iPhone News Updated

The country's largest grassroots medical marijuana advocacy group, Americans for Safe Access (ASA), launched a first-of-its-kind, free iPhone application today that will provide a vast array of tools for people new to the issue as well as for seasoned activists. ASA teamed up with iWeeds -- an application company that serves the medical marijuana community -- in order to make it easier for advocates to get educated and take political action. The ASA Advocate App gives users access to all of the organization's projects and programs.

"The ASA Advocate App is another way to empower grassroots action that is bringing change on medical marijuana policies to every corner of the country," said ASA Executive Director Steph Sherer. "We have to be innovative if we want the widespread public support that exists for medical marijuana to translate into concrete results," continued Sherer. "The ASA Advocate App will help put greater pressure on all levels of government to adopt sensible medical marijuana policies."

Specifically, the ASA Advocacy App will provide immediate updates on rapidly changing local, state, and federal issues across the country to keep users on top of the latest in medical marijuana politics, science, law and community action. In addition to ASA news feeds, users will also have easy access to political action alerts, video advocacy trainings, and ASA's printed publications, such as newsletters, condition-based booklets, and legal manuals, all from their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch devices. The ASA Advocate App even guides users to businesses in their community that support the work of ASA.

The ASA Advocate App will also allow users to become members of the organization's 50,000-strong grassroots network. And, because of the heightened concern over federal interference in medical marijuana states, the ASA Advocate App connects users to a legal hotline and enables them to sign up for raid alerts and activist phone trees. The ASA Advocate App is currently only accessible from Apple devices, but will be expanded to Android and other application markets over the next few months.

Since 2002, ASA has been educating patients, doctors, lawyers, scientists, key decision-makers, and the general public on issues concerning medical marijuana. The organization has also used lobbying and litigation over the years to help achieve the goals of protecting and expanding the rights of medical marijuana patients across the U.S.

[Thanks: http://www.opposingviews.com]