‘Permit Patty’ Resigns from Cannabis Company over Viral Video of Calling the Police on Little Girl

TreatWell Health CEO Alison Ettel resigned from her cannabis company after video of her calling the police on an 8-year-old girl selling water on the street went viral.

Multiple California Bay Area dispensaries have refused to sell Alison Ettel’s TreatWell products after the viral incident, three of them having made public statements about the decision. “I forgot to mention that we had pulled [TreatWell’s] product line as soon as we saw the video,” said one San Francisco dispensary manager. “We do not support that type of behavior!”

“TreatWell was one of our best-selling products but to us, integrity is always before profits,” said Oakland, California, dispensary Magnolia on Instagram. “For our remaining inventory, we are doing blowout deals and donating all proceeds to a local nonprofit.”

While Ettel has been particularly concerned with the legality of young purveyors of water, she is less stringent when it comes to her own business dealings. Her company sells “cannabis-based tinctures in different ratios for humans and pets,” despite the fact that there are no approved treatments for animals. When asked about the practice, she told the San Francisco Chronicle that it was more of a “don’t ask, don’t tell” situation.

Company spokeswoman Cynthia Gonzalez told the Chronicle that Ettel’s departure was nobly motivated: “It is Ms. Ettel’s belief that TreatWell, its employees and patients should not have to suffer because of a situation that occurred in an escalated moment,” she said.