We write and publish hundreds of cannabis-related articles every year here at Beard Bros Pharms, and we are thankful for all of you who take the time to visit our site and who trust us to deliver legit news and stories about this age-old culture and its emerging industry. We are also thankful to have so many colleagues and friends dedicated to amazing causes that could have rightfully landed a spot on a list like this one. So, this is by no means a “Top 5”, but rather, a grassroots acknowledgment of these particular groups who we feel are in it for all the right reasons and deserve more recognition.
Beard Bros Pharms is Thankful for Origins Council – https://originscouncil.org/
Led by longtime cannabis advocate and just all-around badass Genine Coleman, Origins Council was founded in 2019 as a California 501c4 nonprofit education, research, and policy advocacy organization. Origin Council’s vision is for legacy cannabis-producing regions around the world to drive global sustainable development and regenerative agriculture through the regulated production and research of high-quality craft cannabis and herbal medicine products. Critical to this mission and vision are public policies and programs that protect and promote these regions’ legacy cannabis farmers and medicine makers including their genetic, cultural, natural, and economic resources.
Dedicated to sustainable rural economic development within cannabis-producing regions, and establishing nationally and internationally recognized, legally defensible, standards-based, geographic indication systems for cannabis, Origins Council represents hundreds of legacy farms across California, giving voice to the farmers who quite literally sowed the seeds for the reform movement we see today.
Beard Bros Pharms is Thankful for Mendocino Cannabis Alliance – https://mendocannabis.com/
On a more regional level, the Mendocino Cannabis Alliance serves and promotes Mendocino County’s world-renowned cannabis cultivators and businesses through sustainable economic development, education, and public policy initiatives. If this sounds like a similar mission statement to the one above for Origins Council, that should come as no surprise as these two non-profits regularly collaborate on some of the most impactful legislative language and grassroots initiatives always aimed at bettering the lives of California’s small-scale craft cannabis farmers. In fact, MCA is a member of Origins Council.
To be as impactful as MCA has been in recent years requires this sort of teamwork which requires strong leadership, and Michael Katz has proven his dedication to the pursuit of the goals laid out by MCA time and time again.
Recent collaborative efforts with Origins Council and the Emerald Cup on their groundbreaking Small Farms Initiative, as well as the successful launch of their direct-to-consumer cannabis delivery service, offer a proof of concept that grassroots activism is just as strong and just as important as ever.
Beard Bros Pharms is Thankful for the Marijuana Industry Trade Alliance – https://mita-az.org/
Things move fast when cannabis goes mainstream so the rapid ascension of the Marijuana Industry Trade Alliance to the top of Arizona’s red-hot recreational cannabis market makes perfect sense. With new adult-use cannabis markets come a lot of ultra-curious new consumers who want to learn about the plant and the culture at its roots.
Delivering on that demand, MITA has earned its reputation as the “Voice of Arizona’s Cannabis Industry”.
With a stated mission to help Arizona’s cannabis industry businesses stay informed, network, and thrive. the team at MITA works directly with policymakers to ensure that Arizona’s cannabis program is fair, tightly regulated, and successful while introducing the Grand Canyon State to thought leaders from markets across the country whose insights will directly apply to Arizona’s marketplace in the years to come.
In fact, they even sat down with Bill and Jeff Levers of Beard Bros Pharms for a recent podcast – check it out:
Beard Bros Pharms is Thankful for Bud for Blood – https://budforblood.com/
Founded by one of the most trusted voices in the cannabis culture, Kristin Yoder, Bud for Blood is a cannabis industry awareness initiative addressing the critical blood shortage in the U.S. The grassroots educational campaign that Yoder has crafted is rallying the cannabis industry to encourage customers and stakeholders throughout the community to donate blood.
Bud for Blood partners with cannabis businesses, organizations and media outlets to spread awareness about the huge impact giving blood can have on saving lives. Any U.S. resident who submits a donor selfie or other proof of blood donation via the initiative’s website will receive a free “Team #BudforBlood” hemp t-shirt featuring the logos of the sponsors powering the campaign.
What we love most about this effort is that it erases all of the categories, classes, or stereotypes that get slapped on the greater cannabis community, and encourages ALL cannabis lovers to give hope to countless people, regardless of their relationship with the plant. Our late friend Mickey Martin coined the phrase, “I like weed and I’m a good person.” Well, if you like weed, and you participate in the Bud for Blood regional or national campaigns, you’re definitely a good person!
Beard Bros Pharms is Thankful for the Chamber of Cannabis – https://thechamberofcannabis.org/
Founded in 2020 and based primarily out of Las Vegas, Nevada, the Chamber of Cannabis is a non-profit organization working to unite cannabis industry professionals who strive to build a more inclusive industry. Since its inception, the Chamber has grown into one of the largest trade organizations in the Silver State.
In 2021, the Chamber and its coalition of local and national industry stakeholders worked to successfully pass AB 341 which effectively legalized Cannabis Consumption Lounges in Nevada. This holds a special place in our hearts here at Beard Bros Pharms because we sincerely feel a little bad every time a Vegas security guard kindly asks us to finish our joint and please not light another one… and we light another one.
The Chamber of Cannabis is yet another women-led powerhouse affecting real change by providing opportunities to connect, share resources, and collaborate with other like-minded professionals in Nevada and beyond.
As we mentioned at the top, these are not the only organizations that we are thankful for, or that we encourage you to support. Cannabis is all-inclusive and, as a result, there are good people and good causes covering the full spectrum of society’s needs and you better believe we are thankful for that. But we do hope you will check out the five highly worthwhile groups and causes that we shined a light on above. They all survive off of donations from folks like you, so if you are also thankful for their efforts, please also consider tossing a donation their way before the end of the year… then watch how they put your compassion into action in 2023.
