This article originally appeared in the November 2017 print edition of Cannabis Business Times. To subscribe, click here.
Media coverage from outside the cannabis industry often has a familiar ring: black market roots and quick money. But insiders know another side of cannabis, one that reflects the heart that drives many cultivators and industry influencers. Call it caring, community or compassion, but increasing numbers across the cannabis industry are finding creative ways to give back to those in need.
Easing Financial Burdens For Medical Patients
Several states and municipalities have started mandating financial assistance programs for medical marijuana patients in need, but the roots of those programs began with the cannabis community.
Inspired by a Berkeley Patients Group program in place since 1999, the Cannabis Compassion Program at Chicago’s Dispensary33 is one example of helping-hand programs spreading across the industry.
“We’re really sympathetic to the financial hardship chronic illness creates for patients and the fact that medical marijuana is expensive and not covered by insurance,” D33 owner Zachary Zises explains. “It’s built into our mission to help those most needy.” The D33 program donates at least 1 percent of the dispensary’s gross sales to economically distressed patients. As sales grow, so does patient assistance.
Under the program, Dispensary33 patients with financial need can apply twice a year. From a pool of qualified applicants, typically 35 to 45 each period, a computer randomizer selects the final awardees. Support is based on dispensary sales for the previous six months and lasts for six months; awardees must wait a year before reapplying. Currently, 17 patients receive $240 per month in store credit to spend on whatever medication they choose.
“We wanted to have a significant impact for a small number of the most needy, rather than a small impact on a larger number of people,” Zises says. With the help of cultivator partners who give through monetary support and product rebates, the dispensary regularly exceeds its giving goal. “We regularly better that 1 percent, because of the generous cultivators who also see this as part of their mission,” he says.
To read the full article in Cannabis Business Times' November issue, click here.
Top image courtesy of Grow for Vets
