The CEO of a California marijuana company resigned abruptly Tuesday after several days of controversy spawned by a viral video in which she appeared to be calling police to report an 8-year-old girl who was selling bottled water without a permit in San Francisco.
“Alison Ettel, the CEO of TreatWell Health, has resigned, effective immediately,” the company announced in a news release.
“It is Ms. Ettel’s belief that TreatWell, its employees and patients should not have to suffer because of a situation that occurred in an escalated moment. And she regrets her part and is remorseful.”
TreatWell, based in San Francisco, manufactures marijuana tinctures for humans and pets.
Some of the criticism surrounding Ettel stemmed from the fact she is white and the girl is African-American.
The hashtag #PermitPatty began trending on Twitter over the weekend as a nickname for Ettel, and she garnered criticism from nearly every corner of the country. Ettel was even lampooned by Comedy Central’s The Daily Show.
TreatWell was also dropped by multiple California retailers, and it was unclear whether the company would be able to survive the controversy.
Ettel’s actions were “not motivated by any racist intent whatsoever,” according to TreatWell’s release.
“It was never the intention to disparage, harass or cause any harm to the child, nor her mother,” the company said in the release. “However, in a heated moment, a critically wrong decision was made by our CEO. The guilt lies in that decision.”
