Aria Biswas

A smiling white woman with long, flowing blonde hair wearing a sleeveless gray top.

Learn more about the issues with California cannabis industry in this interview with Meadow CEO David Hua and MD Numbers Co-Founder Marie Montmarquet

Marie Montmarquet and David Hua on California cannabis

In this April 2022 episode of [Meadow Memo](https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/meadow-memo-6907026159591157760/ "Meadow Memo"), our CEO David Hua sits down with Marie Montmarquet to get her first-hand perspective on the current crisis that the California cannabis industry is experiencing.

The unsustainable combination of high taxes, 280E tax burdens, the lack of retail outlets, the unregulated market, a series of robberies and dropping cannabis prices means much of the industry is hanging on by just a thread.

As the co-founder of California-based MD Numbers, a vertically integrated family-run company formed in the Bay Area in 2010 (spanning cultivation, distribution and delivery), Marie shares some of her huge depth of knowledge. 

The most alarming thing Marie said:
“It’s not equity that’s broken, it’s this entire industry that is broken.” (31:46)

Yeah, it’s really that bad.

It’s no secret the California cannabis industry is in crisis.

To quote the [Save California Cannabis campaign](https://www.change.org/p/toni-g-atkins-cannabis-industry-united-for-less-taxes-and-more-retail):

*- The current regulatory environment threatens the viability of California’s legacy cannabis operators.*

*- The harms inflicted upon Black, Brown and Latinx communities by the War on Drugs remain unresolved.*

*- The opportunity to create a robust legal market has been squandered as a result of excessive taxation.*

*- The illicit market threatens the health and safety of medicinal patients and consumers.*

*- The State has failed to fulfill the intent and purpose of Proposition 64 as mandated by California voters.*

In the interview below with Marie Montmarquet, we unpack the struggle to regulate cannabis in California, which she has witnessed and navigated through since 2010.

Meadow’s [cannabis retail software](https://getmeadow.com/blog/tags/cannabis-retail "cannabis retail software") has powered [Marie’s Deliverables](https://mariesdeliverables.com/ "Marie’s Deliverables") since 2016. We’ve been in the trenches with Marie throughout the six years we’ve known each other, and California cannabis has been a bumpy ride, to say the least.

(Read more about Meadow’s rollercoaster journey as the first @ Y Combinator-backed cannabis startup in the [Hustle Fund](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6912481773662715904/)).

<figure>
<video-player url="https://vimeo.com/697179301"></video-player>
<figcaption>Listen to the full interview.</figcaption>
</figure>

Highlights of Our Conversation:

- Why Marie loves cannabis and thinks compliant cannabis in California is one of the most interesting things in the world (3:01)
- Why Marie’s farm just increased its footprint by taking over a neighboring space with plants in the ground by operators who had over-expanded in these dismal market conditions (6:04)
- How the price pendulum swings of cannabis flower creates extinction events (6:48)
- Why 85% farmers today are trying to decide if it’s even worth replanting, and why Marie thinks the canopy tax needs to be switched to a flat rate percentage gross tax based on harvest or eliminated completely (8:08)
- Why industry economics are unsustainable: the cost of labor, construction, taxes, gas, rent and operations are going up, but the price of cannabis is going down (9:25)
- Why growing high-quality greenhouse flower that looks like indoor has kept the MD Farms business alive (11:29)
- Why current tax structures at every piece of the supply chain are unsustainable and unbearable (12:01)
- Why California cannabis is the hardest market to operate in, for every license type, especially for small businesses (13:23)
- Why the California cannabis culture and lifestyle can’t be replicated (14:46)
- Why Marie’s lack of formal capital investment has actually been a good thing (15:26)
- Why buyers need to hold the floor on cannabis flower prices (18:00)
- Why the industry switched from making money under prop 215 to raising money under prop 64 in the “green rush” era (19:00)
- Why teams need to be agile, pivot quickly, and operate more like a nimble jet ski and less like a slow barge (19:42)
- Why excess inventory, the lack of retail outlets, and insignificant enforcement on the unregulated market (both in CA and other states) has compounded industry issues (21:30)
- Why unbranded outdoor flower is getting crushed, why more consumer education around THC potency and terpenes is needed, and why solventless fresh-pressed live rosin is currently a good way for outdoor cultivators to survive (22:22)
- Why taxes are killing the industry & why there’s some hope for tax relief in upcoming bills from Senator Bradford & others (26:38)
- Why most people transitioning from the legacy market into the licensed, compliant market are trying to avoid equity programs (30:25)
- Why we need to create other license types to serve small businesses & other equity opportunities beyond just ownership to give back to people affected by the war on drugs (31:20)
- Why there was more strain diversity on dispensary menus under Prop 215 & why cannabis sold outside of the compliant market is often better and fresher than what’s sold in the licensed market (33:45)
- Why an “asset-light” model with white labeling and licensing deals can open up opportunities for the equity community and new brands who don’t have the capital to cultivate or own a license themselves (36:00)
- Why customers are the #1 thing new cannabis companies should be focused on growing (37:51)
- Why vetting business partners and avoiding predatory partnerships is key (38:27)
- Why Meadow isn’t successful unless retail operators are successful (39:34)
- Why a software’s ability to keep up with regulatory changes influences retailers' ability to thrive (41:29)
- How Marie’s consulting company Legacy Coterie can help operators get licenses and plan go-to-market strategies in undeveloped cannabis markets (43:30)
- Why cannabis is still a golden opportunity and how strong relationships will allow us to persevere (44:44)

One of my favorite things we heard Marie say:

### “I kind of equate Meadow to the iPhone. There’s definitely a robustness to certain things, and then there’s a beauty to simplicity and things working. All I want to do is sell weed and sell a lot of weed and do it really well. And I never thought that technology would play such a huge role in me selling weed...to make my customer experience as fluid as I want it to be. Technology is everything. The future of cannabis: good weed, and after that, it will be won and lost by technology.”

Thanks for exploring this Meadow Memo on the state of California cannabis. If you found this content useful, please subscribe to this monthly [LinkedIn Newsletter](https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/meadow-memo-6907026159591157760/ "LinkedIn Newsletter") and share with a friend in the industry who is part of a retail, delivery, or vertically integrated team.

Learn more about Marie's vertical business: [MD Numbers, Inc.](https://www.mdnumbersinc.com/ "MD Numbers, Inc.")

Hire Marie to consult on your new cannabis business: [Legacy Coterie](https://www.legacycoterie.com/ "Legacy Coterie")


In this cannabis industry interview we hear about the challenges of California cannabis 

Meadow CEO David Hua with Marie Montmarquet Co-Founder MD Numbers 

The industry is hanging on by just a thread. Marie walks us through what she's seeing and what changes are needed

Meadow Memo: Surviving the Storm of California Cannabis

Blue Diamond cannabis delivery case study powered by Meadow and Onfleet cannabis delivery software

Bleu Diamond Cannabis Case Study

[Bleu Diamond LLC](https://bleudiamondco.com/ "Bleu Diamond LLC") is the highest-rated cannabis delivery company located in the central coast of California. This family-owned business's top priority is providing the best possible products to their customers and patients for the lowest possible price. They are firm believers in the medicinal benefits of cannabis, and pride themselves on being the most convenient and affordable delivery service in the region. Their goal is to become the Amazon of cannabis products with a faster delivery time; they deliver in under one hour for anyone who places an order anywhere in their 300-mile territory. Their drivers leave their respective warehouses at 8am and do not return until the end of their shift. Through this time, the dispatch team uses [Meadow](https://getmeadow.com/ "Meadow") to process orders and [Onfleet](https://onfleet.com/ "Onfleet") to route orders to the corresponding driver. After operating for multiple years via text message and manual navigation, these two software programs took this cannabis delivery business to a whole new level. 

Prior to adding Onfleet and Meadow, the team operated via text message and direct communication between driver and dispatch. They were taking too many orders and their dispatch team was overwhelmed in communicating these orders to drivers without a streamlined system. This resulted in increased staff turnover and prevented ownership from having the ability to focus on the growth of the company. While they had the means and the customer base to scale, they couldn’t find time to pull themselves away from making sure the day-to-day was operating as it should. 

As a small business owner in the cannabis industry, it made it difficult to commit to additional overhead expenses, especially when they were still in the process of establishing themselves in the market. As they started to grow, there were immediate needs for obtaining sales data and streamlining processes to accommodate customers and patients.

“Implementing Onfleet and Meadow was the smartest thing I’ve ever done for my business,” says Kristina Valdez, Owner of Bleu Diamond. “The seamless integration creates a great experience for my staff and an even better experience for our customers and patients.”

As a result of both integrations, Kristina and her team saw a significant increase in employee retention and patient satisfaction. 

After sorting through 10 different software companies, Bleu Diamond discovered [Meadow and their integration with Onfleet](https://getmeadow.com/features/cannabis-delivery "Meadow and their integration with Onfleet"), which was exactly what they needed. “Life is so much easier now that our dispatch team can process an order in Meadow and have it automatically pop up on their Onfleet driver selection. They simply drag the order to the corresponding driver and it’s on to the next. Employee attrition has dropped dramatically, and it has allowed us to create a work culture that we all enjoy,” Kristina continued.

Customers and patients love to receive text updates alerting them that their order is on the way and will arrive in a timely manner, sometimes as quickly as eight minutes.  The automatic text updates create a professionalism to Bleu Diamond’s service that really sets them apart from the competition. They’ve noticed that customers and patients love the alerts they receive and the fact that Onfleet will automatically text them when their driver arrives. That paired with the driver tracker allows them to watch their driver in route for added convenience and clarity on the delivery process, and their patient and customer retention has absolutely skyrocketed as a result.

Learn more about Meadow's [cannabis delivery software](https://getmeadow.com/blog/tags/cannabis-delivery "cannabis delivery software")

![Bleu Diamond cannabis](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/HuYUsO0KGI5D1yuC3epCA/d278c9462f1f90f5969cc832a38bfa0d/OG_Image_Blog_Size__3_.png)
Learn more about [Bleu Diamond](https://bleudiamondco.com/ "Bleu Diamond") and order products next time you're in the Central Coast or Ventura Valley.

California cannabis delivery software from Meadow and Onfleet

Bleu Diamond Cannabis Delivery 

Learn more how this top-rated cannabis delivery service has streamlined their operations and improved their customer experience

Cannabis Case Study: Bleu Diamond Delivery

Interview with Eliza Maroney, Founder of Lucky Box Club on the Meadow cannabis POS blog 

Eliza Maroney Lucky Box Club Meadow

Meadow commissioned this interview to hear Eliza's story of launching [Lucky Box Club](https://luckyboxclub.com/ "Lucky Box Club"), her luxury cannabis subscription box brand, and why she and her partner were named Mr. & Mrs. Wellness Village at this year's [Meadowlands](https://getmeadow.com/meadowlands "Meadowlands") cannabis retreat. Listen to the 10 minute interview or continue to read the transcript, below.

<callout>[Listen to the Interview with Lucky Box Founder and cannabis yogi, Eliza Maroney](https://www.heyartifact.com/creations/gja8P/)</callout>

__Eliza:__ The term "[The Cannabis Yogi](https://www.leafly.com/news/lifestyle/i-did-bend-blaze-yoga-you-should-too "The Cannabis Yogi")" was kind of just given to me by a writer from Leafly, but it was one that I was really excited to step into. I really have a deep belief that cannabis can enhance all facets of our lives and found that it's so profoundly moved me throughout my own yoga practice. It helps people to connect more deeply with their own bodies, their own spirits. It helps people to meditate and ultimately kind of just helps us to look within and come into a more reflective state. Hosting my yoga classes previously without cannabis, I felt like a fish out of water. I think that I really love the plant for its ability to get people to step out of their pain and out of their suffering and into their bodies.

__John:__ That's a really good point. And now looking at that signature [cannabis yoga](https://www.instagram.com/thecannabisyogi/ "cannabis yoga") offering of yours, Bend and Blaze, how do you structure it? How do you give your clients what they are looking for?

![Bend and Blaze cannabis yoga with Eliza Maroney](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/djOsiv79gwRZWEnDlKxOk/4f1ac6db78b61ec15b8bb3110dc1599f/Blog_Banner_Image__3_.png)

__Eliza:__ When people arrive, they have the opportunity and the option to use cannabis. They can bring their own. Sometimes I usually have pre-rolls available for people. Some people like to vape. Otherwise a lot of people actually come and just use topicals. It is really hard to drop into yoga poses if you're in literal physical pain. So we build in about 30 minutes for people to just consume, to connect with each other, and then we drop into our meditation and go through a really sweet Vinyasa and Yin hybrid flow, which means that we are moving in connection with our breath. An inhale will take you through one move and an exhale will take you through another. And the Yin portion means that we're also holding certain poses for an extended period of time, anywhere from two to five minutes. And so this type of a hybrid flow really allows for people to lengthen, to strengthen, and to kind of just create space inside of their bodies. And then at the end of every class, my signature really is my sound healing.  I use singing bowls or other instruments and my voice and sing or chant and talk people through different guided meditations. 

__John:__ That really does sound holistic and that you cover every area that you could want to feel. And so moving on, I want to ask you about another thing you do, which is that you're the founder of Lucky Box Club, which I understand has been named the number one cannabis subscription box company in California. Can you tell me about the vision behind this phase of what you do and how that's been going for you?

![Lucky Box Club subscription cannabis box](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/6XFs9ONYbPSDchbBCmgQoS/9edfccd8fee4f4ac1fff2c8f9b20c888/Blog_Banner_Image__2_.png)

__Eliza:__ Before the cannabis yoga existed and before Lucky Box Club existed, my partner and I were actually cultivators in Nevada City. And really, we love this plant. I mean, it was just such an incredible thing to learn from him about the process of growing and understanding what it really takes to go from seed to smoke. And one thing that really was very clear to me and to us is that not all cannabis is created equal. And as we also started to learn more and more about the other manufactured products that are out there, whether they're topicals or edibles or beverages or suppositories... there's just so many products out there. What I like to tell people is that there's a product for everybody, but not every product is for every body. We are all created so uniquely, and we all carry such different trauma and pain in our bodies, that it's important to find the right products for the right people.

So in 2016, the concept of Lucky Box Club was kind of formed and in 2017 we really started to act on it. And then we were able to launch and get all of our licenses in order by 2019. So it's been a long road, but we absolutely love what we do. We love to find products that will enhance people's lives.

__John:__ That's a really lovely way to put that. You mentioned your partner in that last answer. And obviously this is a family operation and here you were once featured in the [official Grammy's gift bag](https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a15886072/grammys-gift-bag-lounge-2018/). Can you tell me a bit about what that was like for you and how it felt to be a part of the Grammy's?

__Eliza:__ You know, it's funny; the road of entrepreneurship was filled with so, so much excitement. I almost forgot that that even happened. It was an incredible opportunity that was presented to us and every presenter and every nominee of the Grammy's did receive a miniature Lucky Box that actually featured at that time high CBD products. And I believe it was the first time ever that they were accepting such products to be in those types of gift bags that went to all of the celebrities. So it was a really phenomenal opportunity that of course we could not pass it up 

__John:__ Yeah. That's pretty wild. And also I'm sure it gets lost in the shuffle because verything's so hectic when you're in startup mode. So next I want to shift topics to the work you've done with Meadow. Can you talk a bit about the technical and infrastructure side of your company and how you use Meadow to manage your [cannabis delivery](https://getmeadow.com/blog/tags/cannabis-delivery "cannabis delivery") operations?

__Eliza:__ Absolutely. Yeah. You know Meadow has been instrumental in helping us to stay organized and to keep track of our inventory. And as a point of sale system for us on the back end, it really has been quite seamless. It leaves very little for us to want more of, and what we do need or want certain features, they are very receptive to them. So, if you really feel like the Meadow team has kind of become family and they're part of the LBC team and they definitely take on all of their tasks with that type of energy as well. So we're super grateful to them. Yeah, we, we love Meadow. We love being one of the early adopters and supporters and they in turn, have also really supported us. And what an incredible symbiotic relationship we have. 

__John:__ That's an excellent thing to have, and a great asset in your business, I'm sure. And tell me now about the Meadowlands cannabis retreat from this year where both you and your partner were named "Mr. And Mrs. Wellness Village"? Tell me about the wellness village that you helped create and this immersive experience, what was that? 

<figure>
![Meadowlands wellness village by Lucky Box Club and Collective High](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/6VFewusbHnS6Yhr7v9RuU1/3ecfb75d875e484b0bc77ac549c86327/20211002-Colwell-Meadowlands-Day3-Z6C3960.jpg)
  <figcaption>The 2021 [Meadowlands](https://getmeadow.com/meadowlands "Meadowlands") wellness village was curated and designed by the teams at [Lucky Box Club](https://luckyboxclub.com/ "Lucky Box Club") and [Collective High](https://collective-high.com/ "Collective High").</figcaption>
</figure>

__Eliza:__ Luke and myself (that's my partner), we love creating and curating experiences; to us, that's what the box really is. And so anytime we have an opportunity to curate experiences in a live in person setting, we love to hop on the opportunity. We were so honored that the Meadow team thought of us and reached out. Aria, who is their organizer for Meadowlands, she is a colleague and a good friend, and she knows that I myself have produced other retreats. And so it's such a treat that she sees our vision and invited us to kind of produce the wellness village last year. And what that meant was that we really created a decorated and  curated experience and a space that allowed for people to come to take a break from all of the networking and to drop into their bodies and to have a safe space to smoke, and just to zone out a little bit and enjoy guided meditations every evening and pop-up sound baths, and a few other offerings that we created for people. So it was such a highlight for us and we can't wait to continue creating such experiences for Meadowlands and beyond.

![Meadowlands cannabis retreat sponsors Tough Mama, The Cannabis Yogi, Distru](//images.ctfassets.net/6kwu1u6s8j23/6dFTPHHTlXQRmniTDzalsF/471e0da35c754b3efe1815e3d5434981/20211002-Colwell-Meadowlands-Day3-Z6C3949.jpg)

__John:__  Can you tell me a little more about what drew you to creating a retreat space like this and to do it with cannabis? What's the philosophy behind what feels good about that for you? 

__Eliza:__ You know, a lot of retreats, especially ones that are within the cannabis industry, they mean that we're always on, if you know what I mean. It's like, we're always trying to put our best foot forward and we're always networking and we're always trying to talk up our companies and our positions and make sure that we make the most of every minute of every single day. And while that is an important philosophy to have, it's just as important to make sure that you make time and create space for yourself to release and relax, and kind of just let that adrenaline rush kind of just come down to a slow, smooth pace. And so for us, our vision behind the wellness village was really to curate a space where people felt safe and supported and comfortable just in their own skin.

It was really beautiful to see how many people were kind of looking for this type of a space, because while Meadowlands is a cannabis retreat, it's very high energy, there's like a lot of like dance parties and high-frequency things happening at every hour, all the way through the night time hours. Whereas the wellness village was like a very zen space for people to relax and retreat to before having to go back to their tents and go to sleep.

__John:__ What an amazing thing to create and to be a part of this gathering in that way. Sounds totally in sync with the other parts of your business too. So thank you so much for sharing all of this. And let's close today with some final thoughts that you'd like to share with those listening, other people in the cannabis industry, I'm sure. What would you like to tell them about your place in the industry and your company?

__Eliza:__ You know, I think just for people to understand that we really are a community, and to not lose sight of the fact that the cannabis industry started off as a movement.

And it's important to understand the people that were here before us and the people who are coming after us. Just to recognize that we really have to stay a community and to support each other and to make sure that we make access to this amazing medicine accessible to everyone.

Learn more about Eliza Maroney's journey into cannabis, entrepreneurship and wellness

 Lucky Box Club Co-Founder Eliza Maroney on Cannabis, Yoga & Her Weed Subscription Box

Sweetleaf Joe of the Sweetleaf Collective discussing compassionate cannabis at Meadowlands

Sweetleaf Joe of the Sweetleaf Collective

In this Q&A, we interview Sweetleaf Joe, the founder and collective of [Sweetleaf Collective](https://www.sweetleafcollective.org "Sweetleaf Collective"),  a donation-based charity organization providing free medical cannabis to HIV/AIDS and cancer patients in California.

Meadow commissioned [this interview](https://www.heyartifact.com/creations/94KYd/) to hear Joe's story and the importance of compassionate cannabis in celebration of the day that [SB-34](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB34 "SB-34"), also known as the Dennis Peron and Brownie Mary Act, was enacted in the state of California. This momentous occasion was the first time that a government acknowledged non-commercial cannabis and allowed the nonprofit sector to gift compassionate cannabis for no cost, without a tax liability.  

Listen to the 10 minute interview or continue to read the transcript, below.

<callout>[Listen to the Interview with Sweetleaf Joe](https://www.heyartifact.com/creations/94KYd/ "Listen to the Interview with Sweetleaf Joe")
</callout>

__Sweetleaf Joe:__
My name is Sweetleaf Joe. I am the founder and director of the Sweetleaf Collective, a compassionate cannabis program that helps low-income veterans, terminally ill patients and people of color access free medical cannabis. 

__Meadow:__ 
That's a pretty incredible thing to be able to offer people. Can you tell me about how you got started in this industry, and the short story of how you got to where you are today?

__Sweetleaf Joe:__
Well, the short story is, you know, I was a cannabis user in high school and it was helping me for some of my medical conditions. So when I became an adult, I was a young activist, and in 1996, proposition 215 passed and I decided to be an activist in cannabis and helped create the nonprofit sector of cannabis. And what I was looking for that time was how could I be the most impactful. And I identified that low-income, terminally ill patients were the ones who needed cannabis and needed access to medical cannabis the most, because if they didn't have access to it due to financial constraints, they could pass on.

__Meadow:__ 
Yeah, that's a pretty time-sensitive thing and a crucial thing to be able to offer these people who really need it. And over these years of running this collective, what are some of the changes you've seen both in the industry and what you yourself have been able to offer your customers?

__Sweetleaf Joe:__
It's been really great with the progression of cannabis and the normalization of cannabis. Also the lowering of prices. You know, when we started, we just had five patients and we were offering them about a half ounce of leaf every month. And as we saw the prices of cannabis come down, we saw cultivators donating a much higher quality of cannabis and a much larger amount of cannabis. And now we have a hundred patients in Sweetleaf and they are receiving two ounces of flower every month.

__Meadow:__ 
That's quite the growth. And thinking holistically about this journey you've been on, what would you say are the values that have guided your company over the years?

<callout>"My personal main goal is to ease human suffering." 

- Sweetleaf Joe, Founder and Director of the Sweetleaf Collective
</callout>

__Sweetleaf Joe:__
Well, my personal main goal is to ease human suffering. And I work on a bunch of different projects, not just in cannabis, but in other nonprofit fields as well. But in regards to cannabis, it's all about creating and expanding more access to free medical cannabis, to those who need it most.

__Meadow:__ 
And I'm sure you need a lot of tools to help you do that and run your business. How has working with Meadow enabled you to do more and achieve more of these values that you just mentioned? 

__Sweetleaf Joe:__
The great thing with working with Meadow is it's brought us into the 21st century. For over 20 years, the way that we handled patient paperwork was it was all in a binder at the office, so that limited our access to the information. Now with Meadow, the patient paperwork is all online. It's available to the different people working at Sweetleaf, as well as the cannabis delivery service that we work with that actually does the deliveries to our patients. And so now the delivery service [Padre Mu](https://padremu.com/? "Padre Mu"), they're able to just access the patient paperwork from their office and do independent verification as opposed to what we were doing previously, which is, you know, we would have to photocopy all of the patient paperwork and actually bring it down to a dispensary so that they would have all that paperwork. So what I find with Meadow is that it is an incredible time-saver for us. And what happens is when we are able to save time in the administrative work that we do, we're able to create more access for patients. We're able to focus more on our patients and focus on getting them the medicine that they need.

__Meadow:__ 
Yeah. That's pretty incredible to really be able to direct your resources where they need to go to the most. And now looking ahead to the future a bit, especially now that you're able to handle some of these more administrative things a bit more easily, what are you excited about in the coming years for your company?

__Sweetleaf Joe:__
I'm just so excited to expand compassion. We're hoping to potentially expand to other states this year.

We are also working with a number of international partners. And so people in Colombia and people in Argentina to help them with their whole compassionate cannabis movement and the cannabis nonprofit sector in their countries. Last year, we were able to help patients access $3 million worth of free medical cannabis, which is really incredible because at the beginning of the year, we set a goal of just $1 million dollars, so we tripled our goal.

And so for 2022, we are hoping to do $10 million worth of free medical cannabis. And so with that, we also need to triple our funds. And one of the things we're doing with that is we raise money by selling branded lighters and rolling papers at cannabis retailers. And for every lighter or package of rolling papers that's sold (they're just $3 each), and for each one that sells, a patient is able to access 3.5 grams of free medical cannabis.

__Meadow:__ 
So now thinking about other people in the industry, what advice would you have for them following this sentiment about giving back in that way? 

__Sweetleaf Joe:__
Well, I would say include compassion into your business plan. Plan on giving, doing give backs like Meadow. Meadow lets us use their platform free of charge and they're helping support the nonprofit sector of cannabis.

One of the big things that has been a hurdle for us is creating more visibility for the nonprofit sector of cannabis. Most people do not realize that cannabis has a nonprofit sector and they don't realize that it's incredibly vibrant and that it's saving people's lives. 

<callout>"Most people do not realize that cannabis has a nonprofit sector and they don't realize that it's incredibly vibrant and that it's saving people's lives." 

- Sweetleaf Joe, Founder and Director of the Sweetleaf Collective
</callout>

And that's one of my other taglines on my email is when I'm pulling in new donors: "Together, we can save lives." 

And for people that I have been working with, I just switched that tagline up and it's, "Together, we ARE saving lives."

And that's what happens when brands are supporting compassion is that we're all saving lives together. I mean, Sweetleaf, now with the expansion with legalization, we're seeing a consolidation of the compassion supply chain, and so now we have a patient network of over a thousand patients. 

We definitely always need help with funding. The cannabis nonprofit sector is super underfunded. And we would really love to incorporate more brands into helping. And so, incorporating compassion, having give backs, these are all super important things that help a brand.

I have a lot of hope for the future. I think 2022 is going to be an incredible year for compassion. And we are going to see a big expansion of access to patients, and that's veterans, low-income terminally ill patients, people of color; there's so many different demographics that are helped with compassionate cannabis.

We're not allowed to deliver to our patients anymore. We used to do bike delivery to our patients. And you know, I can't tell you how many times I showed up at a patient's house to do a delivery. And the patient was in tears. And through their tears, they communicated to me that if they had not had access to this free medical cannabis from Sweetleaf, that they would have already died.

And that's the real story here: lives are on the line and we are all able to help save these lives together.

__If you are interested in supporting the Sweetleaf Collective through donations, give-backs, or selling their branded lighters and rolling papers at your retail business, please send an email to Sweetleafjoe@gmail.com or [DONATE VIA PAYPAL](https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=3K6GP8E5PJLEE&source=url).__

Together we can save lives! 


Founder of the Sweetleaf Collective talks about SB-34 the Brownie Mary and Dennis Peron act and how the cannabis industry can support compassionate cannabis

Sweetleaf Joe discussing Compassionate Cannabis 

Read more about the progress of this charity organization and how you can support them in providing free medical cannabis to patients in need

Celebrating Sweetleaf Collective: Saving Lives, Together

Ice cream truck style cannabis delivery software for dispensaries

Trunk by Trunk cannabis delivery software

Meadow's new cannabis delivery system is here!

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Standard hub-and-spoke delivery requires trips back and forth between the inventory hub to pick up orders. Tried and true, but without a lot of flexibility or ability to scale. Dynamic Delivery (also called ice cream truck or trunk by trunk delivery) makes each vehicle its own inventory hub, with a designated service area and customized menu offerings. Now you can eliminate the back and forth trips for blazing-fast delivery, assign vehicles to customized zones, drawn to your exact specifications, and auto dispatch, so orders are automatically assigned to vehicles without human intervention.

As [TechCrunch reported](https://techcrunch.com/2021/11/16/meadow-launches-dynamic-delivery-to-bring-mobile-cannabis-dispensaries-to-california/), *Meadow’s new Dynamic Delivery helped Cannable cut delivery times from hours to 20 minutes. How? The delivery vehicle is stocked with pot available for purchase, and customers can order, through an app, directly from the car in their neighborhood. Think of it like an ice cream truck with a modern online ordering system. But, instead of serving gelato treats and Creamsicles, these mobile dispensaries are slinging eighths of Gelato and Creamsicle*.

Discover how this smart new [cannabis delivery software](https://getmeadow.com/blog/tags/cannabis-delivery "cannabis delivery software") can broaden your reach, scale your operations, and sell more cannabis to more customers.

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Read More: 
[5 Ways to Boost Revenue with New Ice Cream Truck Dynamic Cannabis Delivery](https://getmeadow.com/blog/5-ways-to-boost-revenue-with-new-ice-cream-truck-dynamic-cannabis-delivery "5 Ways to Boost Revenue with New Ice Cream Truck Dynamic Cannabis Delivery")

Discover how to save time and keep more cash in your pocket with fast and efficient cannabis delivery.

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Meadow's cannabis delivery software allows dispensaries to create delivery zones

Cannabis Delivery Software for zone creations

Discover how this smart new cannabis delivery software system can boost delivery times and expand revenue

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