NCIA Member Profile: The Thomas C. Slater Compassion Center

NCIA is kicking off the new year by celebrating one of the founding members of our association, The Thomas C. Slater Compassion Center, Inc., where they are committed to providing safe, dignified, and affordable access to medical marijuana for approved patients in the State of Rhode Island. CEO Gerry McGraw served as a licensed caregiver in the Rhode Island program, providing medicine for a patient with a chronic neurological disorder. He has advocated for the state’s program in legislative and other public forums, and retains deep relationships with key decision-makers in federal and state government.

Cannabis Industry Sector:

Medical Cannabis Providers

NCIA Founding and Sustaining Member Since:

April 2011

How do you uniquely serve the cannabis industry?

Rhode Island law allows for three licensed dispensaries (or “compassion centers”) to provide medicine to registered patients in the state. We are grateful and humbled to have the opportunity to care for a wide array of patients, offering safe access to high-quality medicine. The needs of our patients are quite varied, so it’s important not only to cultivate superior medicine, but also to produce a diverse product line to help the greatest number of people. We believe the choices offered to patients and the knowledge and compassion of our staff are what makes the Slater Center so unique.

Gerry McGraw, CEO of The Thomas C. Slater Compassion Center

Why should patients looking for medical cannabis go to The Thomas C. Slater Compassion Center?

Patients looking for medical cannabis should go to the Slater Center if they seek quality medicine, affordable prices, a secure environment, diverse product offerings, and a knowledgeable staff. First and foremost, our medicine is grown organically by a team of expert cultivators that understand strain diversification and achieving optimal results for patient efficacy. Our team is constantly developing new products for a variety of ingestion methods, empowering patients and helping them determine the best options for their care. We maintain a mission of helping all patients regardless of their ability to pay with the provision of free and reduced-price medicine. And our Providence location is a warm and inviting oasis that offers unmatched security for all patients under our care.

Medical cannabis patients have such a wide array of challenges, many of which are often met without the guidance of their doctors. How do you empower patients and help improve their quality of life?

Our commitment to patients goes well beyond simply providing high-quality medicine. We’ve created a new department in our facility called Patient Outreach Services. The focus of Patient Outreach is to offer ancillary health, wellness, information, and support services all free of charge. We provide regular programming like Cooking With Cannabis 101, grow classes, and nutrition seminars. Our expert staff members speak before Parkinson’s Disease support groups and have even presented to local chapters of state medical societies. We have an extensive in-house library with books and medical literature devoted to the research and healing advances associated with cannabis. And since we opened in 2013, we offer free massage therapy and Reiki therapy to all our patients — delivered right here in our facility. At the Slater Center, we strive to be a true patient resource that serves the full spectrum of needs of our patients.

An inside look at The Thomas C. Slater Compassion Center

Why did you join NCIA?

We are a proud to be a founding member of NCIA, having joined when the organization was first launched. Our CEO, Gerald McGraw, Jr. is also proud to serve as a founding NCIA board member. The Slater Compassion Center was first conceived in 2010, taking years of planning and dedication to finally become a reality. We knew right away that cannabis establishments needed to come together with leaders from all over the country to share best practices and raise the standards for this nascent industry. Moving forward, we also believed that corralling the efforts of advocates on state and federal legislative and regulatory issues would be increasingly important. NCIA was the perfect conduit to bring together folks from all corners of the country to unify the voice of those in the cannabis industry. We are thrilled to see the organization’s incredible growth and effective advocacy.

Contact:

The Slater Center Website

The Slater Center Facebook

A Cannabis Credit Union May Offer Some Businesses Banking Relief, But It’s Not A Silver Bullet

Cross-Posted from NCIA’s Cannabis Business Summit website.

Recently, the Fourth Corner Credit Union has made headlines by promising to be the first of its kind institution to serve the cannabis industry exclusively and provide the very types of banking services businesses sorely need.

We here at the Cannabis Business Summit recently caught up with Colorado’s Director of Marijuana Coordination and Cannabis Business Summit panelist to get his take on the recent developments.

CBS: Can you explain what is happening right now with the Fourth Corner Credit Union?

AF: They went through the same credit union process anybody else would go through, applied for a state charter, got a conditional state charter based on their business plan and the things that normally go into a state charter.

They went to NCUA with that. NCUA came back, according to Fourth Corner Credit Union, with “it will take us a year or two to process.” Four corners then went back to the regulations and saw that, to get a final state charter, it was only necessary that you apply for NCUA insurance.

And so upon review, The Department of Financial Services, which is a division inside the Department of Regulatory Affairs, gave them a final charter so they are now a state chartered credit union. The only step really left is not actually anything to do with deposit insurance, it’s to get a master account with the Federal Reserve. So they are now looking to get that master account which shouldn’t go to the board of directors. It should be an administrative procedure so they have some level of confidence that they can get a master account.

CBS: Why is this different that previous efforts to provide banking services that have failed?

AF: Well I’m not sure any efforts have failed, some things have come to fruition. But our entire strategy is, as many reasonable solutions that there are going forward we will do everything we can to see them continue on because we do believe this is a public safety issue. We’re hoping this is a good procedure forward but, again, we don’t see it as the final solution to this thing and we’ll continue with as many solutions to this problem as possible.

CBS: How closely do you work with the industry to find a solution to the banking problem?

AF: We meet pretty regularly with anybody who thinks they have some kind of possible solution. So we make ourselves incredibly available to industry on that.

CBS: Do you think this will work and at least provide some temporary relief to some of these businesses?

We’re hopeful but I can’t put odds on it. We’re monitoring it really closely. If they are able to set up a credit union, we’re hope that will provide some relief, even if it’s not a total fix.

When things change as fast as they do in the cannabis industry, it pays to stay ahead of the curve. Sign up today for the Cultivation Management Symposium on February 24-26 in Seattle to gain insight and network with leading industry experts and businesspeople.

Guest Post: Tuning In on Cannabis Customers

By Mike Kennedy, Atomic20

Everybody must get stoned. Okay, so Bob Dylan was actually referring to the heartbreak of relationships in this song, not our fair state of Colorado since the legalization of marijuana in 2012. But after you take a look at the numbers you’ll likely agree that “never gonna be the same again” is a fitting Dylan lyric to describe Colorado’s current cannabis culture. That includes, perhaps most significantly, the legal bud marketplace.

A recent study prepared for the Colorado Department of Revenue painted a telling picture of marijuana usage in the state. One surprising figure is that only 9% of the population consumes cannabis in some shape or form. But it’s the flipside of that statistic that makes Colorado, and other states like it, such a tantalizing opportunity for budding marijuana businesses. While Colorado has less than 500,000 cannabis users, those users do so at extremely high rates, to the tune of more than 120 metric tons annually.

Assuming the cannabis industry is here to stay, that begs the question: who is positioning themselves to reap the benefits of this legion of dedicated cannabis users? The answer: those who understand that the legal marijuana business is just that, a business. A key to long-term, sustained success in any business is creating brand loyalty. And, as of now, we know that Colorado marijuana consumers who shop retail have yet to develop any.

This isn’t lost on us at Atomic20. We’re a creative agency that specializes in market strategy and design for marijuana companies. We recently commissioned an independent study of cannabis users with the help of consumer research expert Koert Bakker. The findings paint a clear picture of the current consumer landscape…

Less than half, or 42%, of frequent marijuana shoppers have a regular store they visit.
Only 18% of casual/occasional shoppers favor any given store.
67% of occasional buyers are still learning what they like and rely on a friend or budtender to influence what they buy.

Bottom line: There is a lot of market share to be had with nearly 80% of occasional buyers and 60% of frequent shoppers still up for grabs.

So how do you go about capturing the frequent and occasional buyer, and then convert them into lifelong brand loyalists? Obviously, there’s no simple answer to that question. But here are few things to keep in mind:

Competitive pricing: Don’t kid yourself. Price supersedes just about any other factor in most buying decisions. Offering daily promotions and periodic sales is enticing to any marijuana user.
High quality: For pot smokers, this is one factor that can take precedence over price. If they find a strain they like, they will search it out and buy it again and again. Developing proprietary strains is one way to give a retail shop its own unique identity.
Market expertise: You have to have a clear understanding of what your customers want. Merchandise your shop in a logical way. Determine which edibles sell and only carry those.
Strong social media presence: Having great product at excellent prices means nothing if consumers don’t know about you. In the medical marijuana industry, social media has become an effective way of reaching out to patients. For example, having a Facebook page gives you a way to stay in touch with customers on a daily basis.
Knowledgeable and friendly customer service: This sounds easy enough, but you’d be surprised how many pot businesses fall short. Do the basics. Make sure the waiting area is clean and has comfortable seating. Offer pre-rolls that are rolled professionally. And, of course, know your product inside out.

This is a defining moment in the emerging Colorado marijuana industry. The consumer base is still anyone’s for the taking. So, even if everybody isn’t getting stoned, there’s no denying that the times they have a-changed, and the cannabis business is ripe for the picking.

Mike Kennedy is a staff writer for Atomic20 (A20) — Atomic20, a Sponsoring level member of NCIA since August 2014, is a full-service marketing agency and shared creative workspace in Boulder, Colorado. In mid-2014, A20 assembled a qualified team of MJ marketers and research experts to serve the rapidly growing needs of the cannabis industry. With a local network of 85 top designers, developers and researchers, A20 has the ability to curate the perfect team for its clients with a focus on dispensaries and MJ brands.

Guest Post: Say It Right – Colorado’s Retail Cannabis Advertising Regulations

By Jeff Cohn, CEO of COHN

With the Colorado market looking to reach $1 billion in sales this year, as well as Oregon and Alaska joining Washington and Colorado in regulating retail marijuana sales, the cannabis industry is exploding at unbelievable rate with no end in sight. With so many landmines to navigate in this nascent industry, we wanted to simplify the legal jargon for the Colorado advertising regulations in a quick reference guide. We hope you find this resource useful in building your brand while abiding by the regulation nuances.

Jeff Cohn is CEO of COHN, Inc., a sponsoring member of NCIA since October 2014. COHN is a Denver-based integrated marketing firm with a passion for contributing their years of retail and service business marketing experience to the cannabis industry. With COHN’s expertise, they are well positioned to help expanding businesses grow their brand and recognition.