Industry stakeholders discussed statewide regulations during a panel discussion hosted by the Silicon Valley Cannabis Alliance.

Dave Hodges operates A2C2 medical marijuana collective in San Jose. He wrote this column for San Jose Inside.—Editor

Harborside collectives in San Jose and Oakland were recently ordered to shut down by U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag. Many have called Harborside a model for other medical marijuana collectives. To help everyone better understand what the complex California law states, I want to provide some direct quotes and key information.

The American Red Cross and Harborside Health Center of San Jose are teaming up for the first ever pot club blood drive. Next Tuesday, June 15, Harborside will host a blood donation event at its 2106 Ringwood Ave. location from noon to 6pm.

Naveen Aggarwal, the community outreach coordinator for Harborside San Jose, says that this event marks the first time ever that the Red Cross has partnered with a medical cannabis collective.

“This is completely the first time,” Aggarwal says. “I’ve heard of it attempted in L.A. a while ago. But that didn’t have much success as far as having a lot of donors, and this is definitely the first thing of its kind with the involvement of Red Cross.”