Happy Holidays from Goodness Growth, Vireo Health, and Green Goods!

At Goodness Growth Holdings, we want to wish all our patients, customers and community partners a happy and safe holiday! However you choose to celebrate, we hope you are spending time with friends and family as 2021 comes to a close.

As we reflect on the past year, we’re proud to have helped tens of thousands of people find improved quality of life through cannabis and cannabis-based products. We’re excited for the chance to improve even more lives and serve more customers and patients next year.

We are busy preparing for more exciting developments, including expansion projects and new product launches in the new year, but wanted to take a moment to give thanks for all we accomplished together in 2021 and look ahead to see how we can do more in 2022.

Making the holidays better for everyone!

At Goodness Growth, Vireo, and Green Goods we want everyone to enjoy this time of year, so we’re taking steps to make that happen.

Many of our dispensary and manufacturing facilities across multiple states have held food drives in November and December, benefitting organizations local to their areas that work to make sure everyone has enough to eat. In New York, team members at our manufacturing facility and four dispensaries, with help from our patients, collected 500 pounds of nonperishable food items and bottled water. In Minnesota, each of our eight dispensaries is collecting nonperishable food items to be donated to an organization helping people in the local area.

In Maryland, we work year-round with Veterans Initiative 22, a non-profit that supports veterans and their families. This December, we participated in their holiday food drive to support local veteran communities by collecting items at our Frederick, MD dispensary.

We’ve also partnered with Last Prisoner Project to run a holiday letter writing campaign at all of our locations. The letters are sent to people who are currently incarcerated for non-violent cannabis charges. Last Prisoner Project provides holiday postcards and envelopes. The program runs Nov. 16 through Dec. 31, with a goal of sending 5,000 letters; anyone who is interested in participating can visit one of our dispensaries or download this helpful guide from Last Prisoner Project for instructions and information.

In 2022, let’s combat social stigma.

We’ve come a long way in recent years when it comes to combating social stigma around cannabis – but there’s still work to be done to increase acceptance around cannabis use.

Millions of Americans use cannabis each year to help manage pain, anxiety, nausea, stress and number of different medical diagnoses. A Gallup survey earlier this year found that 49 percent of adults had tried cannabis at least once, the highest number measured to date, and a Pew Research Center survey found that 91 percent of American adults support legalizing cannabis use.

And scientific research continues to provide additional information about the benefits of cannabis, with one recent study showing significantly lower levels of pain, pain interference and depression and increased sleep quality, sleep duration and quality of life among chronic pain patients starting medical cannabis treatment. Other studies show that even small doses of THC can help reduce pain.

With more and more Americans supporting an end to cannabis prohibition or even trying it themselves, and more and more scientific research backing the benefits of cannabis, it’s time for the stigma against cannabis prohibition to end.

Food for thought: for many years, cannabis was legal and common in the United States, and typically referenced by the name “cannabis.” The phrase “marijuana” or “marihuana” began to show up in the U.S. following the Mexican Revolution in the early 20th century, as politicians opposing immigrants from Mexico began using the term “marihuana” negatively. In fact, NPR reports, the “disparity between ‘cannabis’ [press] mentions pre-1900 and ‘marihuana’ references post-1900 is wildly jarring. It’s almost as though the papers are describing two different drugs.”

Speaking of stigma…

Holiday Cannabis Etiquette

While cannabis is becoming more accepted, it’s important to remember when gathering with friends and loved ones at the holidays that attitudes (and laws) regarding the plant still vary. And keep in mind that some people who support legalization might still face negative consequences under current laws. For example, members of the military, where policies are dictated by federal laws, could face discipline or even discharge for a variety of minor cannabis-related situations, even if they personally support cannabis legalization or are currently located in a state where cannabis is legal. Leafly has some tips for cannabis etiquette to help when navigating holiday gatherings and travel, and Rolling Stone has some helpful talking points and data for discussing cannabis with those who aren’t as familiar with it and its benefits.

And how could we wish you happy holidays without including different holiday promos and specials in each state where we operate? Check out visitgreengoods.com or vireohealth.com/ny for more information on promotions at your local dispensary!

Happy holidays and here’s to an amazing 2022!