about

Compassion Medicinal Edibles, formerly known as Tainted, was violently raided on September 26th, 2007 by DEA agents shutting down a viable access point of safe access to patients. In the process of the raids a dog was shot twice, our facilities and homes were violently torn apart, and slanderous lies regarding our actions were released in a falsified and baseless DEA press release that ended up being carried by news organizations worldwide. Our mission and values were blatantly twisted and we were left defenseless from the rhetoric that the Drug Enforcement Administration used to sensationalize its efforts and continue the fear mongering efforts of the failed war on medical cannabis. We currently face up to twenty years in prison and a million dollars in fines for providing safe and professional cannabis based food products to the sick and dying patients of California. Our mission was always to provide the best tasting and highest quality medicinal edibles that would relieve and inspire every patient the products would reach. Our vision remained clear. We developed the company to fill a need that was created as more dispensaries began to operate openly. This vision was to create non-smoked forms of cannabis that were professionally made by a group of dedicated food preparation specialist, medical cannabis experts, and business professionals. We understood the need of patients that were unable to consume cannabis through traditional smoked forms and developed products that could meet a variety of patient dietary needs and palatable preferences. Our products were constantly improving to keep up with the evolution of the medical cannabis industry. The company always strived to lead the efforts towards legitimizing the goals of the movement through research and development of products that were safely prepared and consistent in dosage and effect for patient reliability. There were many growing points along the way that we believed did not just shape our efforts, but the entire community’s efforts towards proper labeling, packaging, and developing medical cannabis products with patient safety in mind. Our mission was cut short by the violent attacks on our company and personal live shortly after changing our name from “Tainted Medicinal Edibles” to “Compassion Medicinal Edibles,” in an effort to reach a wider base of patients and create products that clearly embraced the spirit of the medical cannabis movement. Our products were packaged in very clinical white and silver Mylar pouches with clear medical labeling, including warnings, drug facts panels, full ingredient lists, expiration dates, and lot numbers. The final development was creating coded lot numbers that enabled us to trace the origin of a product all the way back through its history of development from a clone. Our growing facilities were developed to be laboratory conditions with collective staffers required to wear safety suits and sanitary protective gear to even enter the facility. We believed in the scientific aspect of developing more consistent and reliable medicinal products for patients to enjoy safely and with confidence. The story of “Tainted Compassion” is too long to tell for this short article. In brief we began with a simple truffle that was dubbed “The Tainted Truffle.” The expansion of products came through using parody artwork from well-known products, which we believed created a sense of awareness for patients through familiarity. We moved away from the parody artwork in 2004 and developed our products under the name of “Tainted Medicinal Edibles,” with a sterile medical looking label that provided clear information of the product enclosed. “Tainted” became a brand name and we understood it to stand for the “tainted” outlook society had on cannabis as a medicine, as well as provide a clear warning to the medical nature of the products. We moved away from the word ‘tainted,” as we understood the negative connotation associated with that imagery. “Compassion Medicinal Edibles” was developed to ensure understanding to patients everywhere, and reach a larger portion of society, as medical cannabis became a more publicized effort. We are currently in need of patient support and testimonies, as our battle with justice carries on. We will inevitably be facing sentencing for our efforts, and ask that patients write a testimonial to the benefits of our products, edible forms of cannabis, or medical cannabis in general. Our goal is to gather 200-300 solid testimonies, as well as letter from influential supporters in an effort to make clear our intentions and hope for leniency in our sentences. Please take a minute to write a letter either online at www.freetainted.com/testmonials or mail them to 4096 Piedmont Ave. #134, Oakland, CA 04611. We thank the community for all of its support in our quest to bring awareness and education through activism and open dialogues about medical cannabis. Help us to set a precedence that can begin to create more safety for patients and providers in medical cannabis states