After trampling on a young Black entrepreneur’s water bottle business, Permit Patty is the one out of a job. She has stepped down as CEO of TreatWell Tinctures, which doesn’t seem to fault its former head.
TreatWell Tinctures is a cannabis company founded in 2015 that serves people as well as animals. Patty, whose real name is Alison Ettel, is no longer at the helm after backlash from her racist treatment of an 8-year-old Black girl selling water bottles.
“It is Ms. Ettel’s belief that TreatWell, its employees and patients should not have to suffer because of a situation that occurred in an escalated moment,” said Cynthia Gonzalez, TreatWell spokeswoman, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
At least six marijuana dispensaries had said they were giving TreatWell the boot because they could not support bigotry.
Magnolia Oakland is one of them. The company said in a statement on its Instagram page that Ettel’s products were among its best sellers but that it would have to find a replacement because integrity is always before profits.”
As of today, Magnolia will no longer be carrying Treatwell Tinctures. After seeing this video of their CEO, calling the police on an 8-year-old entrepreneur selling water on a hot day, we decided without hesitation that we could no longer patronize her company. To our amazing patients who use the Treatwell products, please know we are working to ensure we can bring on some new amazing and ethical brands. Treatwell was one of our best-selling products but to us, integrity is always before profits. For our remaining inventory, we are doing blow-out deals and donating all proceeds to a local non-profit. We would love to donate to an organization that provides opportunities to young women of color interested in becoming entrepreneurs. If you have any suggestions on non-profits for us to donate to or licensed and compliant tincture companies, please tag them below. #cannabiscommunity #integrityovereverything #magnoliaoakland
A post shared by Magnolia Oakland (@magoaksocial) on Jun 23, 2018 at 2:39pm PDT
Compassion is supposed to be at the forefront of this industry, and to see the way this has played out with a complete disregard for a child’s wellbeing I think it was a disappointment,” Katie Rabinowitz, general manager of Magnolia Oakland, told the San Francisco Chronicle. She said that any profits from remaining TreatWell items will go to Jordan Rodgers, the little girl Ettel berated, and technology nonprofit Black Girls Code.
Green Trees Wellness dispensary specifically pointed to Ettel’s bigoted behavior” as to why they would no longer do business with her. The company has not carried Ettel’s merchandise in some time but emphasized that it would not do so in the future.
The Apothecarium, the Bloom Room and Green Trees Wellness, all marijuana dispensaries in California, voiced displeasure with Ettel and distanced themselves from her company. The cannabis delivery service Herb and reviews website Ganjly also took issue with the video,” The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
The Apothecarium wrote on its Facebook page that it would choose a nonprofit to give any remaining TreatWell profits to.
Berkeley Patients Group and SPARC SF also cut ties with TreatWell.
Profits from our remaining inventory will be donated to Cinnamongirl Inc, an Oakland-based mentoring organization for ambitious girls of color,” Berkeley Patients Group said on Facebook.
SPARC wrote a brief message on Facebook but included the hashtag #permitpatty” in its post.
