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CHICAGO, Sept. 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Green Thumb Industries Inc. (Green Thumb) (CSE: GTII) (OTCQX: GTBIF), a leading national cannabis consumer packaged goods company and owner of Rise™ and Essence retail stores, today announced the company has partnered with Last Prisoner Project (LPP) on an integrated marketing campaign, including a short documentary, social media advocacy, digital promotions and in-store programs to raise awareness and funds for LPP’s important work.
LPP is a coalition of cannabis industry leaders, executives and artists dedicated to bringing restorative justice to the cannabis industry. The organization’s Clemency and Reentry Initiatives provide pro-bono post-conviction representation to assist individuals in securing release and a clean slate to rebuild their lives.
The centerpiece of the campaign is a short documentary, “Waiting to Breathe,” created in-house by Green Thumb. The film highlights the story of Evelyn LaChapelle, a current LPP Advisor who served more than five years in prison for a cannabis-related offense and has since rebuilt her life with her young daughter with support from LPP.
Following her release, LaChapelle was fired from a job when the company learned about her past. “When I got fired it was like you aren’t done serving your sentence,” said LaChapelle, who currently works in the legal cannabis industry in California. “It was like this is never going to go away. It leaves you with an amount of hopelessness.”
Sarah Gersten, Executive Director and General Counsel of LPP said: “Evelyn’s story really moved all of us and changed the way we envisioned this project and our mission. All of the barriers she faced coming out of prison, how difficult it was for her to find employment, watching her struggle through all of that really gave us the insight to refocus our efforts, not just on releasing folks from incarceration but working with them to ensure that they have the resources they need to successfully reenter.”
According to various sources:
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An estimated 40,000 people are currently incarcerated for victimless cannabis offenses. (Source: LPP)
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92 percent of 663,367 cannabis arrests in 2018 were for possession alone. (Source: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, 2018)
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Black people are 3.64 times more likely than white people to be arrested for cannabis possession yet are no more likely to sell or use cannabis. (Source: ACLU)
A portion of proceeds from Green Thumb products purchased in the month of September will directly benefit LPP.
Green Thumb Corporate Social Responsibility Director Michael Fields said: “By partnering with LPP, Green Thumb hopes to raise awareness of real people like Evelyn whose lives and families have been positively impacted by LPP, and to provide financial support to LPP which serves as a vital resource for former cannabis inmates transitioning to a successful life following incarceration.”