This Dispensary Is Giving Branded Joints to Anyone Who Gets Vaccine

By Brendan Menapace

A Michigan dispensary is taking cannabis-related promos to new levels by giving free cannabis to anyone who gets their COVID-19 vaccine.

Any Michigan resident who brings proof of vaccination to Greenhouse of Walled Lake in Walled Lake, Mich., will receive a pre-rolled joint in “Pots for Shots” packaging.

"Anyone who brings in written proof that they received a COVID-19 vaccine to the Greenhouse of Walled Lake will get a free pre-rolled joint, the dispensary says in a press release."#covid19 #CovidVaccine #COVID19Vaccination #marijuana #cannabis #weed https://t.co/7fxTuXxvp3

— Omni Medical Services (@omnimedicalmmj) January 18, 2021

“Our goal is to raise awareness of the importance of getting the COVID-19 vaccination as we as a community battle this horrible pandemic,” Greenhouse of Walled Lake owner Jerry Millen said, according to the Detroit Metro Times. “‘Pot for Shots’ is our way of showing our commitment in assisting the community get back to normalcy. We support the safe and responsible use of cannabis, and hope this is the beginning of the end of this insidious pandemic.”

The promotion gets feet in the door of a business, creates brand awareness with the packaging, and also helps carve a path to safe reopening and full economic activity by encouraging people to get vaccinated.

The most interesting part of this is how the cannabis is used as the promotion itself. We’ve been covering the evolution of legal cannabis (and its potential for the promotional products industry) since the first states passed legislation allowing it. Since then, products like storage tubes, rolling trays and more have gone from fringe items to marquee products at major promotional products trade shows.

On the print side, professional-looking packaging and labeling can change public perception of cannabis from what used to be a street drug to what is now a booming legitimate business. As more and more states legalize it, there will be more demand for these products as new businesses pop up and compete with one another.

Coming back to this particular Michigan business, it’s notable to see the casual approach here after years of wondering exactly how cannabis companies will be able to market themselves. After legalizing it on a federal level, the Canadian government passed legislation severely limiting the way companies can market themselves out of concern that it would appeal to underage citizens, the same way cigarette companies can no longer use cartoon mascots to market themselves.

For now, while it's still sort of the unregulated Wild West in the U.S. and as more states like New Jersey hop on the cannabis bandwagon, there's an incredible amount of opportunity for distributors to provide marketing materials like packaging, apparel, stickers and labels to these newly-opened businesses.

And, who knows? Maybe in the future more companies will use their actual specialty products as promotional items like this.