Cannabis community rallies to help fire victims one bong and one fundraiser at a time

Medical marijuana patients and different 21-and-older weed consumers who near down their pipes, bongs, rolling trays and different cookware paraphernalia successful the caller wildfires successful L.A. County tin get caller cogwheel — escaped of complaint — astatine six West Hollywood dispensaries done an accessories thrust organized by the section cannabis community.

“Not everyone thinks astir putting that worldly successful their spell bag,” said Scott Schmidt, enforcement manager of canna-business selling enactment Emerald Village West Hollywood, which spearheaded the effort with assistance from the Cannabis Chamber of Commerce and Los Angeles NORML.

Asked however the thrust came about, Schmidt said: “We were truly inspired by the generosity of folks that came out, donating clothes, donating water, diapers, archetypal assistance supplies and each of the necessities, but we weren’t seeing that the cannabis assemblage was being included successful that ... Especially due to the fact that of national prohibitions, a batch of nonprofits astir apt don’t privation to interaction immoderate of these [cannabis-related] things.

“And with 100,000 to 150,000 radical evacuated, immoderate fig of those would beryllium radical who are regular users of cannabis and apt galore aesculapian patients who truly trust connected it,” helium said.

Last week, driblet boxes were acceptable up astatine at six section dispensaries, and the telephone went retired to the cannabis assemblage successful hunt of unused dab rigs, bongs, vaporizers, pipes, rolling trays, grinders, odor-proof retention bags, pouches and containers, associated rollers and cone fillers, rolling papers, lighters and cleaning supplies for occurrence evacuees.

“Basically we tin judge thing but hemp-based products oregon THC, which is for ineligible reasons,” Schmidt said.

Under authorities law, dispensaries are prohibited from giving distant cannabis products, and the lone ones they tin legally merchantability request to spell done the Metrc track-and-trace program. Schmidt estimates that to date, $2,000 worthy of cogwheel has been collected.

Impacted section residents hoping to regenerate that mislaid vape battery, pipe, stash jar oregon grinder tin bash truthful escaped of complaint by heading to 1 of six West Hollywood dispensaries serving arsenic organisation points: Calma West Hollywood (1155 N. La Brea Ave.), MedMen West Hollywood (8208 Santa Monica Blvd.), PleasureMed (7715 Santa Monica Blvd.), Urbn Leaf (8477 Sunset Blvd.), the Woods WeHo (8271 Santa Monica Blvd.) and the Artist Tree West Hollywood (8625 Santa Monica Blvd.) during regular concern hours. (Schmidt said the dispensaries volition transverse notation addresses connected valid, government-issued IDs — which are already required to participate a dispensary — with a database of fire-affected ZIP Codes to corroborate eligibility.)

In addition, the dispensaries with depletion lounges (the Artist Tree, the Woods and PleasureMed) are waiving screen charges and minimum acquisition requirements for displaced card-carrying aesculapian marijuana patients who privation to fume oregon vape on-site done Feb. 28. That’s an effort to creaseless retired different wrinkle caused by the disconnect betwixt authorities and national law, Schmidt said.

“Federal rules prohibit cannabis patients from consuming — oregon adjacent possessing — cannabis successful [Federal Emergency Management Agency] housing,” helium said. “So if you’re receiving FEMA assistance for lodging — backing to enactment successful a edifice oregon to rent an flat — you can’t [legally] devour there.”

PleasureMed is 1 of the six West Hollywood dispensaries accepting and distributing donations of pipes, bongs, dab rigs and different cannabis vaping and smoking accouterments for victims of the caller L.A. County fires. It is besides 1 of 3 places successful the metropolis offering depletion lounge entree to displaced aesculapian marijuana patients done the extremity of February.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

A FEMA FAQ published successful 2019 successful the aftermath of the 2018 California wildfires confirms the prohibition against cannabis usage successful its manufactured lodging units and impermanent housing, but doesn’t specifically code transitional structure assistance, which funds short-term edifice stays and the like. Calls and emails connected Wednesday to corroborate further with FEMA were not returned arsenic of property time.

For those funny successful donating items, those organisation sites besides service arsenic drop-off sites. “As for what we’re looking for, everything from the precise large to the precise little,” Schmidt said. “Dab rigs and gravity bongs are precise costly products, but pipes tin commencement astatine 5 to $10. And there’s [also the request for] grinders, rolling trays and rolling papers — each those small things radical usually person to wage for.”

Additional assistance efforts successful the cannabis abstraction see L.A.-based accessories shaper Puffco’s offer to regenerate devices mislaid successful the fires, a wildfire alleviation sesh and mixer astatine the Artist Tree Studio Cannabis Lounge connected Friday (100% of the $20 summons terms and lawsuit purchases volition payment wildfire victims), a pledge by the Artist Tree to lucifer up to $25,000 successful donations to the California Community Foundation’s Wildfire Recovery Fund and the United Cannabis Community Fire Relief Fund, a centralized GoFundMe run launched by Sacramento-based dispensary concatenation Embarc to payment World Central Kitchen.

Additional accusation connected the instrumentality and accessories thrust tin beryllium recovered connected the Emerald Village West Hollywood website.