The mission of Raphael House is to help at-risk families achieve stable housing and financial independence while strengthening family bonds and personal dignity.

Flower to the People supports this wonderful charity.   If you're interested in supporting Raphael House, you can make a donation here: Click Here

Your donation will directly impact the lives of parents and children for whom Raphael House is a beacon of light that guides them out of darkness and into the safety and warmth of their own home.  

Felicia’s family is one of the families whose lives have been changed positively by your donation. A pregnant mom with five children, she came to Raphael House after two years of bouncing between emergency shelters and friend’s houses while she struggled to save up the funds necessary for a security deposit. 


Raphael House’s structured programming provided Felicia with an opportunity to provide a stable, nurturing environment for her children as she focused on her health and pregnancy. Raphael House provided the family a safe space for bonding and positive development, particularly when she brought her new baby home from the hospital.

After giving birth she worked with our case management team to find housing, and she recently moved her family into a new home. Felicia and her family have started the next chapter of their lives using the skills and habits they formed while living at Raphael House.  We will continue to support them through our Bridge after-care program to help them find resources in their new community and ensure they never have to struggle with housing instability again.

Your contribution is vital to our ability to help families like Felicia’s, because they are the only 100% privately-funded homeless shelter in San Francisco. That means that Raphael House has the freedom to provide each family with exactly what that particular family needs in order to get back on the pathway to stability and success. We couldn’t do it without you!  

There is an alarming number of people who suffer from Crohn’s disease. Crohn’s disease is defined as an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), according to Crohn’s and Colitis Canada. It affects the body by causing inflammation in the digestive tract. This leads to severe , abdominal pain, weight loss, and severe fatigue. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of August 2017, about three million adults in the United States suffer from IBD. Scientists believe that cannabis can be used to treat Crohn’s disease.
There is a lot of speculation in regards to the medical use of cannabis. Its social use has overshadowed its medical use over the years. But with laws being passed that will eventually legalize it; it’s now starting to get recognition.
The root causes of Crohn’s disease are still debated. But according to WebMD, it could likely be caused by an abnormal response to the immune system. While there are many treatments available for the disease, scientists are now hoping that cannabis can be used as yet another viable option for patients.
Before I get into the study that illustrates how cannabis can treat Crohn’s disease, let me give you some background on the actual disease. As I mentioned, the cause is still under heavy debate. But research shows that the immune system is what triggers the disease. It attacks good bacteria and food in the gut, which causes it to become inflamed, WebMD mentions.

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Cannabis Dispensary
70 2nd Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
(628) 444-3441
flowertothepeople1@gmail.com

Colorado is Using $3 Million From Marijuana Tax to Provide Food and Housing for the Homeless :
The debate about the legalization of marijuana has been prevalent in North American culture for over 50 years. The decision by the state of Colorado in October 2014 to legalize marijuana for recreational use was seen a revolutionary by those on both sides of the divide.
Colorado and MarijuanaSince that decision was made nearly four years ago, the state of Colorado has seen an increase year on year in tax revenue gained from cannabis sales. In the most recent financial year, ending in June 2016, the state made nearly $70 million. Revenue gained through taxation was one of the key arguments for legalizing weed. Now that this argument has been clearly validated many taxpayers have been wondering what the state will do with the additional money.
The answer in one city is almost as revolutionary as the passing of the law itself. Aurora, the third largest city in Colorado, will be using over a third of the $4.5 million gained through the ‘weed tax’ to support local not-for-profit homeless organizations.



Over the course of the next three years, a total of over $3 million will be given to a series of groups across the city, all of which work tirelessly to provide hostels and food for the homeless community. The money will be paid out over the next three years, with $1.5 million promised before the end of the current financial year, which ends in June 2017.
Marijuana’s Positive Impact on SocietyThe decision, which was approved in May 2016, has been lauded the world over as an example of how the legalization of marijuana can benefit, rather than damage, the local community. City Councilman Bob Roth believes it shows the people of Aurora the influence that local government can have. ‘We wanted to be able to show citizens that we are having a positive impact on the community and point to specific projects or initiatives to where that money is going to.’
With over 1000 homeless people on the streets of Aurora, this powerful example of local government working hard for the most vulnerable members of society will have a quantifiable and positive impact on the lives of people across the city.
Thus far not all of the money has been pledged to specific projects as the city is still working on the full list of projects that they wish to back. However, $220,000 has been given to the Colfax Community Network to support their operating costs. The money ensures that Colfax can continue their critical work, with further funds likely to be sent their way over the next two years.
Finding Homes for the HomelessAdditionally, money has also been given to Comitis Crisis Center and Aurora Mental Health for each organization to buy a van and hire two care workers. This decision allows them to access homeless individuals who can’t reach their walk-in centers because of lack of funds for public transport.
One Aurora Housing Association will receive $45,000 to pay the salary of their landlord coordinator to allow them to work the role full-time. The job is vital to ensure the cycle of homelessness doesn’t continue, as landlords will often reject the applications of the formerly homeless. Alongside, these confirmed financial pledges the city is considering building and staffing a series of day centers across the city for homeless people to wash their clothes, receive mental health support and shower.
The legalization of marijuana is undoubtedly a contentious issue. However, the positive use of the money made from it in Aurora is evidence of the good that it can do. The homeless community is often looked upon as an unwanted subcategory of people by society, a subcategory that is undeserving of empathy, a subcategory that is deservedly shunned and a subcategory that exists because of drugs. The city of Aurora is using the money made from selling drugs to give basic rights back to the homeless population of the city and prove just how undeserving of such treatment these people truly are.

Cancer kills nearly 600,000 Americans per year. And this year alone, over 1.6 million people will be diagnosed. So much time and research has gone into the cure of cancer in the last few decades. Yet, because of the stigma associated with marijuana, this wonder plant has been largely ignored by governments and researchers as a potential cure – or a key piece to a cure at least.

In August 2015, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) released a report on their website which stated, “Marijuana kills cancer”. Yes, you read that right – marijuana kills cancer.
We know that cannabis can be used for medicinal purposes to relieve symptoms of many chronic illnesses. In fact, marijuana has actually been used for medicinal purposes for over 3000 years.
The potential benefits of medicinal Cannabis for people living with cancer (and other chronic illness) include:

• Anti-nausea
• Appetite stimulation
• Pain relief
• Improved sleep

So, how does cannabis kill cancer?There are 21 chemical components found in marijuana called cannabinoids. These chemicals activate specific receptors found throughout the body to produce pharmacologic effects in the central nervous system and the immune system. This is the physiological and biochemical changes in the body produced by a drug in therapeutic concentration.
THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) is the primary psychoactive ingredient found in marijuana. However, there are other compounds such as cannabinol (CBN), cannabidiol (CBD), cannabichromene (CBC), cannabigerol (CBG), tetrahydrocannabivarin(THCv), and delta-8-THC that can have pharmacologic effects. For example, CBD is known to have significant analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity without the high that THC produces.
During a 2-year study, groups of mice and rats were given various doses of THC by tube feeding. Tests were also done of a variety of cancerous cells.
Here is what they found:

• Cannabinoids may reduce tumor growth by causing cell death, blocking cell growth, and blocking the development of blood vessels needed to grow tumors.
• Lab tests on animals have shown that cannabinoids may be able to kill cancer cells while protecting normal cells.
• Cannabinoids may protect against inflammation of the colon and may have potential in reducing the risk of colon cancer, and possibly in its treatment.
• A laboratory study of THC in liver cancer cells showed it damaged or killed the cancer cells.
• The same study of THC in models of liver cancer showed that it had anti-tumor effects.
• CBD may make chemotherapy more effective

Source: National Cancer Institute
A Men’s Health Study proves that cannabis can potentially kill cancer: An analysis of 84,170 participants looked at the association between cannabis use and the occurrence of bladder cancer. Over 16 years, they found 89 Cannabis users developed bladder cancer compared with 190 of the men who did not report cannabis use. After dividing the study up by age, race, ethnicity, and body mass index, cannabis use was associated with a 45% reduction in bladder cancer incidence.
In conclusion, many studies have shown the potential of cannabis being able to kill cancer cells. However, little of these studies have been tested on humans. Only a handful of clinical trials have been held with humans, so it is too soon to say if the effects will work as well in humans. The good news is work is being done, and the topic is gaining interest among researchers.

Medical Marijuana and San Francisco Dispensary
Flower Power Dispensary
70 2nd Street
San Francisco, California 94105 
(628) 444-3441
​wendy@flowerpowerdispensary.com

SF Dispensary
70 2nd Street
San Francisco, California 94105 
(628) 444-3441​ 
wendy@flowerpowerdispensary.com

Recreational Marijuana in San Francisco 70 2nd Street San Francisco, CA ​(628) 444-3441

Summer has hit San Francisco, and this week we head into one of the city’s biggest celebrations — Gay Pride!  Historically, the LGBT community has bravely moved society forward, and has fought tirelessly to eliminate discrimination, even whether it be in housing, employment, or in the legalization of medical marijuana.


If you use cannabis legally, it’s important to know how the gay community played a large role in your ability to access medical and recreational cannabis.  Back in the 80’s and early 90’s cannabis was one of the few medicines that helped the young men dying of AIDS. These men helped shape the beginnings of the medicinal marijuana movement along with other people such as ‘Brownie Mary’ Jane Rathburn, a hospital volunteer who distributed medicated brownies to AIDS patients who were literally wasting away – and yes, she was arrested for helping them. It was this movement propelled forward in the SF scene that led to Prop 215, the US’s first law allowing for medical cannabis in 1996. Today in the US we stand at 26 states that have legalized the right for citizens to access medicinal cannabis, in varying forms, but legal nonetheless. It’s the LGBT community we have to thank.


June is the month so many of us take part in Gay Pride not only in SF but across the country.


We stand with and support the LGBT community during their celebrations.


Happy Gay Pride to All!

Recreational Marijuana

Flower Power Dispensary
70 2nd Street
San Francisco, California 94105 
(628) 444-3441
​wendy@flowerpowerdispensary.com