Eaze Launches Statewide Program To Provide Low-Income California Patients With Free Medical Cannabis

Cannabis delivery marketplace Eaze has launched Eaze Compassion, a statewide program to restore medical cannabis access to patients who have been left behind by California’s cannabis laws and high prices.

Under the partnership with a network of licensed cannabis brands and compassionate care organizations such as Weed For Warriors, Operation Evac, This Is Jane Project and Brownie Mary Democratic Club, Eaze Compassion is targeting patients who are "left behind" by California’s Proposition 64. Eaze will assist in the implementation of Senator Scott Wiener’s SB 34, the Dennis Peron and Brownie Mary Act, signed into law in October 2019 by Gov. Newsom.

The program will aggregate donated products through Eaze’s statewide network of brands and delivery drivers and then identify patients who are being shut out of the legal market due to high taxes or because they live in one of the jurisdictions where legal cannabis commerce is banned.

Why Are So Many People 'Shut Out' In Legal Cannabis California?

Fully 70% of California's towns opted not to participate in the state-wide legal marijuana program and therefore have no local dispensaries where patients can shop.

Patients’ eligibility for participation in the program is based on their income, medical diagnosis and need. Interested patients can contact Operation Evac, Weed for Warriors, This is Jane Project, Bay Area Americans for Safe Access and Dear Cannabis for more information.

“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.”

Eaze’s Recent Moves

Eaze recently said it’s acquiring multi-state retail operator Green Dragon to provide service to customers and patients in California, Colorado, Michigan, and Florida. The combined company is will operate 42 delivery and storefront retail locations, making it the largest MSO delivery operation in the nation.

In July, Eaze, which is based in San Francisco, became the first of several to launch a “first-of-its-kind shoppable” app for iPhone users, on the heels of Apple Inc.'s AAPL decision to change its policies and allow cannabis-focused apps on its store.

Photo: Courtesy of Artem Podrez from Pexels