested and supported by the patient advocacy community, including those with epilepsy, MS, HIV/AIDS, Crohn’s, and severe or chronic pain.
- Removing the cap allows patients that need higher levels of THC to treat their conditions to practically and cost-effectively obtain those doses.
Contact your Legislators
One of the first and easiest steps to take when advocating for medical cannabis is to simply contact your legislators! This means reaching out to your Iowa House Representative, your Iowa Senator and at the Federal Level, your Congressman and your U.S. Senator! It may sound intimidating or overwhelming but it's really quite easy! Simply click on the links below to find out who your representatives are (based by your personal location) and give them a call or send them an e-mail! Always remember to be kind, be polite and ask that they support you in your cause and why!
- Contact your Iowa House Representative and Iowa Senator
- Contact your Congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives
- Contact your U.S. Senators
Reach you legislators by phone:
- House switchboard: 515-281-3221
- Senate switchboard: 515-281-3371
Visit the Iowa State Capitol
We feel that one of the best ways to interact with your legislators is face-to-face. If you live nearby, you can visit the Iowa Captiol to do just that! The building is open to the public from 8am-5pm Monday-Friday. While they are in session, you could look for a lobby day for the medical condition your represent or gather a small group of like-minded individuals to pick a day to meet your legislators!
To enter the Capitol - there are public entrances on the ground floor on the south and west sides of the building. You will be required to walk through a security scan. Then, you simply walk up the stairs to the Chambers of the House and the Senate. Outside of each door is a board where you look up your legislator's seat number, you hand it to the doorman who will have a page call for your representative to come out to speak with you!
To enter the Capitol - there are public entrances on the ground floor on the south and west sides of the building. You will be required to walk through a security scan. Then, you simply walk up the stairs to the Chambers of the House and the Senate. Outside of each door is a board where you look up your legislator's seat number, you hand it to the doorman who will have a page call for your representative to come out to speak with you!
Attend a Legislative Forum
Currently, the Legislative Session is in full swing. One of the most important parts of having your voice heard is attending a local Legislative Forum. These are great ways to meet your Iowa Legislators as well as your district's US Senators and Congressman. Join them for coffee! You may be surprised at who you meet and how your voice can impact a room full of Iowans. One voice really can make a difference.
SHARE YOUR STORY. LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD.
REACH OUT, TODAY.
REACH OUT, TODAY.