LOS ANGELES — The Artist Tree launched its Compassion Program, through which the dispensary chain will provide free cannabis products to California medical cannabis patients suffering from serious medical conditions and patients who are military veterans. The Compassion Program will be available at three of The Artist Tree locations: West Hollywood, Fresno, and Laguna Woods. The company anticipates serving 100 patients monthly per location.
The Artist Tree’s roots are in medicinal cannabis. The company’s founders started some of the first medicinal cannabis dispensaries in Los Angeles almost 20 years ago, driven by the need to help their ailing grandmother obtain medical cannabis as a treatment for stomach cancer. In addition to providing safe access to medicinal cannabis throughout the years, The Artist Tree has a long history of championing community giveback programs, including grants to the Fresno Arts Council and Feeding America, local blood drives, and, most recently, LA wildfire relief efforts.
All medicinal patients with a medical marijuana card (MMIC) or physician’s recommendation will be eligible for the program. Patients will be able to receive free items geared toward medicinal use, including extracts, tinctures, flower, pre rolls, edibles, and topicals from brands such as Care by Design, Papa & Barkley, LEVEL, Kanha, Coastal Sun, De La Bo, Bloom, and Emerald Bay Extracts.
“Through the years, we’ve been honored to serve a large number of medical patients and to help them dramatically improve their quality of life through cannabis. We know that many medical patients struggle to afford medication, so we are launching our Compassion Program with the goal of increasing medical access to cannabis to those most in need,” said Lauren Fontein, Co-founder and Chief Compliance Officer of The Artist Tree. “In addition to directly serving patients, we are excited to partner with nonprofits that service medicinal patients, such as The Sidewalk Project, which provides mental health services for unhoused individuals in Los Angeles, as well as medical professionals, including Dr. Bonni Goldstein, Director of Canna-Centers, to expand the reach of the program.”
Eligible patients will be required to show ID and proof of medical status and can register for the Program at our Fresno, West Hollywood and Laguna Woods locations beginning in Mid-February and pick up free items in store after registration.The Artist Tree plans to extend the compassion program in the future to their additional six retail locations throughout California.
