Transparency & How Mercy Leaf Works
TRANSPARENCY AT MERCY LEAF
Transparency & How Mercy Leaf Works
Mercy Leaf was created to make cannabis education, harm reduction and support easier to understand and easier to access.
We also believe people deserve to understand how Mercy Leaf itself works.
This page explains what we do, what we do not do, how support decisions are made and what you can expect when you use our resources or reach out for help. Trust matters, especially when people are navigating health concerns, caregiving, substance use, serious illness or difficult seasons of life.
What Mercy Leaf Is
Mercy Leaf is an independent, founder-run, faith-informed cannabis education, harm reduction and compassionate support project.
Josh Pierce runs Mercy Leaf without pay and primarily covers its costs personally. Any contributions help cover the work and practical expenses of the project. Mercy Leaf is not a registered nonprofit or an IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) organization and does not represent contributions as tax-deductible charitable donations.
We create educational content, connect people with outside organizations and resources and provide a way for people to ask for guidance when they are not sure where to begin.
Our goal is not to tell people what they should choose. It is to help people understand their options, ask better questions and make informed decisions with less fear, shame and confusion.
What Mercy Leaf Is Not
Mercy Leaf is not a medical provider, law firm, pharmacy, dispensary, addiction treatment program or emergency service.
We do not diagnose conditions, prescribe treatment, guarantee outcomes or replace the relationship someone may need with a qualified healthcare, legal, mental health or substance-use professional.
Cannabis can carry risks and it is not appropriate for everyone. We believe honest education includes both potential benefits and potential harms.
How Mercy Leaf Support Works
Anyone can use Mercy Leaf’s public educational content and resource directory. People who need more help finding a direction can also submit a support request. Requests are reviewed individually. We look at what someone is navigating, what kind of help they are asking for and whether Mercy Leaf has an appropriate way to help or connect them with another resource.
Submitting a request does not guarantee assistance, participation in a program or access to Compassion Support. What we can offer depends on the request, available resources, program fit and capacity at the time.
Sometimes the most useful thing Mercy Leaf can provide is information or a connection to an outside organization. In other situations, a person may be considered for additional Mercy Leaf support.
Compassion Support
Compassion Support is a separate Mercy Leaf program for people who have been approved to participate. Access is not automatic and availability may be limited.
Approved participants receive instructions directly from Mercy Leaf. Private access areas exist to help manage that support in a more controlled way.
Compassion Support is not a retail storefront. Any contribution language used within that system supports Mercy Leaf’s mission and operations and should not be understood as a general public offer to purchase cannabis products.
We want that distinction to remain clear because the purpose of the program is support, not ordinary retail commerce.
Outside Resources
The Mercy Leaf Resource Directory includes outside organizations, services, helplines, educational groups and public agencies that may be useful to people visiting the site.
Being listed does not automatically mean an organization has a partnership, endorsement or formal relationship with Mercy Leaf. Resources are included because we believe they may be useful for the audiences we serve.
Outside organizations make their own decisions about services, eligibility, availability and policies. Mercy Leaf cannot guarantee that a listed program will be available or appropriate for every person.
How We Approach Cannabis Education
Mercy Leaf is openly interested in the potential role cannabis can play in wellness, symptom relief and harm reduction. That does not mean we believe cannabis is harmless, appropriate for everyone or the answer to every problem.
Our educational content is designed to help people understand what is known, what remains uncertain and where risk matters. We try to separate evidence from hype, explain limitations in plain language and make room for the reality that different people can have very different experiences with cannabis.
We also believe education should help people recognize when cannabis may no longer be helping. Harm reduction means being willing to look honestly at benefits, risks and changing patterns of use rather than defending cannabis at all costs.
Corrections, Sources and Changing Information
Cannabis research, laws, healthcare guidance and outside services can change. We make a good-faith effort to keep Mercy Leaf content useful and current, but no website is perfect and information can become outdated.
If you notice an error, a broken resource, outdated information or something that deserves clarification, we want to know.
When a meaningful correction is needed, our goal is to correct the information rather than defend the mistake.
Faith-Informed, Open to Everyone
Faith is part of the story behind Mercy Leaf and it shapes our belief in compassion, dignity, patience and meeting people where they are.
At the same time, Mercy Leaf is not limited to people who share a particular faith or belief. Educational resources and support are intended to be welcoming to people from different backgrounds and experiences.
No one should have to agree with our faith perspective to be treated with dignity or to use the public resources we provide.
Privacy and Respect
People sometimes share personal information when they contact Mercy Leaf or request support. We believe that information should be handled with care and only used for legitimate Mercy Leaf purposes.
Our Privacy Policy explains what information the website collects, why it is collected and how it is handled.
Please share only what is needed to explain the help you are looking for. Do not submit medical records, Social Security numbers or other highly sensitive documents through our forms.
Questions are welcome.
Transparency is not just a page we publish. It is a standard we want to keep working toward.
If you have a question about how Mercy Leaf operates, how support decisions are made, why a resource is listed or anything else about the project, you are welcome to ask.