The Minibus, Hemp, & Patients: Emergency Policy Briefing

Experts Discuss How Congress Clarifying Hemp Laws Impact Patients & the Future Access to Medicinal Cannabis

On November 14, 2025, Americans for Safe Access, the nation’s largest patient-focused medical cannabis organization, hosted a briefing in response to Congress clarifying hemp definitions in the recent “minibus” spending bill.

The legislative history from the 2018 Farm Bill to the 2025 minibus and implications for state and federal reform.

What happened on Capitol Hill — from appropriations debates to the final “minibus” version — and how preserving intoxicating hemp was prioritized over patient access.

The pharmacology of hemp-derived products used by patients, the limits of the “perceived” legal hemp market, and gaps in existing medical programs.

The dangers of unregulated markets, steps states can take now to ensure patient access within regulated systems, and federal policy options that will move us toward permanent solutions for medical cannabis access nationwide.

Steph Sherer
Founder and Executive Director, Americans for Safe Access
Steph Sherer is a pioneering international leader and expert in medical cannabis patient advocacy. Her personal experience with the therapeutic benefits of cannabis, combined with her background in political organizing, led her to establish ASA in 2002. Under her guidance, ASA has grown into the nation’s largest patient-centered organization dedicated to ensuring access to medical cannabis, bridging gaps in knowledge, policy, and regulation, and promoting its recognition as a legitimate medical therapy.

Codi Peterson, PharmD
Pediatric Pharmacist and Cannabis Science Educator
Dr. Peterson is a clinical pharmacist and educator working to bridge healthcare and cannabis science. He teaches pharmacology at UC Irvine and OCEMT, practices pharmacy in an emergency department, and specializes in evidence-based cannabinoid pharmacology.

Dr. Leigh Vinocur
Emergency Physician and Founder, Ananda Medical Practice and Consulting
A board-certified emergency physician, Dr. Vinocur is a leading expert in medical cannabis science and education. She chairs the Subcommittee on Medical Cannabis Science Training for Healthcare Providers on Maryland’s Cannabis Public Health Advisory Council and serves as a national spokesperson for the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP).

Pamela N. Epstein, Esq.
Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer, Terpene Belt
Pamela Epstein leads legal and regulatory strategy at Terpene Belt, overseeing compliance, governance, and governmental affairs. A former two-term President of the California Cannabis Industry Association (CCIA), she has been instrumental in shaping the policy landscape for cannabis and hemp. Epstein also serves on ASTM’s D37 Committee for Cannabis and Hemp and the Food and Drug Law Institute’s Cannabinoid Committee.

About Americans for Safe Access (ASA)
Founded in 2002, Americans for Safe Access is the largest national member-based organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists, and advocates working to ensure safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research. ASA has been at the forefront of shaping medical cannabis policy in the U.S. and continues to advocate for a comprehensive federal framework through the proposed Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoid Act (MCCA).

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