Those enduring the elements and the threats of eviction at the Occupy L.A. encampment outside City Hall have been able to count on at least one amenity this month:

Free weed.

That's right. Medical marijuana activists have been quietly (or brazenly, depending on your outlook) handing out small amounts of free weed to patients who need it, longtime decriminalization supporter Richard W. Eastman tells the Weekly today. It all started …

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… Nov. 5 and 6, when Eastman and friends handed out two pounds (two pounds!) of cannabis at Occupy L.A. to celebrate the anniversary of 215 and the role of the initiative's co-author, Dennis Perone.

Eastman:

We fed everybody and gave them free medicine, no questions asked. We didn't even check doctor's recommendations. But we did check IDs to see if they were a minor.

He says the weed was given out in 1 gram increments. Cops tried to stop him and fellow pot activists but backed off, he said:

The police tried to bother us the second day. We reminded them of our First Amendmend rights and that we were giving out medical marijuana information, and they didn't bother us.

In the last few days and weeks Eastman, one of the first dispensary operators in Southern California, continued the tradition, too:

For the last couple weeks I've given out a couple more ounces for the people who really need it.

[@dennisjromero/djromero@laweekly.com/@LAWeeklyNews]

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