LM : I could fluff this up with true statements about the round-theclock full-time shifts we have for just our massive hand-trimming team , our financial commitments to social equity and criminal justice reform programs , or our extremely high-level protocols on sanitation and quality monitoring technology . Additionally , we maintain a broad education system for staff and patients , statewide event programming bringing us to 60 + pop-ups a month , a KC concert series , our online merch network , plus our dedication to regular R and D on our cultivation / manufacturing processes . But it really all boils down to what all our dispensary buyers and patients say that sets us apart from everyone else and what patients want most — CONSISTENCY .
TEM : Tell me more about your social equity marketing campaign and how it relates to the brand name ?
LM : With the launch of its Freedoms Campaign , we ’ ve partnered with the
Last Prisoner Project ( LPP ) to provide donation dollars to individuals imprisoned under cannabis possession charges . Over the rest of this year , we ’ ll be featuring eight cannabis POWs and their stories . We ’ re grateful for LPP ’ s support and the team at Strange Music for letting us use its recording studio to help shed light on what it really means to be convicted for cannabis crimes and how that can unravel your entire life . Our goal with the Illicit name is to highlight that hypocrisy in the criminal justice system . We encourage everyone to visit our website to watch the uncensored interviews , learn more about their experiences , and to donate to help with their legal and reintegration costs ( see page 48 for more details ).
TEM : Any new Illicit products coming to market ?
LM : The launch of the Freedoms Campaign coincides with the release of a new Illicit product line , “ West by Illicit ,” which is the brainchild of freed cannabis POW Donte West . West was sentenced to eight years for a cannabis first offense in Kansas , where he fought his sentence and ultimately secured his release with a dismissal of all charges . We will donate 30 % of the proceeds from the sale of “ West by Illicit ” products to a rotating list of Missouri ’ s incarcerated cannabis prisoners to help assist with their legal and reintegration costs .
TEM : Is there anything else you would like to tell our readers that adds to Illicit ’ s success in the MO MMJ Industry ?
LM : The biggest contribution to our success that I give credit to is the budtenders — we thank them for being our biggest advocate in creating what has become a household name here in the show me state . The Illicit brand wouldn ’ t be what it is without you !
Q & A
Clayton Stallings is the Director of Sales & Marketing for The EVOLUTION Magazine
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