TICAL IS ONE YEAR’S OLD!
The TICAL Legacy: Chapter One
On June 12th, 2020, TICAL was made available to the public for the first time. And it was a momentous occasion. Not just because the brand that we had been developing for so many years was finally finding a home on the shelves of California dispensaries, but because we launched TICAL at a time that couldn’t have been more perfect.
You see, one year ago, the entire global community was in full panic mode. A new pandemic called COVID-19 hit us with all the subtlety of a brick to the face. Entire economies shut down. Millions were forced into quarantine, and sadly, bodies were piling up. It was a humbling and scary time, indeed. And to make matters worse, here in the US, the country was becoming more and more divided as ugly politics and uncomfortable truths about race and injustice boiled to the surface, with the death of George Floyd providing the spark for a kind of social unrest that had been in the making for a very long time.
So why would we look at this time as the perfect opportunity to launch TICAL?
Because, in the immortal words of the great Bob Marley, “Herb is the healing of a nation.”
Healing with Joints, Jobs and Justice
It should come as no surprise that during the pandemic, one of the few industries that managed to defy the economic disruption caused by COVID-19 was the cannabis industry. In fact, while thousands of businesses were shutting down, the weed industry was booming -- and hiring.
It’s no secret that weed is a stress reliever. And fear of death and unemployment certainly caused a lot of stress for all of us.
As well, weed is incredibly effective at helping us connect to each other in a way that strengthens our social support systems that are essential during times of uncertainty and strife.
And indeed, 2020 was a year of uncertainty and strife. Because COVID was just the beginning.
In 2020, with the help of cell phones and social media, the pandemic-stricken world also got to see evidence of what many people of color have known for decades: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is not guaranteed for black and brown people. In fact, according to the CDC, the seventh leading cause of death among non-Hispanic black males between the ages of 15 and 24 is use of lethal force by law enforcement.
This is not a criticism of law enforcement in general, by the way, but rather a simple observation of truth: systemic racism has long been the catalyst for violence against black and brown people, with the war on drugs providing the legal foundation for this violence.
This is why we have made it our mission to use TICAL as a catalyst for social, economic and racial justice in defiance of the war on drugs.
As we made very clear from day one, we’re not just looking to sell some of the highest quality weed in the world (although we’re really good at that). Instead, we seek to provide this high quality product to the world while ensuring that those who have been most negatively affected by the war on drugs benefit both socially and financially from our success. In fact, when we launched one year ago, we made it a priority to launch in minority-owned dispensaries, establishing our directive to honor and provide for those who came before us and laid the groundwork for our accomplishments.
But that was just the beginning.
Now that we’re one year in, and growing rapidly, we’re now in a position to take our mission to the next level by ...
• Providing support systems for those who have been unjustly imprisoned for drug offenses.
• Providing internship opportunities for people of color
• Spearheading new social justice campaigns that will address racist drug policies and criminal justice reform
• Providing financial support for educational initiatives and recreational programs for the communities that have long been victimized by unjust drug war policies.
• Using our platform to promote efforts to fully legalize cannabis at the federal level.
Make no mistake: We enjoyed incredible success in 2020, and we have every intention of sharing this success with our customers and our communities in 2021 and beyond.
TICAL Worldwide
We crept into 2020 without a lot of noise. Basically, we were far more concerned with getting our premier herb into your hands than we were with promoting it.
Of course, no promotion was needed anyway. It didn’t take long for the word to get out, and our first run sold out within days. And even today, it’s not easy keeping TICAL on the shelves. But we’ve adapted quickly, and we’re now ready to expand into new territories.
Later this year, you’ll not only be able to find TICAL in the Golden State’s finest dispensaries, but also throughout Nevada and Colorado. As well, we’re currently in discussions to bring TICAL to three more states, and to South Africa, too.
Bottom line: We know smokers all over the world want TICAL, and we’re going to make it happen.
We’re also launching new strains this year and embarking on new brand collaborations to accompany a post-COVID world where Method Man will be back on stage, in front of the camera, and back out on the road.
2020 will certainly go down as the year that changed everything for the weed game. The year when the world discovered just how paramount this amazing plant is to the health and well-being of our global community. And the year when TICAL showed the world that it is possible to bring the highest quality herb to the masses while successfully promoting social and racial justice. To accomplish such a thing is a gift, and we are grateful to you for being a part of this movement.