The Trulieve Dispensary’s Florida Success Story
truelieve announced the launch of its 49th medicinal cannabis dispensary outlet in Florida in July 2020. Trulieve today owns and operates 51 medical marijuana shops in the United States, with more sites in Florida and California.
Trulieve’s quick expansion is the result of a number of variables, starting with three decades of commercial horticulture expertise. Trulieve’s achievement was further boosted by the encouragement and support of family and friends in the medical field. The business culture of the organisation is characterised by a mission of providing high-quality medicinal marijuana without sacrificing customer service.
If you live in Florida and have a medical marijuana card, you may have already visited a Trulieve dispensary near you. You may be familiar with the dispensary and its reputation for patient assistance and services. MarijuanaDoctors.com wanted to understand more about the goal and individuals behind Trulieve so that we could share it with our readers. We were fortunate to be able to interview a member of the truelieve marketing team for insight.
How Did Trulieve Get Started in Medical Cannabis Cultivation and Manufacturing?
Hackney Nursery in Florida takes over thirty years of specialised horticulture knowledge to perfect the art of cultivation. George Hackney, a high-quality ornamental plant specialist with indoor and outdoor cultivation, formed a partnership with two other qualified nurseries in Florida (the Simpson Nursery and the May Nursery) to create the controlled production that underpins every Trulieve dispensary near me product in Florida.
When Florida officially opened the newly authorised medical cannabis sector to cultivation applicants, the state limited the licences to just the most experienced and established producers in the state. Only company applicants with a horticulture production licence in the state for at least 30 years and a minimum of 400,000 nursery plants in production were eligible. The Hackney Nursery was able to fulfil the Florida medical marijuana growing standards for a licence by collaborating with two other local companies in Florida.
Trulieve’s products and services are all aimed towards and inspired by healing.
In order to restrict output to just the most competent growers, an extra $5 million performance bond was needed, which pushed out smaller-scale producers. Initially, Florida intended to give licences to qualified enterprises using a lottery method. The Hackney Nursery was just one of five nurseries eligible to seek for licence in the first round of licencing in North West Florida.
Friends and family members in the medical field urged the family-owned and managed firm to transition into medicinal cannabis. They wholeheartedly supported medicinal cannabis therapies for those suffering from chronic or fatal illnesses.
Hackney (in collaboration with Simpson and May nurseries) qualified for and was granted a licence to produce, process, and manufacture regulated medicinal cannabis products in Florida in November 2015. Hackney’s horticulture facilities were retooled for medicinal cannabis growth in under 70 days. Truelieve established its first Florida medicinal cannabis shop in Tallahassee in July 2016.
Kim Rivers, Trulieve’s CEO, joined soon after. Rivers is an experienced legal practitioner with experience in medical cannabis regulatory and administrative elements, as well as mergers and acquisitions. She has an entrepreneurial spirit and a strong desire to enhance the quality of life for Florida people who have chronic health issues and need pain treatment.
Jason Pernell was the second executive to join the Trulieve team. He presently serves as Trulieve’s Chief Operating Officer. Pernell was also a Florida native with substantial cannabis cultivation expertise in California. Jason Pernell also hired Craig Kirkland, a former NASA defence engineer, to oversee processing operations and security.
Ben Atkins is a Florida-based investor who owns 27 nursing facilities around the US. He established links between the Florida medical community and the cannabis producer and dispensary chain when he joined Trulieve in the physician outreach and education section.
Trulieve is still building partnerships in the medical community today, hosting free information sessions for practitioners to learn more about the therapeutic potential of medical marijuana therapies. Trulieve offers information on how to become a registered practitioner for medical marijuana patient assessments, as well as a continually updated video resource for physicians on changing regulatory requirements in Florida.
Trulieve’s senior leadership has recruited industry expertise and team members over the last five years to assist generate momentum and a successful growth plan for the medical cannabis producer, processor, and retailer. The idea has been to put the appropriate people in the right locations to support Trulieve dispensaries’ smooth national growth—and it’s working.
Every True Believe Dispensary’s Corporate Culture
Trulieve’s products and services are all aimed towards and inspired by healing. Because the competition was unavoidable, Trulieve sought to be more than just a medical cannabis shop. By becoming the hub of a cannabis wellness movement in Florida, the firm positioned itself to make a difference in the lives of patients.
What distinguishes Trulieve from other dispensaries? Trulieve is actively shifting the narrative around medicinal cannabis. Several family members who were medical practitioners influenced the founders. They aided in explaining the difficulties that patients suffering from chronic illnesses encountered, as well as the limits of pharmacological therapies for pain and symptom alleviation.
The tale of Americans suffering from moderate-to-severe health problems that cannot be treated by standard Western medicine is not told as often as it should be. The American “War on Substances” has done cannabis significant damage by lumping it together with dangerous recreational drugs under the Schedule I Federal categorization.
There is no comparison in terms of addictive properties and overdose danger to other substances in the same group, such as heroin and cocaine. So far, no overdose fatalities have been linked to the solo use of cannabis. According to a new statistics assessment, more than 128 Americans die from opioid overdose every day. Nonetheless, opioids remain the most often used treatment option in the United States.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in every five Americans suffers from chronic and uncontrolled pain. Moderate-to-severe pain that does not respond to standard pharmacotherapy affects 20 million Americans, who are disabled to varied degrees as a consequence of their pain symptoms. More than 50 million Americans have been diagnosed with chronic pain, and the CDC estimates that untreated chronic pain symptoms are responsible for up to 7.3% of suicide fatalities in the United States.
Trulieve is actively shifting the narrative around medicinal cannabis.
Patients who have been suffering from chronic pain disorders for many years have typically explored every feasible treatment option. These include pharmaceutical prescription pain medications, OTC combinations, cold and heat therapy, massage, acupuncture, and laser treatments. Before cannabis was approved for medicinal use, a small number of Americans were effectively utilising marijuana to ease chronic pain symptoms on a regular basis, despite the high legal risk. They were also taking illegal cannabis that was neither regulated, quality-controlled or provided under the supervision of a doctor.
Trulieve’s educational outreach as part of its wellness community is an invaluable resource for first-time patients who may have little to no experience with medical marijuana. Patients who are faithful Trulieve members trust the advice they get on various strains and intake techniques that may give a wellness benefit to them. They may seek medicinal marijuana for physical or mental trauma, or for another illness on the vast list of eligible health conditions for Florida’s MMJ programme.
Reading over some of the Trulieve reviews, it’s clear that consumers believe they are getting outstanding service and high-quality items. Each Trulieve site is properly designed and reflects some of the qualities of the local culture and community; this is another factor that contributes to medical marijuana cardholders in Florida feeling at ease in their local Trulieve dispensary.
Cultivating More Than Cannabis: Truliever’s Growing Wellness Community
What exactly does it mean to be a “Truliever,” or a part of the expanding wellness community based on Trulieve advice, products, and customer service? It indicates that you are a patient who wants to be understood for the mental and physical difficulties you are experiencing, whether as a consequence of chronic physiological or traumatic psychological illnesses. True believers are not scared to seek assistance.
Trulieve has collaborated with renowned healthcare and patient advocacy groups, as well as non-profits in Florida, to increase education, access to information, and community activities that bring individuals with chronic health issues together in a positive manner.
Trulieve has worked with the following Florida health groups and humanitarian programmes:
- Mission Zero is a non-profit organization formed by US Army veteran Jose Belen and his wife Danielle to prevent veteran suicide and to give transition services and supports to returning combat veterans.
- Mike Delancey of Pinellas Park, Florida, developed the Wounded Warrior Abilities Ranch. WWAR is an ADA-compliant (accessible to veterans with disabilities) park that arranges fitness and sports activities for veterans.
- Trulieve has also launched a new TruTalk video live stream on YouTube, which will include conversations with national and regional partners as well as community organizations. TruTalk guests have featured “Minorities 4 Medical Marijuana,” Spanish language broadcasts, and discussions with experts such as Dr Joseph Rosado and “CannaMoms.”
Interview with Chief Marketing Officer Valda Coryat
Sparkz Media’s Jennifer Tapiero is a cannabis reviewer, influencer, and podcaster who has collaborated with MarijuanaDoctors.com to conduct in-depth interviews with medical marijuana businesses and thought leaders. We got the chance to ask questions regarding Trulieve’s business culture and purpose to offer educational materials during this interview. We also loved learning more about the items available at Trulieve dispensary sites in Florida and the three other states (California, Connecticut, and, soon, Massachusetts).
Trulieve has sponsored “Silver Tour” events for seniors as part of its objective to give information and raise awareness about the health and therapeutic advantages of medicinal cannabis. These free educational seminars feature refreshments and a guest speaker who covers senior health problems.
A Trulieve-partnered physician attends each event to deliver personalised suggestions to elders. This guarantees that any questions or concerns participants may have about becoming a registered cannabis cardholder in Florida are addressed by a licenced practitioner. Keep an eye on the Trulieve Events page for updates and announcements of new community educational events.
TruPowder: A Cutting-Edge Cannabis Product
One of Trulieve’s latest products is creating a lot of buzz among patients looking for an alternative to vaping or smokable cannabis or taking tinctures. ‘TruPowder’ is a dry formulation that may be put into a warm beverage, such as coffee, tea, or hot chocolate, to aid with pain or symptom alleviation.
TruPowder’s nano-encapsulated formulation is colourless and dissolves completely in any hot beverage. According to research, nano-sized Cannabinoids have higher absorption and onset times than other standard oral treatments, such as medicinal cannabis tinctures. TruPowder has clear advantages for those seeking additional solutions for chronic pain management. Because TruPowder is flavourless, patients may opt to mix it into their favourite broth or soup.
TruPowder medical cannabis effects may continue for many hours, however, this varies from patient to patient. Maltodextrin, a corn-derived powder, is the principal addition in TruPowder and is used to aid emulsify the product when blended in a warm beverage. TruPowder is gluten-free and vegan, with 5mg of CBD per scoop (a single-serving dosage). TruPowder has a neutral no-flavour character, allowing patients to combine it with any beverage without changing the overall taste.
We’d like to thank Trulieve and CMO Valda Coryat for enabling us to dig into the history, service culture, products, and purpose of Florida’s premier medical marijuana dispensary brand. If you have a Florida medical marijuana card, there is a Trulieve dispensary near you that has customer-focused personnel ready to assist you in making an educated selection regarding cannabis wellness products. Visit the website to locate a Trulieve dispensary in your area.