Nestdrop launches GoFundMe campaign to help fund legal costs

LOS ANGELES, March 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Nestdrop, the technology company behind the country's first in-App, on-demand medical marijuana service, has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help raise $70,000 in funds for its legal fight with the City of Los Angeles. After sending an unanswered letter offering to work with City Attorney Mike Feuer on providing safe access to medical marijuana, the company had no choice but to appeal a preliminary injunction that was restricting it from providing communication between a patient and dispensary. Nestdrop is asking medical marijuana patients, dispensaries, delivery services, citizens of Los Angeles, and fellow technology companies from across the country to join the cause and donate. Donations can be made at http://www.gofundme.com/freenestdrop and any funds raised over Nestdrop's final legal bill will be donated to local L.A. causes that taxpayer dollars should have supported instead of this lawsuit.

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"We are saddened that our vision of providing patients safe and reliable access to medical marijuana has resulted in thousands of tax payer dollars wasted by the City Attorney, but we must take a stand for what is right by law," said Nestdrop Co-Founder Michael Pycher.

Nestdrop believes Prop D compliant dispensaries are granted limited immunity under the proposition and therefore have for years been allowed to continue serving Los Angeles patients with their delivery services. When Los Angles voters were asked to approve the City Council's proposition, they were explicitly told that it exempted "licensed health care facilities and locations/vehicles during the time they are used to deliver medical marijuana to a qualified patient." As written, Prop D unequivocally grants limited immunity to compliant medical marijuana businesses which includes "any vehicle or other mode of transportation, stationary or mobile, which is used to transport, distribute, deliver, or give away marijuana to a qualified patient, a person with an identification card, or a primary caregiver."

On December 23, the Los Angeles Superior Court granted the City a preliminary injunction against Nestdrop, prohibiting it from connecting medical marijuana patients to dispensaries for purposes of delivering medical marijuana. Nestdrop fervently believes the City Attorney and Superior Court based the injunction on an improper understanding of the language and intent of Los Angeles's Proposition D, approved by voters in 2013. Nestdrop has taken the position that Proposition D and Los Angeles voters fully anticipated legal delivery services from compliant dispensaries. The City Attorney has singled out Nestdrop, a technology company that intended to bring more transparency to the industry, for prosecution despite the fact that there are dozens of dispensaries and third party services that continue to deliver medical marijuana to this day. Acting in good faith, Nestdrop recently sent a letter to the City Attorney's office offering to work with them on creating more efficient regulation for the industry and to facilitate sorely needed tax revenues for the city. The letter went unanswered and a full copy is available below.

Nestdrop plans to fight for the rights of law abiding medical marijuana patients, but a lengthy legal battle can place a heavy financial burden on a small start up and it is thus asking for assistance. Medical marijuana patients, dispensaries, delivery services, advocacy groups, citizens, and those that support the industry are being called on to help not just for their own interests but for the industry as a whole. A loss for Nestdrop will create a domino effect that can have harmful ramifications for others and will only serve to stifle legal business in Los Angeles while at the same time restrict safe and reliable access to medical marijuana.

Pycher adds, "This case has the potential to be a massive step backward or a momentous leap forward and we are confident that if this goes the wrong way, it will have material adverse effects on everyone trying to make this a viable industry. We will fight this on behalf of the medical marijuana patient community but need the support of businesses, medical marijuana patients, and supporters of personal freedoms!"

If Nestdrop is allowed to help facilitate delivery by Prop D compliant dispensaries to Los Angeles patients, it will greatly reduce the foot traffic at storefront dispensaries across the city. With a delivery model, dispensaries are able to reach more patients who may be unable to travel; then furthermore, helps diminish the crime associated with the proliferation of storefront locations. An online storefront through Nestdrop also allows for monitored deliveries, keeps medicated patients off the roads and provides a digital stamp of each transaction.

Donations can be made at http://www.gofundme.com/freenestdrop. We also encourage supporters to call City Attorney Mike Feuer directly at (213) 978-8100 to ask why he's wasting taxpayer dollars and stopping safe access to law-abiding patients.

ABOUT NESTDROP

Launched in June 2014, Nestdrop is "For the People" and offers a safer, more efficient way to order alcohol and medical marijuana in about an hour. Nestdrop is the country's first in-App, on-demand medical marijuana technology service. Nestdrop plans to expand its footprint throughout California and beyond. Nestdrop encourages adults to please drink responsibly and medicate within doctor recommendations. For more information, please visit http://www.Nestdrop.com, like us on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/nestdrop or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NestDrop.

An Open Letter To Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer:

We hope this message finds you well.

On behalf of the Nestdrop Company we are writing to you with the hopes and strong intentions of mending what we believe to still be a repairable relationship between our company and the City of Los Angeles.

It is Nestdrop's position, that the current case against the company is unsubstantiated given the lack of explicit laws your office has been able to point to justifying the ban of Medical Marijuana delivery to registered patients or the technology surrounding it. Nor is the onus on Nestdrop to discern the city's ever evolving stances surrounding Proposition D and how it pertains to collectives. There are literally hundreds of legal collectives recognized by the state of California within Los Angeles making deliveries on a daily basis, but your office has chosen to pursue the popular technology company that could help regulate and organize the city's medicinal climate. It's worth noting that Nestdrop has never handled any medical marijuana. Not to mention that a simple cease and desist letter would have yielded the same effect but for a fraction of the cost to taxpayers.

In contrast to what the city may believe, our company is not an anti-authoritative venture trying to defy the law and make society a less civilized place than where we left it. We're hardworking individuals who seek to find a solution for both the citizens and the authorities, hence our determination to be afforded the opportunity to speak with you and/or your office before our company entertains other alternatives. We have a deep rooted respect for you and hope that you will reflect on our imploration for us to work together to help not only bring legitimacy and regulation to an industry in dire need of it but also to use this as an opportunity to prove that Los Angeles embraces innovation and has made strides towards progression rather than regression. Bring IN revenues rather than waste them. Let's work together to pioneer more tax revenues for the city, create more efficient regulation, and enact more transparent oversight to an increasingly progressive industry instead of using millions of taxpayer funds and precious city resources to fight a nonexistent interpretation of a law due to a difference of opinion between your office and the opposition. 

As we've begun our expansion outside of Los Angeles and into other cities we've discovered smart and innovative ways to work with city officials to not only enforce their own marijuana initiatives but also Attorney General Cole's Marijuana Memo. We at Nestdrop want the same things you do: monitored deliveries, keeping otherwise drugged or handicapped patients off the roads, providing a digital stamp of each transaction, and lessening the prevalence for physical shops around schools and other prohibited areas. These are all substantial public benefits that we hope your office will take into consideration as we continue our aspirations to fix the unstructured marijuana landscape within the city. Hopefully we can all agree that the city is in desperate need of a preventative measure of this sort. We present to you an opportunity, not a problem.

In summation, as you could have probably guessed, we plan on appealing the injunction you've filed. We dedicated LA taxpayers would hate to see our money thrown away on another costly lawsuit against a company who has yet to actually handle any cannabis. We are convinced we're not the only ones who feel this way. We truly hope you will take into consideration our recommendation to help build a stronger and more transparent structure within the retail marijuana industry by working together. All we ask is that you, or an associate, spend a few minutes of your time to hear our thoughts. These few minutes could save the taxpayers thousands of dollars while providing a much-needed benefit to this burgeoning medical industry.

Respectfully,

Founders  Michael Pycher & Roddy Radnia
Nestdrop, llc

Media Contact:
Matt Kovacs/ Nick Valente
BLAZE PR
(310) 395-5050
[email protected] / [email protected]

SOURCE Nestdrop

Related Links

http://www.Nestdrop.com