 | This article may contain excessive or inappropriate references to self-published sources .(April 2012) |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | Costa Mesa, California (2010) |
| Founder |
|
| Headquarters | Costa Mesa, CA , United States |
| Website | othersidefarms |
Otherside Farms is a medical cannabis information center [1] with a separate division [2] serving as a private medical cannabis collective. [3]
Otherside Farms Cannabis Information Center was opened around 2010 by a Newport Beach couple, Alysha and Chadd McKeen, hoping their new "medical marijuana information center" would help dissolve stigmas associated with cannabis. [1]
I want to tell people to stop being afraid of it," Chadd McKeen, co-founder of Otherside Farms, told the Daily Pilot. We want to bring it out into the open. [1]
The McKeens had a personal incentive to teach people about the benefits of cannabis, as Alysha had gone through cancer with the help of the plant. [4] City officials approved the location to be legal as long as cannabis was not distributed there. [1]
In late August 2011, Otherside Farms opened a private collective, maintaining it as a separate entity from Otherside Farms. [2] On January 17, 2012, the private collective was raided by federal officials. [5] Controversy ensued over the raid, as city officials had secretly authorized a letter seeking federal law enforcement assistance in shutting down the collective, which an expert claimed was illegal. [6] The basis for the raid was an accusation by a city inspector claiming that Chadd McKeen hoped to profit from his business. [7] McKeen denied the accusation, stating that his words were misconstrued, and that Otherside Farms had been trying to communicate a plan to help resolve the Cosa Mesa budget deficit [8] that had been present since 2010, only for meeting requests to be turned down by city officials. [4]
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