Montcalm Cannabis Biz Giving Back

WOOD-TV Grand Rapids has a feature on a heartwarming gesture from David Overholt’s Mid-Michigan Compassion Club:

In a small town in Montcalm County, a group of cannabis advocates and business owners decided a good way to help out during the crisis was with a free bag of weed.

The cars lined up Friday along Sheridan’s main street in front of businesses that are usually closed even in the best of times. Any Montcalm County resident who could prove they served in the military or were on Social Security disability got a quarter-ounce of marijuana flower, some edibles and a bit of hemp product that would likely retail at more than $150.

“Everybody’s wearing safety precautions, masks, gloves. We’re trying to stay our distance. We have nobody in the building. It’s all preregistered in the car, similar to take-out food,” said David Overholt, an iconic figure in Michigan’s marijuana advocacy movement who organized the event in front of his store, Mid-Michigan Compassion Club.

People were grateful, including Melissa Houston, who is on Social Security disability after she was hit by a drunken driver when she was a teen.

“Trust you me, this is going to help with my depression and anxiety, too, because it always has helped me,” Houston said after receiving her bad of free goodies.

Overholt may be seen as a gadfly by officials in Montcalm County, but the people lined up were fans — perhaps not surprisingly since he was giving them a free quarter bag.

“It’s a big deal for those who became ‘unemployed temporarily due to the virus,” said Debbie Wright, a Navy veteran with disabilities using medical marijuana to help move away from prescription medicines.

…Overholt said the giveaway will be a weekly event in Sheridan. He hopes other parts of the state will join in.