NCIA is kicking off the new year by celebrating one of the founding members of our association, The Thomas C. Slater Compassion Center, Inc., where they are committed to providing safe, dignified, and affordable access to medical marijuana for approved patients in the State of Rhode Island. CEO Gerry McGraw served as a licensed caregiver in the Rhode Island program, providing medicine for a patient with a chronic neurological disorder. He has advocated for the state’s program in legislative and other public forums, and retains deep relationships with key decision-makers in federal and state government.

Cannabis Industry Sector:

Medical Cannabis Providers

NCIA Founding and Sustaining Member Since:

April 2011

How do you uniquely serve the cannabis industry?

Rhode Island law allows for three licensed dispensaries (or “compassion centers”) to provide medicine to registered patients in the state. We are grateful and humbled to have the opportunity to care for a wide array of patients, offering safe access to high-quality medicine. The needs of our patients are quite varied, so it’s important not only to cultivate superior medicine, but also to produce a diverse product line to help the greatest number of people. We believe the choices offered to patients and the knowledge and compassion of our staff are what makes the Slater Center so unique.

Why should patients looking for medical cannabis go to The Thomas C. Slater Compassion Center?

Patients looking for medical cannabis should go to the Slater Center if they seek quality medicine, affordable prices, a secure environment, diverse product offerings, and a knowledgeable staff. First and foremost, our medicine is grown organically by a team of expert cultivators that understand strain diversification and achieving optimal results for patient efficacy. Our team is constantly developing new products for a variety of ingestion methods, empowering patients and helping them determine the best options for their care. We maintain a mission of helping all patients regardless of their ability to pay with the provision of free and reduced-price medicine. And our Providence location is a warm and inviting oasis that offers unmatched security for all patients under our care.

Medical cannabis patients have such a wide array of challenges, many of which are often met without the guidance of their doctors. How do you empower patients and help improve their quality of life?

Our commitment to patients goes well beyond simply providing high-quality medicine. We’ve created a new department in our facility called Patient Outreach Services. The focus of Patient Outreach is to offer ancillary health, wellness, information, and support services all free of charge. We provide regular programming like Cooking With Cannabis 101, grow classes, and nutrition seminars. Our expert staff members speak before Parkinson’s Disease support groups and have even presented to local chapters of state medical societies. We have an extensive in-house library with books and medical literature devoted to the research and healing advances associated with cannabis. And since we opened in 2013, we offer free massage therapy and Reiki therapy to all our patients — delivered right here in our facility. At the Slater Center, we strive to be a true patient resource that serves the full spectrum of needs of our patients.

Why did you join NCIA?

We are a proud to be a founding member of NCIA, having joined when the organization was first launched. Our CEO, Gerald McGraw, Jr. is also proud to serve as a founding NCIA board member. The Slater Compassion Center was first conceived in 2010, taking years of planning and dedication to finally become a reality. We knew right away that cannabis establishments needed to come together with leaders from all over the country to share best practices and raise the standards for this nascent industry. Moving forward, we also believed that corralling the efforts of advocates on state and federal legislative and regulatory issues would be increasingly important. NCIA was the perfect conduit to bring together folks from all corners of the country to unify the voice of those in the cannabis industry. We are thrilled to see the organization’s incredible growth and effective advocacy.

Contact:

The Slater Center Website

The Slater Center Facebook