At Town Hall Brands we hosted (possibly the first ever?) cannabis lunch and learn…
Last year when we decided we wanted to pivot our business and extend our services into the cannabis industry, we knew that we had services to share, but we also knew we had knowledge that we need to gain first.
Over the last six months we’ve been working to gather knowledge and meet as many people as we can in the industry. This helps to build up our understanding so that when we put our experience forward with graphic design and publicity, we have a basis to put cannabis-related companies into the spotlight when legalization comes forth. In order to help our educational journey, we had maybe the first-ever lunch and learn for cannabis, for our team, hosted by Bethany Rae from Flower & Freedom.
Flower & Freedom is the brain child of Bethany, a fitness enthusiast and Australian living in Canada. When Bethany rediscovered cannabis as a health and wellness supplement in her early 30s she was inspired to create consumer education, build positive change, and promote a new approach to understanding cannabis. Bethany‘s mission is to educate people so that when they enter into the cannabis world they do so from a place of education, and they start slow and low, with micro doses, and try to go for the products that are going to be right for what they want, whether it be euphoria, relaxation, or pain management.
All nine members of our team attended the session, and we listened with rapt attention and notebooks out as she went over more than 10 different ways to consume cannabis and gave us a show and tell of the methods that are employed for consumption in the medical cannabis world. Many of these things will cross over into the recreational world when legalization occurs. No consumption took place; that is not the intention here. Bethany was very non-judgmental, and patient with the many, many questions we had.
There is still a huge stigma around cannabis, and much education (just like we received) is required. Letting people who are new to cannabis or afraid of it understand that it’s not all about getting blitzed out of your mind and going on a high trip, but rather can be part of a healthy lifestyle. For example, if you’re having deep anxiety, there's something to help you feel more calm; or if you have some pain in your knee or your hip, there are topicals you can apply on the spot; or if you’re looking to have some giggles, there’s ways to do that too.
Here is what our team had to say about the session:
“I want to thank Bethany for coming in and sharing her breadth of knowledge about cannabis with us. The presentation was thoughtfully executed, starting with the science behind this plant, to the different ways cannabis can be used, and then concluding with weighing out some pros and cons. I would recommend this presentation to anyone who is interested in learning more about this subject matter – I wish she could talk to my family! Bethany was able to break down a lot of stigmas around this industry within our team and inspired me to open up the conversation with those around me. Thank you, Bethany.” - Whitney
“I really enjoyed Bethany’s presentation! I would feel totally comfortable having Bethany speak to someone like my mom or nana about cannabis. I also enjoyed learning about some of the science behind cannabis. Bethany is very kind and relatable, and most importantly she dispels a lot of the misconceptions about cannabis culture.” - Maddie
“Bethany was knowledgeable, approachable and gave a fantastic overview of a beginner’s intro to cannabis. I liked her well-rounded self-care approach, that cannabis can be part of the solution to a healthier you, not THE solution. Starting small and slow was great advice. And I trusted her opinion as she seemed to very experienced with all the products she was talking about – good and bad. I appreciate her honesty and openness on this new and rather nerve-wracking topic.” - Felicia
For many people who are unsure about cannabis and don’t know where to start, having an in-home party hosted by Bethany or hiring her to come to your place of work like we did, offers a great way to learn and to demystify what cannabis is about.
Leeann Froese, Town Hall Brands; Bethany Rae, Flower & Freedom; and Whitney Law, Town Hall Brands celebrate cannabis education