008: How Cannabis Companies Can Embrace Inclusivity with Mary Pryor

12/09/19 • 30 min

The Green Repeal - A Guide to Cannabis Marketing & Advertising

Drug laws at the city, state, and federal levels have been used for almost a century to disproportionately punish people of color. Despite making up only 31.5% of the United States’ population, 46.9% of people arrested for violating drug laws are Black or Latino, and it’s never hard to find news stories of white offenders who get much more lenient sentences - if they’re punished at all.

Mary Pryor is working to change this. She’s the Chief Marketing Officer at Tonic CBD and Tricolla Farms, as well as the Co-Founder of Cannaclusive, a company created to facilitate fair representation of minority cannabis consumers. At Cannaclusive, she helps brands to communicate with diverse audiences and ensure that minority consumers are not an afterthought, but a valued ally in the fight for legalization and destigmatization.

Today, Mary joins the podcast to talk about the racism at the heart of American cannabis laws, how citizens can become activists and help her in her work to change these policies, and how both states and growing brands can help to build a more inclusive industry.

Show Notes

For complete show notes, including transcripts, takeaways, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit SoHoExp.com/08

To learn more about the podcast and get access to all episodes, visit: SoHoExp.com/GreenRepeal

Show Notes

For complete show notes, including transcripts, takeaways, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit SoHoExp.com/08

To learn more about the podcast and get access to all episodes, visit: SoHoExp.com/GreenRepeal

Previous Episode

007: How Maine is Preparing for Adult-Use Legalization - A Talk with Evergreen Cannabis Co

Maine legalized medical use cannabis in 1999, long before many other states. However, after adult-use cannabis was legalized by a vote in 2016, it effectively stayed inaccessible for another two years, with licenses finally going live and prohibition being lifted on December 5th of this year and retail sales not starting until March of 2020.

Evergreen Cannabis Co. established themselves in Maine’s medical marijuana industry and are now preparing to shift their business to accommodate a new economic model. Co-founders Andy and Kristen Pettingill, as well as Operations Director and General Manager Sergio Hernandez have become intimately familiar with the necessary licenses, change in tax structure, and shifting legal policy that is finally bringing about transformative change.

Today, the Evergreen Cannabis team joins the podcast to talk about what brought them into the cannabis industry from their culinary and medical care backgrounds, and what they’re doing to prepare for adult-use legalization in Maine. You’ll hear all about the unique hurdles they’ve overcome as they’ve built out their business, the financial challenges they’ve faced in working with bankers and investors, and how to ensure that customers have great experiences, no matter what they need.

Show Notes

For complete show notes, including transcripts, takeaways, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit SoHoExp.com/07

To learn more about the podcast and get access to all episodes, visit: SoHoExp.com/GreenRepeal

Next Episode

009: An Insider’s View of the Medical Cannabis Industry with Jennie Leuzarder

Though adult use cannabis is rapidly maturing in many parts of the United States, the medical cannabis industry is still developing as well. It faces a different set of operational hurdles and challenges, is continuing to shift and develop, and remains the sole source of legal cannabis in a number of states, including New York.

Operating in 11 states across the country, Vireo Health is a fast-growing medical cannabis company. Founded by a doctor and backed by scientists and physicians, they are a seed-to-sale business building several brands in the medical and wellness spaces.

Joining us today is Vireo’s VP of Sales and Marketing, Jennie Leuzarder. On today’s episode of the podcast, she takes us through the unique challenges of creating 11 separate functioning operational chains and shares insights into how Vireo created their unique brand. You’ll learn how they’re working to shake cannabis’s decades-old association with hippies, the complications of Vireo’s licenses, and how Jennie’s background in alcohol sales translates into this bold new world.

Show Notes

For complete show notes, including transcripts, takeaways, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit SoHoExp.com/09

To learn more about the podcast and get access to all episodes, visit: SoHoExp.com/GreenRepeal