Eaze’s mission to deliver good with the goods means helping low-income patients get their medicine. Now we’re taking our advocacy to the doorstep through Eaze Compassion, a new statewide program that bridges the “last mile” between low-income patients and the products they rely on to survive and thrive. How? Eaze Compassion deploys our statewide network of brands and delivery drivers to aggregate donated products and get them to patients who’ve been shut out of the legal market.
Before Proposition 64, California had established and successful compassionate care programs that took care of low-income patients. But Prop 64 taxed donations, tacking on a ~$1,000 tax to every pound of cannabis donated to patients — which ended compassionate care as California knew it. In 2019, Eaze worked with a huge coalition of industry and advocacy groups to bring back these programs through Senator Scott Wiener’s bill SB 34.
“Cannabis is medicine. Nobody should be forced to live with the effects of debilitating pain, PTSD, Multiple Sclerosis, or any other illness because they can’t pay or live under a local ban,” Senator Wiener said in a press release. “I thank Eaze and the many organizations that are donating cannabis for helping make the Dennis Peron and Brownie Mary Compassionate Care Act a reality for patients.”
Eaze Compassion relies on donations from licensed cannabis brands featured on our website. So far, that includes S*SHOTS, SF Roots, Fume’s Lake Grade, Island, and Tempo.
“If we don’t donate unused product, we’re forced to destroy it under California’s rules. That’s heartbreaking given all the care and natural resources that go into every Fumé flower,” said Eric Sklar, CEO of Fumé Brands, which has distributed over 8,000 units to patients through Eaze Compassion.
For brands like Fumé, donating is a win-win. Not only are their products being utilized to do good for the cannabis community, but low-income patients are able to gain access to product that is guaranteed to be safe, legal, and tested — without paying a dime.
“Many compassion programs folded in the early green rush, leaving behind the very people cannabis was legalized to help,” said Eaze CEO Ro Choy. “Eaze Compassion gives companies an easy way to donate and distribute products they’d otherwise have-to destroy, so I hope even more brands will join the program.”
Eligibility is determined by Eaze Compassion’s partner organizations based on the following criteria: income, medical diagnosis, and need. Any interested patients can contact Operation Evac, Weed for Warriors, This is Jane Project, Bay Area Americans for Safe Access, or Dear Cannabis for more information.