Navigating New Boundaries:
Illinois Medical Cannabis Launch
Challenge:
The Illinois Cannabis Industry started under an administration that did not support the program. While hundreds of thousands of patients across Illinois needed the medical relief from cannabis, there was no formal program to launch the industry and the list of approved conditions was too narrow to provide relief to the hundreds of thousands of patients in need.
Our challenge was to develop a strategic communications and stakeholder outreach strategy to build support for medical cannabis programs throughout Illinois.
Solution:
Morreale developed a statewide initiative to launch the medical cannabis industry in Illinois and led efforts to assemble the Medical Cannabis Alliance of Illinois, the leading business cannabis association.
Highlights
Worked our relationships with the media to secure more than a dozen press conferences, 40-letter to the editor placements, 200-news stories, coverage on every major Illinois television network, statewide radio interviews, major editorial board endorsements including the Chicago Tribune
Organized rallies drawing hundreds of supporters advocating for the expansion of the program and setting up legislative tours of cultivation centers and dispensaries
Identified and trained spokespersons including doctors, military veteran’s, patients and not for profit organizations such as the AIDS foundation, Epilepsy Foundation and Danny Did Foundation
Result:
Our public relations strategy and campaign resulted in a major shift in public policy to expanded the medical cannabis program. This included an advocacy and education campaign targeting state lawmakers and the Governor’s office.
