Creating Education and Community in the Legal Industry

The legalization of cannabis is a global process, not an event. There are many decisions to be made and not everyone agrees with the rules and regulations.

However, the one thing that everyone in the cannabis industry and government regulators can agree on is that consumer education is needed.

Educating the growing population of new and existing cannabis consumers is layered with challenges. At Flower & Freedom, we are dedicated to overcoming these challenges to create a unique and relevant solution to the cannabis education challenge.

To even consider having an educational conversation about cannabis, one that is targeted to the general public, we must first overcome advertising restrictions and regulatory handcuffs.

Once the educational message is seen by the targeted adult audience a social challenge arises.

A cautious new consumer might not want to engage with a cannabis education company because of the fear and shame of being seen to be associating with anything cannabis related.

Decades of negative stereotypes and stoner portrayal of the cannabis consumer have created a mental barrier between the general public and the cannabis industry.

The challenges are amplified again by the fact that cannabis affects everyone differently and is being consumed for many different reasons from enhancing creativity to managing chronic disease.

A new consumer must take the time to understand how to make a good decision about cannabis consumption as there is no one size fits all dosage guideline or product type suggestion.

So what is the most effective way to connect with brand new consumers to ensure a positive experience with cannabis? While we need all elements of education, from written material to formal courses, our approach at Flower & Freedom is to provide education through sharing a broad range of consumer experiences.

To combat the stereotypes Flower & Freedom focuses on showing how cannabis can be part of a healthy lifestyle. Fitness enthusiasts and wellness industry experts show and explain how they consume cannabis as part of their active lifestyle. Flower & Freedom is a community of cannabis educators.

To stay compliant we distribute our message in our age-gated zones including the Flower & Freedom Community Facebook Group and our in-person events, including the Flower & Freedom Cannabis 101 workshop.

Most importantly we are real people, sharing our real experiences with cannabis products and explaining how we use our cannabis knowledge to make mindful decisions about our cannabis consumption.

At each Flower & Freedom event the educator arrives with their Flower & Freedom kit. The Flower & Freedom kit is a large Silverton Stashlogix case full of the educator’s personal cannabis products. The conversation during the workshop covers cannabis 101 and the educator chats through the labelling on each cannabis product to explain how and why they decide to consume each different type of product.

If you are interested in becoming a Flower & Freedom educator in your local community please contact Flower & Freedom here.

Together we can work to undo the harm of misinformation during cannabis prohibition and create relevant and authentic cannabis education and community.

Disclaimer: The information shared in this post is for educational purposes only and is not to be considered medical or legal advice. Please consult with a cannabis educated health care practitioner and seek legal counsel on the cannabis laws in your area.

Disclosure: Flower & Freedom and Stashlogix have a paid educational partnership to collaborate on creating education on safe and responsible cannabis storage. Bethany and the Flower & Freedom team have been using Stashlogix cannabis storage solutions since November 2016.

Author Bethany Rae is the founder of Flower & Freedom. She is a cannabis education advocate and fitness enthusiast. She inspires honest, experience-based conversations to guide awareness around healthy cannabis consumption. Follow Bethany Rae on Instagram here.