Sweetleaf Health Equity in the media
Thanks to the hard work and dedication of Sweetleaf Health Equity’s network, the nonprofit has been featured in media and news nationwide. Here is a selection of some of our favorite headlines.
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Featured Sweetleaf news
Beard Bros: A Ton of Cannabis…Literally
PRESS RELEASE – Santa Barbara, Ca. (June 24, 2022)— PRO Farms, Almora and Deibel Bioscience of California have teamed up to donate over $5 million worth of cannabis products to Sweetleaf Collective, a nonprofit assisting low-income patients in gaining access to medical cannabis. Affected groups include veterans, minorities and the LGBTQ+ community, as well as HIV and cancer patients. PRO Farms and Almora are set to donate over a ton (2,000 pounds) of state-tested and approved high-quality, California sun-grown cannabis. Deibel Bioscience of California has donated its testing services to the cause. According to Sweetleaf Collective founder “Sweetleaf” Joe, this is the largest cannabis donation for compassionate use in California history.
Great Moments in Weed History: Free Weed For Those in Need!
Beard Bros: Sweetleaf Celebrates 25-Year Anniversary with the Largest Compassionate Cannabis Giveaway Ever
The Sweetleaf Collective began helping low-income veterans, terminally ill, and POC patients after the passage of Proposition 215 in 1996. They are currently celebrating 25 years of compassion with a holiday campaign to help patients and veterans access 300 pounds of free medical cannabis. They are a nonprofit that organizes compassion patients so they can access free medical marijuana, also referred to as compassionate cannabis. Funds raised go to organizing patients and not to the purchase of cannabis.
Weedmaps: Patients Left Behind
California cannabis is globally recognized as being some of the best on the market, and the state’s residents have seen a lot of change thanks to deep roots in cannabis advocacy. California was the first state to legalize medical marijuana with Prop 215, and opened its doors to adult-use (recreational) cannabis retail in 2016.
While support for cannabis legalization hits record levels, few seemed prepared for the impact of the regulatory system that followed the passage of Prop 64. More than two years after legalization took effect in 2018, 70% of the state lacks adequate access – and the path to change is complicated.
High Times: California’s Last Compassionate Care Marijuana Service Was Just Shut Down
Californians welcomed Proposition 64 with confetti and champagne celebrations. But the way in which regulation has rolled out, more and more people are waking up to what “adult-use” and “regulated cannabis” actually mean. And, unfortunately, it means watching the roots of Proposition 215—the law that made medical marijuana legal in California—wither under the Golden State’s new regime.
SF Chronicle: California’s new marijuana regimen leaves out neediest patients, advocates say
Ed Gallagher, a former Army intelligence officer, reached into an armoire in the living room of his Twin Peaks home and pulled out his last bag of a medicinal herb he considers his salvation.
More Sweetleaf news
Benzinga: Sweetleaf Collective's Patient Network to See $5 Million Product Donation by Pro Farms, Almora and Deibel Bioscience
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - June 10, 2022 - (Newswire.com)
Pro Farms, Almora and Deibel Bioscience of California have teamed up to donate over $5 million worth of cannabis products to Sweetleaf Collective's patient network. Sweetleaf Collective is a nonprofit assisting low-income patients in gaining access to medical cannabis. Affected groups include veterans, people of color, as well as HIV and cancer patients. Pro Farms and Almora are set to donate over a ton (2,000 pounds) of state-tested and approved high-quality, California sun-grown cannabis. Deibel Bioscience of California has donated its testing services to the cause. According to Sweetleaf Collective founder "Sweetleaf" Joe, this is the largest cannabis donation for compassionate use in California history.
Muse by Clio: Sweetleaf Joe on Compassionate Cannabis and Growing the Nonprofit Sector
Joe Airone, who goes by Sweetleaf Joe, has been in the business of compassionate cannabis since 1996. As founder of Sweetleaf Collective, a donation-based charity organization based in San Francisco, Airone has dedicated his life to providing low-income terminally ill patients with free medical cannabis—no strings attached.
Weedmaps: Sweetleaf Joe is making cannabis compassionate again, one bike delivery at a time
Joe Airone, who goes by Sweetleaf Joe, has been in the business of compassionate cannabis since 1996. As founder of Sweetleaf Collective, a donation-based charity organization based in San Francisco, Airone has dedicated his life to providing low-income terminally ill patients with free medical cannabis — no strings attached.
New Cannabis Ventures: MGO CPA Unveils Its 2021 “Cannabis 50” List
LOS ANGELES (January 27, 2022) – MGO (Macias Gini and O’Connell LLP), one of the fastest-growing CPA and business advisory firms in the U.S. and a leader in accounting, tax, audit, and advisory solutions for the cannabis and hemp industries has released its 3rd annual “Cannabis 50” list. The list highlights companies, organizations, and individuals that positively impacted the cannabis and hemp industries during 2021.
Bay Area Reporter’s Bay Area Cannasseur: Cannabis compassion back in season
It's "Croptober," the time outdoor cannabis is ready for harvest and, this year, also the time that cannabis compassion programs are gearing up to go back into business. Compassion programs distribute cannabis products to low-income medical patients but they slowed down because Proposition 64 (2016), which legalized the recreational sale of cannabis starting in 2018, also contained a provision that hurt the compassion program by requiring operators to pay the sales tax on donated goods.
Bloomberg Tax: California Rights a Cannabis Accessibility Wrong Via Nonprofit Tax Reformation
When California legalized the recreational use of cannabis—and began taxing it—many people who used it for medical purposes found it too expensive. Joe Airone of Sweetleaf explains how recent legislation has again made medical cannabis accessible to low-income patients.
Beard Bros: Sweetleaf Launches Humboldt Legacy Compassion
Sweetleaf’s ‘Team Compassion’ has a great new project going on called Humboldt Legacy Compassion. We are getting a massive cannabis donation from farm to patient through the permitted supply chain. Our permitted partners have donated all the time and resources to make this project happen. Costs are never passed on to the patient. This is a great story about Humboldt supporting patients.
Pot Brothers at Law Cannabis Talk 101 Podcast
SF Weekly: Sweetleaf Keeps Compassionate Care on the Map
Joe Airone has spent much of his career avoiding the press at all costs. As the founder and central figure of a California nonprofit devoted to putting free cannabis in the hands of patients who need it most, operated under the belief that the system worked best without undue attention.
Benzinga: This Organization Has Gifted $1M Worth Of Medical Marijuana In 2021, And Is Aiming To Hit $2M By Year-End
The Sweetleaf Collective has met its ambitious goal for 2021: Helping California patients access $1 million worth of free medical cannabis. And it has done so six months ahead of schedule.