This is not your great grandfather's reefer madness. The deaths and hospitalizations caused by the vaping crisis are real and the impact it will have on sales and regulation is deeply concerning. Preliminary reports are showing a 15 percent drop in cartridge sales and anecdotal reports from areas hit hardest by the vape crisis are seeing more drastic drops in demand. Those who would use this crisis to thwart the advancement of the industry are waiting to pounce. Individual brands, industry trade associations, and government regulatory bodies should step up the communications effort to weather this storm and protect consumers.





"Owning the narrative means referring to it as mystery lung disease, or only mentioning health and safety. We have to redirect the narrative away from cannabis products and activities."





We should begin with the very top of the industry. C-suite management teams, activists, & industry trade associations need to pressure government regulatory agencies to assure the consumer that the state's supply of cannabis is secure or safe. Regulatory agencies have a responsibility to the public to protect them from unsafe products. Regulatory bodies often act as stewards of economic growth and development within the industries they regulate. They have two duties and they are not in conflict. CEOs need to echo that sentiment. There have been many examples of CEOs stepping out in front of the public during a crisis to add ethos to the message that their products are customer-driven. Now is the time to feed the news media and blogosphere with our side and our why. Messaging should be crafted to counter the fear response in consumers. Language centering on evocative words such as safety, purity, authentic, genuine, tested, and crafted will help to assuage concerns. Please defer to legal counsel on advertising restrictions in your state or country.









"Always keep in mind hysteria and the enemies of the cannabis industry will overcome any logic, science, or fact. The industry cannot depend on the truth to save it. This is about feelings." Off the record former State Representative & Lobbyist





Messaging schedules need to be altered to minimize the impact on brand identity. Brands with a suite of products such as topicals, tinctures, edibles, beverages, etc. should begin to highlight products that are not inhaled. This is a simple and inexpensive way to avoid the negative connotations. Changing out featured products on websites and social is a price-conscious path to raising brand esteem in the crisis. Avoiding the association of your brand with products and activities being maligned is a safe bet. This is also a good time for brands less dependent on vape cartridges to gain market share. The question of pricing strategy on cartridges is difficult. Discounting prices to increase volume could backfire by making the consumer question the quality of the product. "Why is it so cheap?" It is advised to avoid substantial cuts in price. Imagery or messaging centering around healthy lifestyles, fitness, or vigor are the ones required to remove the dissonance and bolster the idea of cannabis as life-enhancing.





"An echo chamber works because the repetition of message brings clarity and consensus to the mind. Cannabis needs to double down on its roots of medicine and social connection."





Retail is where cannabis meets the community. Budtenders need training that allows them to easily answer and assuage fears presented by the end-user. This is the time for brands. Brands aren't product descriptions, they are ideas and sentiments. If ever we need to move beyond the cannabinoid per dollar paradigm and into the realm of consumer sentiment it is now. Customers deserve to feel secure in their purchase. Positioning statements need to be adopted by retail teams which will reassure customers that they are buying products that have been designed, tested, and made by people who care about their well-being and happiness. This burden should be shared. Individual brands should provide training about the why of their products as well as supply retailers with ephemera that promotes the emotions and safety of the brands. Remember we are trying to combat those who will be using the work of unscrupulous people to malign an entire industry and slow the growth of that industry. There is much discussion concerning the loss of smaller brands and players in the industry. These are the enterprises most in jeopardy by the crisis.





Circling the wagons has never been a more apt metaphor. This crisis taps into the history of the movement where brave compassionate souls fought for HIV-AIDS and cancer patients to have cannabis that enhanced their lives. We can come together to create a resonating chorus of messaging to combat the desires of those wishing to profit while harming. The government denied cannabis to patients for too long and it now has a responsibility to promote and deliver a safe experience to the citizenry. Our strategic and collective voice can ensure our customers our community that their choice of cannabis is right and sustainable.



