In 2013, Ron Gershoni bought a friend who was suffering from brain cancer a large jar of cannabis oil to help offset the nausea caused by chemotherapy. The treatment worked wonders for his friend, who told the Cannifornian that the “relief from the nausea was instantaneous” after taking a dab or two of the oil.
The experience inspired Gershoni and Matthew Lee and Nate Ferguson, his partners at Oakland-based Jetty Extracts to establish the Shelter Project which gives free cannabis oils to cancer patients.
“At first we were just giving free product to Alex,” Gershoni told the Cannifornian. “Then Matt went on a surfing trip and had a Zen moment coming out of the water. He said we should start an actual nonprofit where we’re registering people and put it on our website. It took off from there.”
To qualify for the program, you must have a cancer diagnosis and a medical marijuana card from California. “What I do is email them and let them know which one works best for me,” Oakland’s Kathy Chambliss said. “It relaxes me and helps me rest better. Everything doesn’t have to be a pharmaceutical.”
Shelter Project manager Lindsey Friedman described the company’s interaction with participants of the program. “We provide them with the resources to get educated on what types of cannabis there are and the different ways to consume it,” she said. “After they decide what’s right for them, then we make a plan for medicine.”
Read more about the program at the Cannifornian.
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