NEW YORK, April 18, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Serviceplan Group, in partnership with a group of cannabis industry leaders including platform provider AROYA, retailer and manufacturer GABY Inc., and nonprofit Last Prisoner Project, launched Freedom Grams, an innovative cannabis brand that comes in packages of 0.3, 3.5, 8.7, 18.0, 23.5-grams — the exact amounts of cannabis that people are in prison for. All proceeds from Freedom Grams go to funding the release of those and other cannabis prisoners, as well as general cannabis justice reform.
“What sets Freedom Grams apart from other initiatives is that we are creating a connection between consumers and convicts. The public needs to realize that it’s people like you and me, serving sometimes up to life, for amounts that you can legally buy today. By offering exactly these amounts, we are creating awareness and turning it into action at the same time,” says Christian Hertel, VP, Marketing, AROYA.
Freedom Grams is set to launch on April 20, through California-based dispensary Mankind, with more distributors following soon. Each pack features someone imprisoned for the exact weight of cannabis inside the package, like Kevin O’Brien Allen who was sentenced to life-without-parole in 2014 for the possession of about 3.5g of cannabis. Introduced through the packaging, these stories then unfold on the Freedom Grams website.
“Through Freedom Grams we are raising public awareness of the harsh reality of cannabis-related incarceration and hope to empower our supporters to join our fight to secure the full freedom of the communities we serve,” said Stephen Post, Campaign Strategist, Last Prisoner Project.
“Cannabis has been historically demonized, and people were punished for all the wrong reasons,” added William Kanistras, Director of Product Operations at GABY Inc. “The legal system needs to recognize that the people who were imprisoned deserve to be free too.”
At the heart of the project sits its innovative distribution strategy. Freedom Grams is an open- source brand. This means the community can submit more cases to feature on the packs and other industry participants — growers, retailers, brands, or individuals — can join by creating Freedom Grams labels for their own product with the online label generator.
Apart from telling the personal stories of cannabis prisoners, freedomgrams.org features data-focused editorial content informing visitors about the unjust cannabis criminalization in the U.S. Beyond purchasing the packs in store (and soon online), the website channels support by guiding people to write to local politicians directly, join a petition, or connect with activist groups. The initiative will be constantly adding more cannabis prisoners to be featured and invites the community to contribute as well.
Beside founding partners AROYA and GABY Inc, the initiative is supported by Ball Family Farms and Dewey Cannabis Co.
“Cannabis is now a legal and billion-dollar industry,” said Chris Ball, former legacy operator and CEO of Ball Family Farms. “It’s only right that we let people like me, who have cannabis convictions out of prison. Allow them to participate in this space. Let them bring the expertise that got them locked up into a legal framework.”
“The continued criminalization only hampers progress and innovation in the cannabis industry,” concluded Christian Hertel, VP, Marketing, AROYA. “With Freedom Grams, we are bringing together the industry and cannabis consumers to solve this, by allowing them to use their own freedom to free others.”
Freedom Grams is an initiative by AROYA in partnership with Last Prisoner Project and GABY Inc., idea and execution by Serviceplan Group, together with design studio Moby Digg, type designer Michael Clasen, and creative coder Daniel Kuhnlein.
About AROYA
AROYA is a cannabis production platform. They specialize in cultivation sensors and analytical software for producing high quality yields. They believe in using the power of data to empower their consumers.
About Last Prisoner Project
The Last Prisoner Project (LPP) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to cannabis-related criminal justice reform. LPP works to redress the past and continuing harms of inhumane and ineffective laws and policies.
About GABY Inc.
GABY Inc. is a California-focused retail consolidator and the owner of Mankind Dispensary, one of the oldest licensed dispensaries in California. Mankind is a well-known, and highly respected dispensary with deep roots in the California cannabis community operating in San Diego, California. GABY curates and sells a diverse portfolio of products, including its own proprietary brands, Lulu’sTM and Kind RepublicTM through Mankind, manufactures Kind Republic, and distributes all its proprietary brands through its wholly owned subsidiary, GABY Manufacturing. A pioneer in the industry with a multi-vertical retail foundation, and a strong management team with experience in retail, consolidation, and cannabis, GABY is poised to grow its retail operations both organically and through acquisition.
GABY’s shares trade on the Canadian Securities Exchange (“CSE”) under the symbol “GABY” and on the OTCQB under the symbol “GABLF”. For more information on GABY, visit GABYInc.com
About Serviceplan Group
Serviceplan Group is one of the largest independent, partner-managed agency groups worldwide. Serviceplan Group has developed the concept of the “House of Communication” — a fully integrated agency model that combines all modern communication disciplines from the areas of creative and content, media and data, and experience and technology commerce under one roof.
Contact: Sara Vinson
917.753.2955
sara.vinson@digennaro-usa.com
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