Every year deserves to be called “a big year for cannabis.” However, 2019 was especially big for Curaleaf! While there’s been plenty of press surrounding the headline-worthy news, we’d like to take a moment to reflect on some of our lesser-known, intimate happenings and achievements. Let’s start with...
So. Much. Growth!
Cannabis, no doubt, is a growing industry. All the same, we’re thrilled at how much we’ve been able to grow. In 2019, we added a total of 1065 new employees to our family through organic and acquisitional growth. We’ve watched people land their dream jobs, advance their careers, and make history.
We ended 2019 with 110 open opportunities. Could one of them be yours? (If you’re new to—yet intrigued by—the idea of a career in cannabis, here are a few things to consider before you dash forward! After that? By all means, dash.)
Jake’s Law
Have you heard the story of Jake’s law?
As you may have guessed, it was indeed named after a medical cannabis patient. Jake Honig was a little boy from Howell, NJ, who began his five-year battle with cancer at age two. Learn how this brave little boy made a lasting impact on New Jersey's medical cannabis community... and you’ll see why his story is marked as a milestone for 2019.
Cooking with cannabis.
We’ve had a BALL this year with Lila of Heaven on Earth Cooking Studio, who helped us to put things like DIY cannabutter and canna-oil and homemade gummies to the true test. She’s curated all the tempting bites you see on our blog, taking great care to get the recipes just right. Shouts also go out to our photographer, Jenn, and our food stylist, Suzanne! It’s been an honor to collaborate with these three spectacular, independent businesswomen to bring you nothing but the best (and most beautiful) canna-kitchen creations.
Curaleaf + VCP: A meaningful partnership
Our focus has always been—and will continue to be—on the medical cannabis community. With a large percentage of our patient population being veterans, we’ve become quite close to the healthcare challenges our nation’s veterans so commonly face. We’ve heard their personal stories and we've rallied around the need to reduce veteran dependency on over-prescribed pharmaceuticals. Over the years, we’ve created veteran care packages, volunteered at veteran homeless shelters during the holidays, and offered substantial discounts to veteran patients throughout the communities we serve. That being said... we’re always looking to do more.
Our partnership with the Veterans Cannabis Project was an exciting next step. This veteran-led organization is dedicated to cannabis advocacy and education, with a primary goal to improve veterans’ accessibility to quality medical cannabis. 2019 marked the launch of our exclusive VCP pre-rolls. One dollar from the sale of each pre-roll pack is donated directly to the Veterans Cannabis Project. This product offering is just one more way to spread the word on their important work.
Adult-Use at Curaleaf Oxford!
Though our focus is primarily medical, we believe in access to quality cannabis for all! That said, it was a thrill to open our doors to the adult-use community in and around Oxford, MA this winter. If you’re in the area, be sure to visit Curaleaf Oxford! Speaking of that, we’re pretty juiced up for our next Massachusetts-based Adult-Use location in Cape Cod. (Coming soon!)
New product offerings abound
As you know, the legalities for different forms of cannabis vary state-to-state. This means we can’t offer all products in all places. So, we do the next best thing, and work to maximize the potential in each state in which we operate. Here’s a highlight of just a few of our new favorites for 2019:
Ground Flower Pods: New York
For the first time, NY medical cannabis patients can legally access flower! We are so proud of our flower pods, which are grown by us, cured by us, packaged by us, and sold by us. In other words, we’re able to control the entire process, seed-to-sale, ensuring New Yorkers can (finally!) enjoy all the benefits flower has to offer. Here’s coverage on the product debut by our friends at Leafly.
“Ground to Go”: New Jersey
You’ve likely heard us use the phrase, “Cannabis isn’t one-size-fits-all.” We’re all unique. We have different goals, different desired outcomes, different budgets... So, to deliver personal cannabis experiences, we have to have lots of different options! Ground-to-go was born out of the need to offer our patients and consumers a convenient and price-conscious product, without sacrificing quality. If you’re a NJ’er who wants more info, check this out.
Live Resin: Florida
Our new Refined Live Resin distillate is offered in a discreet, easy-to-enjoy vape cartridge. Using carefully selected, strain-specific terpenes, we’re able to bring our Florida friends a wide variety of flavor formulations. The result is a first-class, personalized cannabis experience to meet your palate’s specific preference. Learn more about our Refined Live Resin—including what Live Resin actually is—here.
Curaleaf Cares
Our team is dedicated and committed to wellness, through cannabis, and beyond.
This year, in Massachusetts alone, we collected enough blood donations to save over 150 lives. Our Florida team raised $38,000 for badgesofcourage.org, which provides financial assistance to low income women who have been recently diagnosed with breast cancer.
Our eight dispensaries in Arizona worked together to collect 27,862 pounds of food, which allowed St. Mary’s to provide enough food for 23,218 meals to community members in need! In short, we did LOTS of things, and it felt great. We always strive to be wonderful neighbors and active members of the towns and cities where we work!
It's efforts and initiatives like these that make us truly proud to be a part of this incredible industry. As for 2020? It may have only just begun, but we’re already on a roll!