Pubdate: Wed, 30 Sep 2015 Source: Los Angeles Times (CA) Copyright: 2015 Los Angeles Times Contact: http://www.latimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248 Author: Joseph Serna FREE MEDICAL POT OFFER IN FIRE ZONE Medical marijuana dispensaries in Northern California are giving patients affected by a destructive wildfire up to $200 in free cannabis per patient for the next week. Through Oct. 7, two marijuana-related product companies, Care By Design and AbsoluteXtracts, are offering free products at five dispensaries in San Francisco, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol and Lake County, the companies said in a joint statement. The companies produce cannabis oil, sprays and vaporizing cartridges, among other products. Patients eligible for the free products must have a prescription and home addresses in Cobb, Kelseyville, Middletown or Hidden Valley Lake - - among the hardest hit communities over the last three weeks, where the Valley fire has ripped through 118 square miles, destroyed nearly 2,000 homes and claimed four lives. The two companies donated $20,000 worth of marijuana-related items in all, they said. The offer began last Thursday. "This disaster happened in our own backyard. As a company that prides itself on putting patient needs first, we felt there was no better time to reach out and help our neighbors in their time of need," the statement said. The Valley fire is one of the worst in state history and one of two that devastated California communities in September. In Amador and Calaveras counties, the Butte fire has destroyed 475 homes, killed two people and burned through nearly 71,000 acres since it started Sept. 9. The two blazes are nearly fully contained. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom