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| Jeffrey Raber, PhD, founder of The Werc Shop in Pasadena via LinkedIn |
Read this:
Leading Medical Marijuana Lab Raided in Pasadena
And this, particularly the comments of Dr. Raber toward the end of the article:
Parents in World of Children's Cannabis Fear, Desire Regulations
Here's the letter I wrote in support of Dr. Raber. If you live in California and would like to help us vouch for Dr. Raber, please email me and let me know.
April 9, 2015
To: City of Pasadena
My name is Elizabeth Aquino, and I am the mother of a twenty year old young woman who has severe and uncontrolled epilepsy as well as developmental disabilities. After a lifetime of seizures and over twenty medications that failed to help her, Sophie now experiences 90% fewer seizures and innumerable favorable side effects with Charlotte’s Web cannabis oil. As you can imagine, our journey toward this success has been extremely difficult, and we rely completely now on the integrity of the cannabis product to ensure that our daughter continues to do well.
I understand that this week, The Werc Shop was raided and that the owners, including Dr. Jeffrey Raber, were arrested. I am dismayed not only because we, as well as hundreds of other families with children like ours, depend upon Raber’s excellent business to test and insure that the product we are using has the highest standards, but also because I have had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Raber at a benefit dinner and found him to be a man of integrity, humility and great character.
I’m not sure if those in authority have any idea of what sort of service The Werc Shop provides and or how high its standards and integrity are. The cannabis medicine that we are giving our daughter MUST be pure and its potency and profile described. Dr. Raber’s work at The Werc Shop is essential for my daughter’s medicine, for our community and for anyone desiring this life-saving medicine.
I am a long-time healthcare advocate and have worked on the boards of several national non-profit foundations, including the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles. I have been an expert parent and family advocate for children’s healthcare organizations, including the National Institute for Children’s Healthcare Quality. I am concerned and outraged that Dr. Raber has been arrested and believe him to be falsely implicated. I hope that these charges will be dismissed immediately and that The Werc Shop can return to doing what it does so professionally and so well: ensure that the medicine we get for our children is pure.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Respectfully,
Elizabeth Aquino
**An earlier post of my letter included someone else as owner of the shop. I have corrected my letter to include Dr. Raber only. The cited article has his colleagues names.
That is a fantastic letter. I sure as hell wish you hadn't had to write it.
ReplyDeletePlease print and mail a hard copy to your elected representatives at every level. Ask them what their plan is to ensure your daughter's continued access to her necessary medication. Words fail me about how outrageous this is!
ReplyDeleteSo disgusting. I wonder how this wrong-headed decision was made. How about a march?
ReplyDeleteI can not believe this. I am so sorry this has happened.
ReplyDeleteOh Elizabeth.
ReplyDeleteGreat letter. Will be writing mine this week-end. Outraged!
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't his brother that got arrested, it was another Mark. I am staunchly against a lab being connected to a manufacturing facility! That is a big no, no. Throws integrity for their tests out the window. But that said, I know from first hand experience they hold themselves to high standards of scientific rigor and helped a lot of very sick, desperate people.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anonymous. I corrected the letter. I appreciate your words!
DeletePlease, someone organize a march or protest or some kind of rally for them. I don't see any talk about such a thing anywhere. Pasadena Police should have to feel the outrage. Time is of the essence, too.
ReplyDeleteI have known and worked with Jeff Raber and the Werc Shop for many years and wanted to clear up some of the prior posts. There is no denying his ability and knowledge but there is much most don’t know. First, as he charges people for testing services in the lab, he collects the sample profiles to develop the flavors he is now offering in the processing business. There is no question that you are paying him in lab fees to help further his processing business interests. Furthermore, his testing numbers and results are often used to certify products that come out of his processing operation. At a minimum, there is a major conflict of interest that he is capitalizing on. If you are a processor using him for testing, then you are giving very important information to your competition. Second, if you plan to use him to help formulate a new product. I would get as much written protection as possible. He shares a little too much on what he is working on with other clients. I can only imagine that my ideas have either been shared or taken by Jeff and the Werc Shop. This is the main reason that I have started moving elsewhere. Third, he tries to position himself and the lab as helping ‘patients’ but if you know his work he is very focused on the recreational users. Check out the products he processes and the flavor profiles. I don’t see anything CBD related for patients with epilepsy or cancer. Furthermore, he talks about the importance of whole plant but his profiles are artificially concocted to mimic whole plant characteristics (taste and smell). Finally, if he is focused on helping truly needy medical patients then why are his processing fees so high? When he first offered processing, I tried his services. No question they were better than others or the results of doing it myself. However, they would take so long and miss delivery dates that I couldn’t operate under these conditions. I know this business is fraught with flakes but I expect someone with a PhD to meet deadlines. I guess like most companies he is more focused on getting business and not properly servicing it. That’s how you end up with 500lbs material and 200 jars of oil. Jeff should have never taken on investors. All investors want is a return on their money which can result in bad decisions. I hope this acts as a warning to the community and a wakeup call to Jeff and the Werc Shop.
ReplyDeleteInteresting comment, Anonymous. Thak you for leaving it.
DeleteI don't know about the details but I looked at their website and it doesn't even list processing as a service. Some questions come to mind. 1) Did they not revise their website or are they hiding this part of the business? Conspiracy. 2) How do you test and process? You can only answer to one master. 3) Do they ever fail their own product? Hmmm? When $$ are involved, I doubt it. Smells fishy.
DeleteNot the same as the long winded person above.
OK. I tolerate Anonymous commenters but just barely. It seems to me that you both need to be honest and forthright, particularly if you have valid criticisms. Cloaking criticism in anonymity seems less than honest.
DeleteAlthough Werc Shop definitely operated a scientifically sound cannabis testing lab, the bulk majority (by far) of their business was in making super processed high-purity hash oils. In their raid they had 200 pints of hash oil which is over 200lbs of purified hash. Not that owning an extraction company is a bad thing at all, just incredibly conflicting in the interest of owning a "3rd party" testing facility as well. They didn't get busted because they were in the business of testing cannabis, but because they became one of the largest extract makers in CA.
ReplyDeleteAgain, while I appreciate your comment, because it's Anonymous, I tend to mistrust it. People with valid criticisms should not be afraid to use their names.
DeleteThe fact of the matter is we are ALL innocent until proven guilty. Period. None of us have any idea if he even had any bud or quart jars of anything or what they were. It's why we have a constitution as well as common sense. I could sit here just as easily as others forming an opinion as to what he was doing with what they claim he had except Id lean towards being biased against the Government like the people who wrote the constitution advised us to. And who says its unethical for a PhD chemist to perform chemistry? Its so far of a stretch to sit behind a computer tossing accusations. Ive never met Dr. Raber, Im just a fan of chemists, badass chemists and hes a rock star as far as I'm concerned, and if given half a chance I'm sure he'd smash any theory anyone has come up with saying hes not testing anything in a proper manner. Read his work. One thing I can sit here and form an opinion about. If Dr Raber was doing anything questionable it was because he carefully calculated that the value of a life, maybe a child with epilepsy's life was the best or only choice he had. He cares not for money or fame, hes all science on one side motivated by a desire to help specifically children was his first dream i read, and he still is. So please anonymous, get over whatever it is you feel snubbed for, Im sure its important to you, but this is literally the third time I've read this line from you only you gave your name the last times. Youve said your piece do you really want to destroy and hurt someone with so much to give? We need PhD chemists etc. lets not make them scared to come. Peace
ReplyDelete