With California\u2019s new laws around cannabis
\nbeing donated to sick and low-income patients taking effect March 1, one of the
\nstate\u2019s most famed providers took immediate advantage by offering free cannabis
\nto those in need. <\/p>\n
The Wo\/Men\u2019s Alliance for Medical Marijuana was the oldest operating medical cannabis collective<\/a> on the planet when it was forced to close its doors in January of 2018 as Proposition 64 took effect. After operating since being founded in 1993 Valerie and Mike Corral, the collective was forced into a holding pattern when lawmakers and regulators neglected to create a mechanism for medical cannabis to be distributed for free without insane taxes. <\/p>\n With their free to sliding scale model of distribution to people with cancer, AIDS, MS, epilepsy and other life-threatening conditions effectively taxed out of existence, operating WAMM became financially unfeasible. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s darkly ironic that after being at the forefront of the cannabis movement for decades, including facing a DEA raid in 2002 and the threat of life in prison, it was legalization that closed WAMM\u2019s doors,\u201d Valerie said of California\u2019s adult-use regulations that kicked in on Jan. 1, 2018. \u201cBut we never stopped pushing back \u2014 along with our many allies in the community. And now that the laws have changed to once again allow compassionate giving, we\u2019re pioneering a new, holistic way to offer phytotherapeutic and alternative care.\u201d<\/p>\n It seemed like there would be a glimmer of But advocates continued to push on, including State Sen. Scott Weiner who would again file the now aptly named Dennis Peron and Brownie Mary Act again in 2019. Senate Bill 34 would make it to the Governor\u2019s desk like its predecessor, but this time the man sitting there would be the leader of California\u2019s blue ribbon commission that led to Prop. 64, Gov. Gavin Newsom. Newsom continued his longtime support for medical cannabis and signed the bill<\/a> late last October, but he certainly kept advocates on edge.<\/a> <\/p>\n Now four months later, the bill went into \u201cCompassion programs provide critical, even Valerie celebrated the day by officially launching , which will begin operating regularly in Santa Cruz at KindPeoples, a state-licensed dispensary.<\/p>\n According to WAMM\u2019s press release on the When WAMM provided free cannabis to 40 of its Khalil Moutawakkil, CEO and co-founder of KindPeoples<\/a>, spoke with Cannabis Now about what it\u2019s been like helping WAMM get back to serving their patients. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s wonderful,\u201d Moutawakkil said.\u201cIt\u2019s March 1 was a date that kicked off a new era \u201cWe have an opportunity to establish a rock-solid medical cannabis system in California, hopefully one the rest of the nation can follow,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n TELL US<\/strong>, do you think everyone deserves access to cannabis regardless of their income?<\/p>\n The post Compassionate Care is Alive Again in California<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
With California\u2019s new laws around cannabis being donated to sick and low-income patients taking effect March 1, one of the state\u2019s most famed providers took immediate advantage by offering free cannabis to those in need. The Wo\/Men\u2019s Alliance for Medical Marijuana was the oldest operating medical cannabis collective on theContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[50,2722,53,2713,2662],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41561"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41561"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41561\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41562,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41561\/revisions\/41562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nhope in 2018. Senate Bill 829 made it all the way to then-Gov. Jerry Brown\u2019s
\ndesk. The bill would have exempted compassionate care programs from paying the
\ncrazy taxes that put WAMM out of business in the first place. Unfortunately,
\nBrown vetoed the bill before he left office. <\/p>\n
\neffect on March 1. We reached out to Weiner to get his take on seeing the bill
\nfinally cross the finish line.<\/p>\n
\nlife-saving, free medicine to low-income Californians,\u201d Weiner told Cannabis
\nNow. \u201cThe idea that we would tax these programs, which don\u2019t generate revenue,
\nmakes no sense. We worked hard to pass SB 34 to ensure that everyone who needs
\nmedical cannabis can benefit from it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nrelaunch, Kind Peoples has generously donated the use of their space and
\ninfrastructure as WAMM Phytotherapies transitions into a new home so that
\neligible patients can receive their medicine in a safe and accessible location
\nin the heart of the city.<\/p>\n
\nlongtime members this week, it was not only an act of compassion, but it also
\nserved as the first step in their reemergence in their beloved Santa Cruz
\ncommunity. <\/p>\n
\namazing. Val and eye have worked side by side on the legislative front for many
\nyears in the city of Santa Cruz and the county. So it\u2019s my honor, we\u2019re
\noverjoyed to join forces with WAMM. And now we\u2019re setting the standard for the
\nnew age of compassionate care in California.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nof legalization in Moutawakkil\u2019s opinion now that compassion can thrive and
\ncoexist alongside wider positive reforms. He went on to note SB 34 sunsets in
\nfive years. <\/p>\n
\n
\nRead More: Compassionate Care is Alive Again in California<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"