The Influence of Advocacy and Social Responsibility in the Cannabis Industry

FREMONT, CA: Emerging leaders tend to favour social entrepreneurship in contrast to traditional commercial entities' views that they must either be profit or society focused. Self-sustaining, revenue-generating companies created to affect change have the potential to have a greater influence on social change than nonprofit organisations, which mainly rely on elusive donations.

At a time when customers are demanding more and more from businesses that they concentrate on their social impact, the cannabis sector is in a unique position. The impact of business on society, including issues like economic inequality, diversity, and the environment, was the top concern mentioned by CEOs across the board.

It's crucial for those shaping the sector to consider the bigger picture and the effect that acting morally can now have on society as a whole. Racial fairness and reparations, overturning cannabis convictions and incarcerations, the environmental effects of growing, and continuing the struggle to end the larger war on drugs are some of the most important social justice problems the business must address. Small-scale, straightforward ways that cannabis firms can have a beneficial influence on the environment they operate in include implementing environmentally friendly practices or activities that assist ongoing efforts to end the larger war on drugs.

Starting a cannabis business, however, is a risky and expensive journey. Granting business licences is one thing; having the financial resources for loans and fees or the social capital of professional contacts to establish advisory boards is quite another. Nonprofit groups like Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) (disclosure: I serve on the boards of both of these organisations), and the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) are crucial  because they offer information and services that the federal government won't and, in some cases, legally can't, like monitoring consumer safety.

Joining forces with other like-minded businesses is also an effort to elevate one another. It not only improves brand relationships across the sector, but also contributes to the advancement of ground-breaking concepts, cutting-edge technologies, and systems that will benefit the entire market.

The company need not provide the whole range of services; simply consulting or providing newcomers with access to specific resources might go a long way in helping them get started in the field. Offering clients matching donations, leveraging platforms to promote diversity, and raising awareness of the problems closest to a company's heart are all effective business initiatives. Another way to focus on and exercise social responsibility is to switch to more ecologically friendly packaging or upgrade delivery vehicles.

Being a socially responsible firm does not need developing a business plan that is socially oriented. Just making the most of their chance to demonstrate what an ideal, socially responsible industry should suffice.