FREE THC
Sampling cannabis products gains ground
Despite Covid-19 and compliance challenges, some cannabis companies are finding ways to offer free product samples to consumers, reports MJBizDaily.
- When brand ambassadors handed out free samples of Jeng, CBD-infused seltzers sold in grocery stores, sales increased, said co-founder Christopher Lackner
- New York-based Tonic CBD did the same thing during the pandemic, targeting first responders who could request a sample. Now, they offer them at events
- The lack of pushback from regulators has enticed some THC companies, like Azuca, to try it out—only they replace their edible products with CBD
It’s also a good way to collect feedback. “When our teams are out in the field, we learn a lot,” said Jen Pike, chief revenue officer at Boldt Runners’. “We can see immediate reactions from consumers that give us a better handle on what guys think than surveys ever could.”
Enjoy Cannabis Daily each morning at 7 a.m.
WOODY IN THE WOODS
Woody Harrelson opens a dispensary and lounge in West Hollywood
Los Angeles County needs another cannabis store, according to actor and longtime advocate Woody Harrelson, per Hollywood Reporter. The former Cheers actor opened the Woods, a high-end dispensary, in West Hollywood on Friday, May 13.
“Hopefully we’ve added more beauty and more good times here,” he told a crowd at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, which was attended by the West Hollywood mayor. “Hopefully, we can make the West Hollywood citizens a little bit higher. It’s the greatest day that I’ve had in a long time. ”The Woods isn’t just a dispensary, however, and also includes a consumption lounge and garden. It’s one of 16 lounges that will be licensed in West Hollywood, which is reportedly actively courting cannabis tourists and enthusiasts to the area. There’s even an effort to rebrand the city the “Emerald Village,” and the “capital of cannabis culture.”
NO IDEA OFFICER
Illicit cannabis workers don’t know they’re involved in illegal activity: police
Workers at illicit cannabis grows in Southwestern Ontario frequently don’t know they’re illicit, according to the Ontario Provincial Police, per CBC.
According to Det.-Insp. Peter Donnelly, some illicit grows are tied to organized crime, where proceeds of cannabis sales are used to traffic other drugs like cocaine and fentanyl.
Both domestic farm workers and migrant workers fall victim to unknowingly working for illicit grows after being shown licences and told cannabis is legal, he said. “But what people don’t know is these people are far exceeding the scope of their licence, and they have multiple, multiple sites. “They’re drawn into what they believe is a legitimate business. Normally they don’t have any idea what they’re doing is criminal.”
NEW HIRES
Cellular Goods shakes up board in wake of FSA denial
After the departure of its chairman Peter Wall and two other directors, UK-based CBD company Cellular Goods announced three new directors have been appointed, per BusinessCann.
The details
- Non-executive director Darcy Taylor will replace Peter Wall
- Premier League footballer and entertainment agent David Gardner will be replaced by Gill Whitty-Collins of Procter & Gamble
- Misha Sher, who drove growth at MediaCom, will replace Ross Connolly
Cellular Goods went public in February of 2021, but didn’t release its first products—a CBG skincare product line—until December. The company hasn’t reported sales yet, but warned that “total revenues had been below internal forecasts.” Last month, the FSA advised that the company’s ingestible products, which are through a supply partnership with Chanelle McCoy Health, would not be added to the public list.
