By Daniel Casciato

Florida-based Trulieve, the largest cannabis company in the state, announced its vast initiatives for Pride Month, which directly support LGBTQ+ communities and families throughout the month of June. Trulieve is also launching several new products this month.

Trulieve will have three PRIDE related products launching:

  • Mr. Fahrenheit and Mary & Jane Pre-Rolls – June 1
  • Rainbow TruPod – June 1
  • 1g Love Wins Vape – June 12

They will host activations in select stores every weekend during PRIDE month, tied to local area PRIDE events in Key West, Panama City, Orlando, St. Pete and more. Stay tuned to social media to learn about when and where these events will take place.

The Company is activating a Bingo campaign in Florida where patients will be rewarded with $25 off $125 for completed cards, and they will donate $5 per card to Metro Inclusive Health, a 501(c)(3) organization that provides quality health and wellness services that are inclusive, relevant, supportive and represent the lifetime continuum of the diverse people in our community.

Last year, Trulieve donated more than $60,000 from Pride Month 2021 product sales in Florida dispensaries that benefited four Florida-based non-profits that support LGBTQ+ people, groups, and communities.

Non-profit beneficiaries in 2021 included:

  • 26Health
  • Equality FL
  • Metro Inclusive Health
  • National Center for Transgender Equality

By partnering with local organizations like Metro Inclusive Health and sponsoring Florida PRIDE events, Trulieve is fulfilling its mission to create profound economic and social advancement opportunities within the communities they serve by contributing to and developing partnerships with local organizations.

“Trulieve encourages and celebrates those who come from all walks of life,” said Gina Collins, Vice President of Marketing at Trulieve. “We are proud of our efforts to create a safe, welcoming, and supportive environment for members of the LGBTQ+ community and beyond. Ensuring that our patients and customers feel seen and heard when they walk into one of our stores is paramount to us as a company.”

Trulieve also recently launched a PRIDE Employee Resource Group (ERG), with representation from each of their three Hubs and supported by an Executive Sponsor and Co-Chairpersons. The ERGs will plan grass-roots sessions to facilitate personal growth and idea-sharing, providing a safe space and promoting free-flowing conversations that will positively shape Trulieve.

New Product Introductions

Trulieve also recently announced several new products. Trulieve’s newest introduction of tasty edibles, Sweet Talk, launched in Florida earlier this year. These craveable chocolates and gels are infused with premium quality cannabis. Sweet Talk gives the goods that are sure to leave a big smile on your face.

  • Chocolate bars: Satisfy your cravings with these tasty and therapeutic chocolate bars. It’s a unique way to make your cannabis experience safe, enjoyable, and delicious.
  • Gummies/gels: The answer to any sweet tooth, these gummies provide great flavor in an easy-to-use, on-the-go form.

“Everybody has a muse and for many, it’s cannabis,” says Collins. “With premium, mind-expanding concentrates and cartridges, Muse awakens your creativity, giving you permission to let go and give in to inspiration. This product helps you break the barriers of expectation. We free your mind so you can tap into the depths of your creativity without reservation.”

Another recently launched product, Muse, is available in three forms:

  • Vapes – Muse is your portal to creativity with a terpene-rich, full-spectrum, richly aromatic, flavorful, and incredibly smooth experience from fresh frozen flower, ensuring the relief is robust and healing in nature.
  • Concentrates – Extracted in its state-of-the-art lab with fresh frozen flower, Muse provides a full-spectrum concentrate that is exceptionally flavorful and typically contains higher levels of terpenes than other traditional concentrates.
  • Live Diamonds by Muse – The most recent innovation from Trulieve’s state-of-the-art hydrocarbon extraction lab, the only one of its kind in the state of Florida. The initial product release earlier this year of 500 units sold out within 24 hours.

With a variety of products available, some new customers may feel overwhelmed over what kind of products to choose. Collins offered the following advice on how to begin your cannabis journey:

“Many first-time patients start with tinctures because they’re easy to dose drop-by-drop to help you gauge your tolerance levels,” she says. “Capsules are also a great way to begin because they’re similar to other medications and can be put in medicine trays with other pills. Edible gummies and chocolate are convenient and tasty. Vapes or inhalables are fast-acting for those seeking immediate relief.”

Collins says that it’s important you understand the potency of the products you’re using and how your dosage will affect you. Start small and increase dosage as needed based on recommendation from your physician.

“Many Trulieve dispensaries offer on-site consultations to help patients obtain appropriate medical products and dosages to ensure optimal cannabis experiences,” she says.

For more information, visit www.trulieve.com.

 



Trulieve Cannabis Corp. announced that its Chief Executive Officer Kim Rivers has won Green Market Report’s Women’s Leadership Award in the C-Suite category.

In the last year, Rivers has been the driving force behind several major business developments in the cannabis industry, including Trulieve’s leading retail footprint in U.S. cannabis, industry leading profitability, and transformational purchase of Harvest Health and Recreation. Rivers set a new industry standard with Trulieve’s release of its inaugural Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) report, the first issued by an American multi-state cannabis operator.

The Women’s Leadership Award honors women in the cannabis industry for their work in several different categories including Activism/Politics, Social Equity, Cultivation, and Media.

“It’s an honor to be recognized amongst so many talented leaders who are redefining this industry,” said Rivers. “As the only female-led public multi-state operator, Trulieve has a unique opportunity to increase female representation and ownership within the sector. It’s also important to use this platform to foster significant economic and social advancement opportunities for local communities across the country. I look forward to a future when female leadership is ubiquitous in the C-Suite.”



Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. announced that Matt Darin will become Chief Executive Officer of Curaleaf Holdings, Inc., while current CEO Joe Bayern will launch and run a new division of Curaleaf developing a new CPG-based business model.

Executive Chairman Boris Jordan said, “When we named Matt president in January, it was a deliberate move to strengthen our leadership bench to support our growth strategy and build a succession plan for the future. The Board and I are all incredibly grateful for Joe’s accomplishments during his tenure as CEO. He brought us into a new way of working and thinking strategically as a CPG company. His experience as a brand builder and CPG leader will be instrumental for our new venture at a time when the opportunities in the marketplace are only just being realized. We’ll be sharing more on the new division and its role in our strategy soon.”

Darin brings dynamic leadership skills, an entrepreneurial mindset and experience as a first-class operator in the cannabis industry. As a founder of Grassroots, he was a first entrant in some of the top cannabis markets in the U.S., including Illinois and Pennsylvania. Since joining Curaleaf in July 2020, he led the Central region, the company’s largest by footprint and revenue. In 2021 he added the Southeast region to his responsibilities, helping increase Curaleaf’s market share by 55%.

 



Ayr Wellness Inc. announced the opening of its 47th Florida dispensary, located in Clermont, a western suburb of Orlando.

The new dispensary spans 4,000 square feet of retail space and is located near Clermont Historical Village. The store features Ayr’s full line of concentrates, edibles, gummies, vapes, and a selection of high-quality flower, including newly launched Kynd whole flower offerings and Walking STiX pre-rolls.

“We continue to open stores in Florida at a rapid pace, with today’s opening marking 47 locations across the state,” said Jonathan Sandelman, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Ayr. “The expansion of our Florida footprint, combined with the continued rollout of our national brands like Kynd, STiX and Entourage, positions us well to continue to capture market share throughout the Sunshine State.”



Robert Platshorn aka Robert “Bobby Black Tuna” Platshorn is America’s longest imprisoned nonviolent marijuana offender. Platshorn served a 30-year sentence for smuggling pot into Florida. He currently offers some of the best-selling strains of marijuana legally though Trulieve, one of Florida’s largest dispensaries.

What benefits do you see for patients throughout Florida within the cannabis space?

The vast majority of users in Florida are seniors – my age group – who benefit from use for pain, sleep, Parkinson’s, and lots of neurological and age-related illnesses, and epilepsy, post-traumatic stress disorders, arthritis and constipation to name a few. Doctors have prescribed cannabis products to ease side effects from cancer treatment (such as chemotherapy) and suppress the symptoms of many other diseases.

Experts indicate that abuse of alcohol and opioids can be reduced through use of cannabis and marijuana products. Whether it is included in tinctures, edibles, vapes, gummies, powders, or oils, marijuana is an available therapy to decrease symptoms such as anxiety and pain (not limited to seniors) that can turn patients into junkies who frequent ‘pill mills’. Cannabis and marijuana have been shown to help patients gain weight, cope with chemo, treat glaucoma symptoms, and calm paranoia. Additionally, marijuana use can inhibit violent behavior and suppress many mental illness related symptoms.

Educating seniors, who talk about its benefits over lunch, playing cards or at the pool is a vital step towards decriminalization of use.

What’s your history with the cannabis Industry?

Well, in plain language, I started as a smuggler. I spent 30 years in prison and had a lot of time to think about the future and wanted to kick off a medical revolution. I now have my own brand of cannabis “Black Tuna” which Trulieve sells in Florida, and I introduced a new, delicious strain, “Blue Fin Tuna” this month.

I worked in the media as a pitchman and realized I could use that talent to help change the attitudes of seniors toward Cannabis use after Proposition 19 failed in California because it didn’t have senior support. In 2010, California already had legalized medical marijuana use but nobody made a real effort to educate seniors about its benefits when trying to pass laws to legalize recreational use. Lacking the senior support, it failed.

I originated the Silver Tour which educates and advocates for decriminalization of pot and targets senior communities, at churches, synagogues – and wherever I get an audience in Florida – explaining the value of medical cannabis. Cannabis is a choice – better than pills – and Grandma needs to know about it to live her best life.

This has taken me to politicians and legislators, (not just in Florida but in Washington DC), where we changed the audience of pro-marijuana rallies from hippies to seniors in wheelchairs. I talk with doctors and farmers, in person and through the media, I campaign for the benefits of cannabis legalization with the main goal of getting the truth out about the benefits and getting involved with advocacy groups to get petitions signed, legislation introduced and passed to allow everyone to reap the rewards.

What motivates you?

It doesn’t make sense that the cannabis industry is one of the fastest-growing, tax producing businesses and produces one of the oldest natural medicines … yet we still spend billions of tax dollars incarcerating users and promoting myths and misconceptions about marijuana.

Studies done to date about the effectiveness of cannabis use are so promising, pointing to the potential to help us live a better life, keep me pushing for the federal decriminalization of cannabis use.

 What do you think is necessary to help move Florida forward in the marijuana/cannabis business?

Education. The benefits directed at seniors, like my Silver Tour campaign, have helped make huge inroads over the past several years. Seniors are advocates and politicians know they need the senior vote. Education targeting doctors and educators have led to Medical School research and teaching future doctors about cannabis medicine.

At the very least this state needs to have reciprocity with other states who have passed laws regarding medical and recreational use. We are a tourist state and legislators understand that leaking money to other states is a bad economic move. Nationwide, 18 states have legalized recreational marijuana and 37 allow it for medical purposes with a prescription. Florida needs to get there now on both counts.

We need to stop limitation on volumes and retrain budtenders to sync computer renewal amounts to determine appropriate quantities. We need to limit alcohol and opioid abuse and talk about the benefits of cannabis and marijuana for people who need relief. We need to allow for homegrown weed. Bottom line is we need to decriminalize use, period.

Doctors, legislators, law enforcement, teachers and the public are getting on-board and moving to support federal decriminalization to remove all legal constraints to using marijuana, which confuses those who need it and blocks us from its benefits.

Trulieve has pushed the envelope and provides education and a variety of quality products. I think we’ve made a lot of progress and I am confident we are moving in the right direction. People just wish it was at a faster speed for those who need the benefits.

For more information visit https://www.trulieve.com/dispensaries/florida or email tunaville@yahoo.com