On 4/20, the Cannabis Industry Is Ablaze With CX Strategy: What Dispensaries And Brands Are Doing To Attract Customers Amid Controversy

Since the record of human society has been available, public opinion on cannabis and marijuana use has swayed from positive to negative across geographical locations, age groups, and cultural identifications. Politics, religion, education, business, science, and public health sectors have all shared public opinions on whether or not marijuana has positive health, mental, and social benefits to society. In the United States alone, the plant scientifically known as cannabis sativa has been criminalized, decriminalized, used, misused, and consistently shrouded in a smoke of facts and misconceptions. Some individuals proudly pronounce that they are regular smokers, well others will hide that many years ago they took an edible just one time. Regardless of where you might fall on that spectrum, you too have likely had some type of encounter with marijuana.

April 20 is one such day that brings more publicity to cannabis than any other of the year. Known as 4/20, a slang term that even then has no clear connotation for its cultural significance, weed smokers, haters, sellers, and buyers alike use this day to highlight all of the controversies, risks, costs, and benefits of marijuana in modern-day society. Some businesses and advocacy groups spend the day campaigning against recreational marijuana use, while others offer sales, run promotions, host events, and utilize it. No matter what use case you may have for marijuana, it's difficult to deny that the cannabis industry has one of the most succinct, competitive, and innovative customer service strategies in public discourse today. In this piece, we will be discussing:

• the ways in which the history of cannabis and public opinion of it have shaped, informed, and changed the way that cannabis is used and sold throughout the world
• key customer service trends and topics as they relate to cannabis CX
• how the industry has developed a sales strategy around the plant 

Word Of Mouth Has Always Been Marijuana’s Biggest Customer Service Catchall 

Marijuana, or weed, has been a cultural phenomenon for years. Polarizing beliefs that it is simply amazing–or simply awful–draws individuals of all ages to the drug. Complicated and at times lax legislation surrounding the drug has allowed for wider access to the plant around the world and in the U.S. Use of the drug by teenagers is higher than it's been in 30 years, and over time some of those people have grown into adults who are deep in the weed culture. Philip Winkler, 31, has been using mairjuana for over 15 years, and cites pop culture as a primary influence in his draw to the drug. “That had been introduced to me by songs about it, so I knew what it was. It had always seemed interesting to expand your mind in a way,” he tells CCW Digital. At the age of 16, on April 20 no less, he arrived at the house of a friend with just $5 in his hand, and that night participated in his first cypher, also known as a smoking session. He would use marijuana, which was still illegal in the state of New York at the time, socially on and off as a teenager up until college, where Winkler describes his use as daily since.

While today, many organizations invest money, time, training and entire departments to develop social media strategies that attract customers, marijuana has always been set in that regard as rumors of dealer to dealer and friend to friend have kept the circulation in motion even in U.S. states where the drug is still federally illegal. Recreational and medical marijuana use by individuals 21 years of age and older is currently legal in New York State and Winkler, who claims that use of the drug helps him overcome anxiety, depression and PTSD, is a card carrying user as of 2021. Historically, getting a medical marijuana card in New York has been a complicated process that once swayed many from going through the necessary motions to secure one. Now, however, it's a much easier process for people like Winkler to obtain one. When asked if he sees his habitual use as addiction, Winkler says, “Because of the long history that marijuana has in this country as being known as a ‘gateway drug,’ I do believe that anything in excess can lead to addiction. Compare marijuana use to sugar use in children. Kids are addicted to sugary drinks the way someone might be addicted to weed. There’s more of a stigma about addiction, and I think that over the last 10 years we’ve broken down that wall and shown that there can be medicinal purposes for marijuana, and that it’s fallen out of favor as a ‘party drug’ and more in favor as a holistic medicine.”

The Healthcare Industry Is Single Handedly Shaping Cannabis Customer Service Standards

Winkler is just one of nearly 80 million Americans utilizing marijuana in the United States, where 35% of adult consumers also report daily usage. Nearly 50% of Americans have tried the drug, and the social and emotional impacts of the Coronavirus on society has only exacerbated that number: according to the United Nations, cannabis is the most highly used drug in the world. Contrary to past beliefs, modern medical reports now state that usage can help alleviate symptoms of MS, chronic pain, depression and more. Legalization of marijuana and such scientific research supporting claims of health benefits are two external factors that have greatly shaped today’s cannabis industry, Winkler adds. He believes minimizing risks and having regulations around strain types, dosages and farming guidelines through a federal or state program allows patients to target the ailments they wish to soothe, and removes doubt on whether what a seller claims is a good product is actually something else.

“With a medical card it’s a lot more trustworthy when it comes to the product you’re getting,” Winkler explains, “rather than from the guy who hangs out on the corner.”

While healthcare and science are not directly correlated to the customer experience, the weight they carry in helping customers trust cannabis brands—both on the books and under the table—is extraordinary. When it comes to the debate surrounding support for and legalization of cannabis in the U.S. Big Pharma plays a complicated role. At large, federal legalization marijuana is expected to cost the pharmaceutical industry billions as its medicinal use replaces prescription and over-the-counter drugs for some patients. But at the same time it is the word “medical” that is providing legitimacy to the drug through medical marijuana programs, regulation, and legalization guidelines. Pharmaceutical companies, if they were to purchase land and grow regulated flower, could become the most powerful force in global cannabis distribution. “The big players, the Philip Morrises, Bill Gates, they’re buying land to grow weed. And eventually, they will have the money to push through legislation that will make it legal,” a New York based *former prosecuting attorney tells CCW Digital. While the attorney declined to be named in this report, he did offer to share his expertise and make some very important distinctions about how federal and state laws impact dispensaries and dealers’ ability to meet customer needs

Notwithstanding the products they are buying, customers who view the plant as “medicine” want to know that like federally regulated medication, vacation experiences, groceries, and clothing, the inventory they are purchasing is of good quality, worth the investment, safe, and reliable. Those key tenets of customer satisfaction are what attract new cannabis customers and keep current ones coming back, and they’re something that organizations legitimate and otherwise, online and in-person are aiming to emulate.

Dispensaries Are Like The’ Apple Store’ Of Weed, Giving Customers High Tech And High End Experiences

In the state of Washington, where medical marijuana use for adults over 21 has been a possibility since 2008 and recreational use has been legal since 2012, formal dispensaries are all the rage as Seattle tourist destinations. In order to operate as a marijuana dispensary, an LLC company must apply for a state permit from the Liquor Control Board, just as liquor stores and service shops that sell alcohol must do as well. In Washington, each dispensary is also assigned a compliance officer from the Liquor and Cannabis Board whose job it is to enforce state laws on controlled substances. Have A Heart, founded in 2014, is a dispensary that caters to customers journeying to the Pacific Northwest. According to manager Thomas Ellis, Have A Heart supplies the same quality of marijuana to customers, whether they’re purchasing for recreation or medical use. “The difference here with medical and recreational is the amount you can purchase… the quality is still there even if you’re not medical” they explained to CCW Digital during a very busy day of 4/20 sales. “It’s the same caliber of cannabis, you just don't get the same amount,” Ellis noted. In Seattle, someone without a medical marijuana card can legally purchase one ounce of flower, while someone with a card can purchase three. Depending on what way a customer chooses to take their dose–smoking, eating, or drinking–they will be able to purchase a lesser or larger amount of product per state regulation.

Have A Heart, which started as a medical dispensary, is now recreational and functions under the CX credo of just that. To the company, having a heart means “compassion and taking the time to help people find what they need in their cannabis journey,” Ellis says. Hand-crafting and curating that journey involves more safety and care than one might think, as users who choose the wrong product–or too much of the right one–can experience anything from lack of coordination to relationship issues, a permanent loss of IQ points, psychotic episodes, and even addiction. 1 in 6 people who start using the drug before the age of 18 can become addicted, as can 1 in 10 adults. While they note that they aren’t doctors, Ellis does say it is still important for “budtenders” (as their employees are called), to be empathetic and listen to the experiences, preferences and concerns of their customers when helping to guide them to the right products. Everything from CBD to THC, flour to pre-rolls, edibles to cartridges and tinctures, you’ll be able to find at Have A Heart–in addition to great customer relationships. 

To help clients get ahead of 4/20 demand for products, the store had already been running their April 20 promotion since April 10. Have A Heart also has a loyalty program and a newsletter that’s in the works so that customers can have a personalized experience and don’t have to miss out on deals. “That way we can get people’s history so that when a budtender works with them, we can help them get what they got last time or something like that,” Ellis explains. The Seattle based organization isn’t the only one to offer perks, kick-backs and insightful customer service. Legal (and illegal) dispensaries, cannabis clubs and cafes across the country have free item punch cards, subscription services that come with steep discounts and bundled products, invite-only cannabis-themed events, limited edition strains and snacks, and more. As a result of legalization of marijuana in 21 states, *users like Philip Winkler who also spoke with CCW Digital expressed less fear of smoking or consuming in public and more of a desire for the social, communal and even retail experience that dispensaries can now offer. 

Philip Winker provided CCW Digital with a photo of a loyalty card from a New York City dispensary, which he can return to the company in exchange for a new card and free product after every 10 stickers he accumulates from previous purchases.

Instead Of Intimidating Or Eliminating Street Dealers, Legal Dispensaries Are Serving As A Form Of CX Schooling

“You can go to your favorite dispensaries,” Winkler says, “or you can have your favorite dispensary come to you.”

“Back in the day, you had one guy that did the whole operation. He’s the guy that took the phone calls, he’s the one that drove around. Or you had to go to him. Most of the time the weed dealer did not move,” he adds.

But now, services and singular dealers across the country are taking cues from legal dispensaries and developing their customer service strategies as well. While in more rural areas, these old school methods described above still ring true, dealers big and small are now able to source their cannabis from the same high quality California grow farms that places like Have A Heart do. 

According to the attorney, who has more than 20 years of experience specializing in cannabis law, on a federal level it is still illegal to possess or use marijuana in any way, shape, or form. Flying marijuana across state lines–even from California to New York, for example, where marijuana use is decriminalized in both states–is still federally illegal as well. Whether it’s Have A Heart or a one-man-band, both entities run the risk of breaking national law when moving products. The only difference between them post-inventory haul is that a dispensary is licensed to sell, the attorney explains. However, the ability to purchase marijuana or grow in small quantities is still regulated by state, as is the case with Washington and New York State respectively. In cities like New York, where legal dispensaries are just getting their footing and local dealers have been the primary source of cannabis for those with both medical and recreational needs, customer service in the cannabis industry is cut throat and at times, behind closed doors. In 2023, brands recreational and medical alike have to keep up with the pace if they want to stay in the race. 

One such dealer nicknamed Sosa, who illegally owns and operates his own business, agreed to speak with CCW Digital for this piece. He sells his product door-to-door as a bike messenger and has been doing so as part of an orchestrated network since 2017. He describes his former employer as “organized, well-operated and well managed,” and just recently left his post to pursue his own venture. “Before it got legal, when it was illegal, there was more money to be made. More profit, less competition, more in demand,” he recalls. Customers would pay anywhere from $300-$400 an order and return each week to purchase more flour, edibles, and even pre-rolls. Today, Philip Winkler's $5 bill doesn't go far with a cannabis retailer: an eight of an ounce of marijuana can cost anywhere from $10-$200 depending on the strain, potency, seller, and source of the flower.

Between growing, branding, packaging, delivery, and hiring, marijuana is a costly business that requires significant manpower in order to make sizable profits. It's projected that by 2030, the industry at large could be worth over $72 billion. But for now, it's all about the hustle. Over the past few years Sosa personally has seen a drop in product demand due to not just the emergence of fancy legal dispensaries and competitors, but other individuals who have taken time to learn the science behind growing cannabis and are now smoking their own supply to save a few bucks in an economically tough time. “Every customer is also a dealer now,” he admits. And although he’s had to cut prices to stay competitive in a costly market where there are at least a dozen other brands running similar but illegal operations in his city, Sosa has seen the changes in the industry as not a hindrance, but an opportunity for him to also up his own CX game. 

Customer Service Comes Down To Good Business And Relationship Building, Even With Cannabis

At the beginning, “I started first with dealers, middle men, until it got legalized and I got confident,” Sosa explains. Then he started researching how to improve his plant yields by cross breeding plants, understanding different growing methods, exploring different pH balances and collaborating with other individuals who, like him, were going under the table to try and supply the high level of quality that marijuana legalization has now made the standard.

“Now that I read and see and do the same thing as cultivators do,” he explains, “there's so much work. Some people tend to be more careful, some people tend to be a little careless. But you want to create more yields for your flowers, you want to give it better nutrients and make it cleaner.” 

While he doesn’t sell his own growth experiments with customers or offer his harvest in the form of free samples, he makes sure that his customers get products that are right on par with everybody else. “I work with mostly growers in L.A. These people put their time into it,” Sosa says. He’s also joined networking groups and events where he connected with individuals who run legal dispensaries, have invested capital in the business and have viable product marketing strategies, who showed him more professional means of providing customer service and tools of the trade beyond just selling on the corner. “I look up to them and I learn from them, and I respect that,” he adds. And while Sosa shares with CCW that he isn’t afraid to go to jail for selling marijuana under the table, the attorney CCW Digital spoke with regarding legal details on dealers like Sosa does note that Sosa will be subject to arrest and incarceration if he gets caught. 

At least in New York, it’s not illegal for individuals “to purchase it or possess it in quantities up to three ounces,” in public, but it is illegal to have marijuana inside of a motorized vehicle, the attorney explains. Laws surrounding cannabis operate much like open container laws do with alcohol, which by state also place specific limitations on how and where you can use or travel with weed. But in Sosa’s case where he is running an operation and carrying large quantities of product to customers on foot, by bike, or by car, “that person is still criminalized. And if they catch him with enough weight, he can still go to jail for it.” Nonetheless, just like other retailers, Sosa’s products have an Instagram page, a menu list, promotional offerings, and limited edition strains. He even wants to apply for a license and become a bona-fide shop. 

“When you go with these other companies, the satisfaction rate is definitely at a high,” Winkler says.

“A lot of recommendations come from word of mouth from other recreational users. I can pretty much send a text message, and that person will respond to me with a menu and a time period in which the delivery will happen, they arrive at the address I give them, it’s very streamlined. That’s where things are heading for the future of customer service in cannabis.” 

The Future Of Cannabis CX Counts On Technology To Modernize, But Counts Out Marginalized Communities 

While today you can send a text on an app that encrypts and protects your data, swipe on an iPad to choose cannabis strains from all over the country, and get an edible to your door in 20 minutes, that’s not the reality for everybody whose life involves cannabis in some capacity. While some turn to the plant to help lessen side effects and others use it to enhance their mood throughout the day, there are others still whose history is intertwined with the social status of and customer concerns surrounding weed in America. The name we use colloquially to refer to the cannabis sativa plant–known as “marijuana” in Spanish–in and of itself unveils that history. 

“It’s all money related… the history of marijuana in our country basically is that in its origin, marijuana was not illegal,” the attorney tells CCW Digital. “But then during the Great Depression FDR needed to deport as many Mexicans as he possibly could to give their jobs to white Americans. And marijuana at the time was seen as a Mexican-used drug. So he was able to deport lots and lots and lots of Mexicans back to Mexico because of the use of marijuana.” 

After the Mexican Revolution of 1910, many from the country came to the U.S., and some introduced Americans to the recreational use of marijuana. Impending economic collapse, growing anti-immigrant sentiments, and recent prohibition laws in the states all led to a negative connotation of the drug. In fact Harry Anslinger, the bureaucrat who led the prohibition effort, said at the time, “There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing result from marijuana use,” claiming that weed also caused white women to partner with non-white men, posing additional dangers to American society. Historian Martin Booth, in his book Cannabis: A History, suggests that the Spanish word may have even derived from an Aztec language or soldiers’ slang for “brothel”–Maria y Juana, which means Mary and Jane in English. Ultimately, all this led to the establishment of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics in 1930, the illegalization of marijuana by 27 states in 1937, and enactment of the Marijuana Tax Act during the same year.

Customers And Companies Will Keep Changing The Future Of CX By Keeping Each Other In Mind

It would not be until 1944 that medical studies would show health benefits of cannabis, and it would take countercultural movements of the 1960s and beyond to fight anti-cannabis slogans and sayings like “jazz cabbage,” “the devil's lettuce,” “Reefer Madness” and the “War On Drugs.” Even during these social movements, members of the BIPOC community living in underfunded and overpoliced communities would continue to be targeted as criminals for making a living by possession, sales, and growth of marijuana while their white counterparts living affluently would be able to afford high end products, fund modern day dispensaries, and remain relatively unscathed by comparison if caught in possession. Marginalized people living in New York City, which was once an epicenter of illegal marijuana sales in the 1970s-80s, have especially felt that pain through the years. It's something that Sosa, who identifies as Latino, thinks about every day that he runs his operation. 

“I went to the boards of the community of the projects in East New York or Bedford-Stuyvesant where the community comes together, where the mayor comes. And we talked about the 2 million dollar budget that the city has given to the community where Hispanics and Black people are eligible to apply for a license [to sell] if they've ever been convicted for marijuana cases. And if you’ve ever been convicted, a nonprofit will help you.”

At Have A Heart in Seattle, store manager Thomas Ellis says they partner with local organizations and brands that support the Last Prisoner Project, which works to provide resources to people who have been wrongfully incarcerated for marijuana. These days, habitual smokers and casual tokers of cannabis alike are much more conscious of how their customer experience differs from the lived experience of some of the people who fulfill their weed needs. Philip Winkler, who is a white man living in a predominately Black community of New York City, believes that it’s important to be aware of how the presence of customers like him influence the buying and selling market. 

“It’s so easy for someone like me, I think about those struggles those people go through because there's a stigma that's been created. I think that there’s a deeper rooted problem there in American society… how could you not? Why doesn't everyone get a fair shake?”

Legalized or otherwise, cannabis companies are doing everything they can to serve a customer base that while destigmatizing the plant, also directly points to the customer service challenges the industry has always faced. The world cannot seem to come to a conclusion on where weed stands on the moral scale: is it definitively good, or definitively bad? Studies, social media and state legislature all say something different about it, and likely still will for generations. Sitting in the liminal space between medication and menace to society, marijuana still has a long way to go in terms of not only defining what exactly it is in our culture, but what its customer journey will be. When weed can be a lethal candy to snack on at a Super Bowl party but also a helpful tool in subsiding the effects of chemotherapy treatment, it’s hard to know how to market in ways that reflect the truth about marijuana (if there even is one) and create the most appropriate customer experience. Pharmaceutical companies have an opportunity to formalize mass operations, while local dispensaries and single salespeople have the best chance of building a community that can heal the wounds of weed journeys past. Part of the cannabis customer experience, after all, is just that: creating your own journey. But moving forward, we all have a part to play in the next phase of cannabis CX, whatever that may be.

*Names in this report have been omitted or changed at the request of interview subjects.

Photo courtesy of Philip Winkler