About Us

Located in the heart of San Francisco’s Mission District, Purple Star MD is a medical cannabis dispensary collective (MCD) serving patients Under the banner “Healing is our Mission,” and directly benefiting four distinguished San Francisco nonprofit organizations who each have representatives on Purple Star MD’s board of directors.

Purple Star MD serves patients with current medical cannabis cards. The cooperative operates in partnership with the executive leadership of four nonprofit organizations with deep roots in the community – AGUILAS, the Shanti Project, the San Francisco LGBT Community Center, and Breast Cancer Emergency Fund – each of whom share in the proceeds of Purple Star MD.

“Purple Star MD is an important partnership for our diverse communities who are in need of a healing center that helps them manage the complications of their illnesses,” said Eduardo Morales, Ph.D., executive director of AGUILAS. “Purple Star MD will provide revenue sharing to our agency based on its proceeds. In these hard times for agencies as well as people managing their illnesses, we hope Purple Star MD will shine and present options that help our communities. They stand behind their statement that ‘Healing is our Mission’ and we share in that vision for our communities.”

“We are delighted to partner with Purple Star MD,” said Mike Smith, executive director of Breast Cancer Emergency Fund. “We are grateful to Purple Star MD patients whose contribution will help a local woman and her family during their battle with breast cancer.”

Beneficiaries

AGUILAS

Founded in 1991 by a group of Gay Latinos organized to address the various needs of the community, Aguilas is dedicated to creating a supportive, culturally sensitive environment for gay/bisexual Latinos. Aguilas strives to foster knowledge and pride of the diversity of our language, culture, history and spirituality and develops programs that promote health, well being and community building that foster positive self-identities, healthy relationships and leadership skills.

Breast Cancer Emergency Fund

Since 2001, Breast Cancer Emergency Fund (BCEF) has been the only Bay Area organization dedicated to providing emergency financial assistance to low-income women and men battling breast cancer. To date, BCEF has delivered over $1.5 million in quick, compassionate care to help reduce financial hardship, improve quality of life and enable people focus on their health and their families.

San Francisco LGBT Community Center

The mission of the San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) Community Center is to connect our diverse community to opportunities, resources and each other to achieve our vision of a stronger, healthier, and more equitable world for LGBT people and our allies. The Center offers free services like career counseling, job fairs, computer lab, social activities, mentorships, youth meals, daycare, various workshops and much more.

Rebecca Rolfe, executive director of the LGBT Community Center, said “Purple Star MD is an important resource for many in the LGBT community, and we are excited to be a part of an innovative model that provides culturally competent medical resources for our community, and provides funds to support health and wellness services at the SF LGBT Center as well as for our partner organizations.”

The Shanti Project

Founded in 1974 by Dr. Charles Garfield, Shanti has been at the forefront of a growing national movement to enhance the quality of life for persons living with life-threatening or chronic illnesses by providing volunteer-based emotional and practical support. Key to the success of Shanti’s mission is the Shanti Model of Peer Support, which is both a philosophy and a set of techniques that are used throughout Shanti’s work.

Kaushik Roy, executive director of the Shanti Project, said, “We are grateful for Purple Star MD and the help they will be providing many San Franciscans. As one of the City’s first care-giving agencies for people with HIV/AIDS and cancer, Shanti serves many clients who will benefit from Purple Star MD.”