On medical marijuana and recycling

High, Ngaio. I am a regular medical-cannabis user, and I visit collectives all over the state. My question is this: What should I do with all the baggies and bottles and cannabis packaging materials I have accumulated over the years? They are taking up more and more space in my house.

—John Q. Manybags

Good question. Lord knows I have a serious collection of bottles and doob tubes and little Mylar bags and whatnot all over my house. I usually try to regift the doob tubes and bottles. The baggies are something else altogether. A few years ago, the folks at OrganiCann in Santa Rosa introduced a compostable baggie. I think that’s a great concept, but I don’t think too many people have picked up on that idea. Up in South Lake Tahoe, the folks at Tahoe Wellness Cooperative use glass jars, and it has a program where patients get a $1 discount for every jar they return.

“We had to do something,” said collective spokesman Cody Bass. “The little bags were showing up everywhere: ski lifts, you name it. So we got a commercial-grade dishwasher and started the program. It’s going pretty good.”

My homey Rick Pfrommer over at Riverside Wellness Collective in Guerneville says they looked into a glass-jar program, but the costs would be prohibitive. “We are such high volume, we would have to hire someone full time just to wash the jars. Removing the labels is the hardest part. We are looking at going with compostable bags. It should be more of a burning issue for us. It will probably take us six months to a year to find a suitable alternative.”

For now, I have no suggestions as to what to do with your plastic baggies. The Mylar ones are nonrecyclable. Sigh. Readers, do you have any suggestions about how to repurpose those tiny baggies? I will publish the best ideas.

Are you aware of any worthwhile marijuana-advocacy groups in the Sacramento area that take volunteers? I have been trying my best to find a place where I could donate my time to help spread the cause. I want to put my newfound passion toward useful efforts, instead of simply sharing them on Facebook to a limited and aloof audience.

—R. Dubs

Way to go! We need more actual “boots on the ground” activism and not just the “Well, I posted a petition on Facebook, so I have done my part” activism.

I asked Ron Mullins, Sacramento cannabis-activist extraordinaire, your question. He told me that SacNORML and Crusaders for Patients Rights are the most active right now. Heads up: The Crusaders are a faith-based cannabis-advocacy group (www.crusadersforpatientsrights.org). SacNORML meets the second Tuesday of every month downtown at Perko’s Farm Fresh at 925 Third Street. So you could be an activist and have a smoke and a pancake. Also, Americans for Safe Access has a lobby day where you can go lobby your state rep for better marijuana laws. The next one is on August 8. Thank you for getting involved.