SPARC Patient Services

There is a Lakota Saying that “Everything is Medicine,” meaning that in the right hands, everything is useful.

SPARC’s approach to healing involves providing members with a wide array of healing tools to confront their unique health challenges and improve their daily lives. While members of our collective come to us first for medicine, over time we want them to utilize other healing techniques that can help them address their problems.

SPARC offers access to centuries-old healing traditions, including traditions where cannabis has been used to foster self-healing through meditation.

While cannabis has been popularized in North American pop culture as a hazy, sleep-inducing substance, many South Asian cultures traditionally use cannabis for selective meditations as a means to awakening. In India, there is over 3,000 years of history behind cannabis as a tool for healing in Ayurvedic medicine, as well as an aide in spiritual practice. To learn more about ancient traditions that used cannabis, visit the Spiritual Use of Cannabis section of our website under Cannabis Research.

Chinese Medicine

SPARC may be the only dispensary in the US to work hand in hand with nationally renowned Chinese medical experts. We’re partners with Quan Yin, one of the best eastern medicine clinics in the Bay Area.

Chinese Medicine has a much deeper understanding of cannabis as a medicine than western doctors. As a healing clinic, one of our core missions is to give people the healing tools they need to improve their lives – and in many cases that goes beyond medical cannabis. Our partnership with Quan Yin means SPARC members can receive acupuncture and a Chinese medical counseling once a week for the low cost of $5. This is the most affordable community acupuncture in San Francisco and one of the most important things we do. See our service calendar for time and location.

SPARC Legal Clinic

On the first and third Wednesday of each month we offer our patients the opportunity to consult with a lawyer free of charge. All legal issues are welcome including landlord/tenant disputes, government benefit denials, employee rights, child custody issues, consumer fraud, police misconduct, sexual harassment, insurance denials and more.

Patients that want to get the process started early can fill out a form here

The Cannabis Zendo – Meditations with Medicine

Spiritual traditions in Southeast Asia have used cannabis medicinally for over a thousand years - and also as an aide to stop the mind and promote spiritual awakening through meditation, when used correctly.

Meditation is a practice that allows us to find the peace, joy and healing inherent in every moment.

We are one of the few dispensaries in the country to offer our patients meditation classes with a Senior Zen Teacher that includes meditation sessions with medical cannabis as a means to overcome specific kinds of suffering and obstacles of the body/mind.

Sensei Gengetsu Junsei is a meditation teacher and medical cannabis advocate. She is one of only a handful of women in the United States to be recognized as a Dharma Heir, having received full transmission of the dharma in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. In partnership with SPARC she offers guided meditations with and without medical cannabis with a focus on overcoming pain, cultivating peace, stability and harm reduction.

“When thoughts cease, awakening happens” – Tilopa

Lab Tested Medicine

One of our most important patient services is lab testing. Why? The medicine that most dispensaries provide often has high levels of microscopic molds and pathogens that are unhealthy and particularly unsafe for immune suppressed patients. We are the only dispensary in San Francisco to lab test the potency and safety of the majority of our medicine.

We think it’s crucial. The results are listed on our packaging, listing the Cannabinoid and THC profiles and quantities. This allows members to dial in on what medicine works best for their needs. Different strains have different effects.

Acupressure and Self-Healing

In modern society, many people have lost touch with themselves. Most of us do not receive enough touch and cannot afford regular massage or acupuncture. For people who are dealing with an illness, the idea of having someone touch them is sometimes uncomfortable.

Our approach is unique and extremely effective. SPARC’s members are taught by a master how to apply pressure to their own trigger points through self-massage known as ‘Do-In’, an ancient healing technique they can take home with them. Self-massage has been used as a valuable healing tool in Asia for centuries.

Even today self-massage is a common health practice in India when waking in the morning.

SPARC Live Jazz Series

The last Monday of each month SPARC hosts a safe and friendly social gathering for patients featuring two hours of live jazz. These events help foster a sense of community within the often isolated world of medical cannabis and give patients a place to relax and enjoy themselves. Jazz nights also function as a harm reduction tool by giving patients an alternative to bars and nightclubs.

Medical Use of Cannabis Education

Our staff and patient consultants are experts at proper cannabis use and best practices for medicating, including proper use of tinctures, edibles, salves and vaporizors. Members and patient consultants share their experiences about which plant variations and preparations have been most effective in dealing with their symptoms. This helps others. For example, a new member who is suffering from nausea due to chemotherapy might find out from that one particular strain of medical cannabis has been most effective. Sharing this kind of information is how lives are changed.

SPARC Support Groups:

Wellness Group

This group is typically designated for seriously ill members, with a purpose of fulfilling life, enhancing talent and resolving emotional problems. Members share healing methods, problem-solving techniques, stress management skills, and healthy living practices.

Women’s Support Group

Members will discuss experiences as mothers, wives and caregivers. Emphasis will be placed on healthy living practices, relationships, achieving balance between self and others, self-esteem, parenting, and stress management.

Harm Reduction and Peer Support Group

These groups will be facilitated by staff and volunteers trained in harm reduction practices and conflict resolution. Frequency will be increased as interest expands.

Upcoming Events:

Check back here in the future to see what events are coming up.