Grassroots Guam, a local advocacy group for cannabis policy reform, has launched an online petition at change.org in an effort to hold the Government of Guam accountable for enacting the KC Concepcion Compassionate Use Act, passed overwhelmingly by legislative submitted voter initiative in 2014.
“This is a mandate of the people. While Grassroots Guam has done much to offer assistance and bring cannabis consultation to Guam, we can’t seem to get everyone to sit at the same table and on the same page. Most of what we’ve heard is that people are busy or there are not enough resources,” said Andrea Pellacani, managing partner at Grassroots Guam.
By law, a medical cannabis commission should have been established to assist with the process of standing up the program, but since the bill lapsed into law six months ago, there is barely any word about the status of this commission.
“We have submitted hundreds of files with documentation and guidelines that have been utilized in the industry across the nation. We also made key introductions to the right professionals to assist our government with the implementation of this program, yet we still can’t get legal help for patients and business licenses out to interested investors and companies. Some have lost interest because our government has only shown apathy at best or incompetency at worst.”
Patients, caregivers, those with loved ones who have patiently awaited this program and safe access to cannabis, taxpayers, voters and potential interested businesses are encouraged to sign this petition by visiting the website, change.org and searching for Guam Cannabis. Another quick way to access the petition is to visit Grassroots Guam on Facebook.
The Governor, Speaker of the 34th Guam Legislature, Committee Chair on Health and DPHSS Director have all been copied on the petition and they may keep track of how many people are following.
No citizen should have to fear their job status because they support any movement by the people and for the people. If person’s job status is threatened, this gives Grassroots more fuel to continue fighting for patients’ rights as long as GovGuam does nothing to protect the employment of legitimate patients.
“Getting people to come out in front of this issue has been a significant problem because of the stigma that is still attached to the usage of cannabis in any form. While we understand that this is half our battle as an advocacy group,” said Pellacani. “Our Government should never have forgotten that close to 20,000 people came out to vote for this and the will of the people should be heard. We shouldn’t have to keep begging for our public servants to comply with this mandate.”
If you or a loved one have any medical issue that cannabis has the potential to treat, Grassroots Guam is reaching out to you to encourage everyone in your circle of family and friends to get involved and be an advocate for this cause. Medical cannabis is an issue that could affect over half our population, mainly due to the rate of cancer and diabetes on Guam. It’s time to speak up and let our Government know that they need to remember that they exist to serve the people.