Arizona Tribune - Compassion Center, the National Coalition for Patient Rights and Stormy Ray Cardholders Foundation Launch National De-Schedule.org Campaign to Defend Patient and Private-Citizen Rights

LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESS Newswire / April 22, 2026 / Compassion Center, the National Coalition for Patient Rights, or CPR, and the Stormy Ray Cardholders Foundation, or SRCF, today announced the official launch of a national awareness campaign through www.De-Schedule.org, calling on medical cannabis patients, caregivers, advocates and private citizens alike to stand up and support CPR's National De-Schedule campaign efforts and CPR's petition to defend patient access, improve civil liberties and strengthen lawful patient protections as the federal cannabis debate intensifies.

Delivered to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, or DEA, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, on April 20, 2026, and to the Office of the U.S. Attorney General on April 21, 2026, the Compassion Center, CPR and SRCF said that they are formally petitioning and moving for cannabis to be de-scheduled from the DEA's list of controlled substances and removed from the federal Controlled Substances Act, or CSA, altogether, rather than re-scheduled to CSA Schedule III as proposed. In tandem with a national outreach campaign, the organizations said this media effort is intended to raise awareness around the core issues patients face and formally launch the De-Schedule.org campaign on behalf of medical cannabis patients and private citizens alike.

CPR said the campaign is designed to confront what its legal and legislative advisors view as the elephant in the room: the dangerous misconception that moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III would solve the deeper legal and practical problems facing the larger population of medical cannabis patients and those serving the public through adult-use markets. According to the organization, keeping cannabis anywhere within the CSA would still leave patients, caregivers and ordinary adults vulnerable to future federal criminal exposure, further regulatory confusion and what will become diminished access to medical cannabis outside what are considered to be narrowly controlled pharmaceutical channels.

The campaign will raise awareness around those concerns while mobilizing public action. CPR is calling for volunteers to help expand outreach, donors to support advocacy and education efforts, and patients and private citizens to share their stories with CPR via the www.De-Schedule.org website, and follow up with their local, state and federal lawmakers and share about how existing cannabis laws have affected their health, families, livelihoods and freedoms.

"Rescheduling is being framed as a positive and progressive step toward reform, but for many underserved patients and ordinary adults alike it could function more like a trapdoor and legal bottleneck, ultimately becoming more of a burden on the court systems and our already underfunded law enforcement than a solution to the challenges facing the states' medical and adult-use cannabis industries," said James B. Creel, Board Secretary and Patient Advocate for CPR. "This campaign is about making sure the public understands what is actually at stake before their rights are narrowed and their existing access is disrupted, not to mention speaking up on behalf of all the people who are essentially being pushed into legal jeopardy just because they do not want to use pharmaceuticals to treat their pain or intractable illness. In the words of our founder, Nurse Julie Monteiro, which I will echo today on her birthday, 'Education is the key.' Right now, patients are as misinformed as ever, and unless we are missing an entire section of the current laws regarding Schedule III, we simply cannot envision anything on the horizon that will be positive for medical cannabis patients. With Schedule III, medical cannabis patients will become criminals just for simply sharing a joint with someone else, medical cannabis patient or not. We are not lawfully allowed to share our prescription medicines and cannabis is not going to change that as the precedent would be too far reaching."

As part of the initiative, CPR is also directing eligible patients to resources linked through www.De-Schedule.org to help them register for or renew medical cannabis cards where applicable under state law, with Compassion Center offering CPR members priority registration and discounted prices due to the pre-existing close relationship between the organizations. The organizations said patients should even consider strengthening their medical records through current physician documentation, medical certification where appropriate and state-compliant registration or renewal in preparation for possible legal and regulatory changes. CPR said this preparedness effort is not just precautionary, it is intended to help medical cannabis patients fortify lawful patient standing at a time when their access, privacy and personal freedoms are once again being challenged.

The campaign's public call to action is straightforward: visit www.De-Schedule.org to learn more, sign up to volunteer, make a donation, submit a personal story and, where eligible, access current information on medical cannabis registration or renewal.

"Lawmakers, regulators and the media need to hear directly from the people most likely to be affected by federal policy changes," said Jason Greninger, C.S.T., Senior Vice President of Legislative and Congressional Advocacy for CPR. "Schedule III would criminalize what the public has already been primed to treat as a social and sharing activity. I encourage every single American to step up and speak up on behalf of themselves and their entire family, as everyone has someone in their lives whose life has been positively influenced by the plant, regardless if they were introduced to it as medical cannabis, hemp or CBD."

About Compassion Center, the National Coalition for Patient Rights and the Stormy Ray Cardholders Foundation
Compassion Center, the National Coalition for Patient Rights and the Stormy Ray Cardholders Foundation are collectively dedicated to advocating on behalf of medical cannabis patients and the greater community at large by standing together in inclusive unity and speaking up for patients, healthcare providers and regulators alike. Focused on healthcare reform that prioritizes patient empowerment, integrative medicine and sustainable wellness solutions, this collective works to improve the standard of care and quality of life for all whom it serves. Together, these organizations support a healthcare system that puts people first, rooted in compassion, science and the fundamental right to informed health choices.

Founded in 2001 in Eugene, Oregon, the Compassion Center was built by patients, for patients, in the name of patients and has grown to serve patients in more than 18 states, with the ability to refer patients outside of our licensed states into an associated international and National network of inpatient and outpatient access points. Compassion Center is dedicated to advancing professional education, patient advocacy and healthcare innovations that improve access, affordability and equity for all.

Media Contact:
Jason Greninger, C.S.T.
Senior Vice President of Legislative and Congressional Advocacy
Coalition for Patient Rights
1-844-842-8687
[email protected]
www.De-Schedule.org | www.MyCPR.us | www.CoalitionForPatientRights.org | www.StormyRay.org | www.Compassion-Center.net

SOURCE: Compassion Center

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

J.Gomez--AT