Advocacy for Medical Marijuana

As of June 2017, 21 states still haven't legalized Medical Cannabis.
Right now, millions of Americans are suffering from chronic and terminal illness without access to this effective treatment option. Jeff, Rich and I are seeking to combine the reach of our apparel company (Hudson River Surf Club ) with the experience of our Advertising Agency (Decipher Advertising ) to help promote and advocate about the benefits of Medical Cannabis.

Why?
We noticed that much of our customer base have been closely affected by medical cannabis and we were profoundly moved by many of their stories. From epilepsy to MS to cancer to depression, this treatment has helped people we have come to know and love. But along with the successes have come the heartbreaks. Lack of access due to laws, stigma or just a simple fear of not knowing what is allowable has encouraged us to use our little company to tell a big story.  As experienced advertising executives we decided to use our extensive experience to help give voice to this important cause.

How?
A powerful message motivates, engages and unifies people. The shirt you see pictured was one of our first efforts, designed to provoke a conversation about the legalization of medical cannabis. It's important for us to get this and our many other collaborative ideas in front of those who can best benefit from these discussions. Whether its a political rally, legislative support, patients rights or community engagement we want to be instrumental in helping shape the argument.  Our goal is to do this by working closely with organizations and donating a significant portion of our time and proceeds to their cause.

We need your help.
To date we have funded this project with our own money. But we know we need to do more. The funds we raise through this campaign will allow us to travel to various conferences, symposiums, trade shows and events around the country where we can share our expertise.  As responsible business owners, we do our best to optimize expenses in order to reach as many people as possible. It would be impossible to cover every area of the country, so to maximize our exposure we laid out an ambitious but manageable schedule strategically hitting areas we feel we can make the biggest impact. Our 12 month schedule will likely exceed $45,000. The campaign goal of $15,000 will enable us to head in to 2018 energized and confident that we can make a positive impact on this issue. 100% of the amount raised will be used exclusively for the event fees, travel and related expenses. Our promise is that no money will ever go towards personal use.

How else can you help?
> Reach out and help spread the word about legalization of medical cannabis. To see a list of organizations go to our site.  We update this list periodically.

> Buy the "Ill•Legal" Shirt! Give them as gifts. Encourage others to purchase. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to select organizations.

> Ask your friends, family and everyone you know to support my campaign.

> If there are any organizations that you think would benefit from our program, please let us know.

There's still a lot to do.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, 

Jim