Pleasantrees Gives Back to the Communities it Serves
Pleasantrees East Lansing location
Pleasant isn’t just the name of the brand—but it’s a way of life that Pleasantrees strives to achieve with marijuana. As the winner of our Reader’s Choice Best Social Equity Program, Pleasantrees is making cannabis a pleasant experience for its customers and communities previously impacted negatively by it.
Social equity is essential to the cannabis industry. The state of Michigan does its part by incorporating programs supporting the fair distribution of licenses to foster economic growth in underrepresented communities. However, efforts don’t stop at the state level. Pleasantrees has emerged as a leader in ensuring these social equity practices trickle down into the community through the dispensaries that represent them.
Pleasantrees is a cannabis dispensary and brand that puts significant effort into its social equity program. Its goal is to give back and fight the stigma of using cannabis. It stands on four key pillars driving the success of its social equity program:
- Access to Value Chain – creating job opportunities for individuals affected by former marijuana prohibition laws.
- Education – providing life skills training to help rehabilitate previously incarcerated individuals
- Legislation – supporting legalization efforts
- Good Neighbor – participating in community initiatives with charity, fundraising, and more
We spoke with Jerome Crawford, Chief Legal Officer for Pleasantrees, about the importance of the company’s social equity efforts.
“Understanding that we are a job creator, paired with a firm belief that cannabis should never have been illegal, we are dedicated to doing all we can to mitigate the harmful effects of prohibition by providing meaningful opportunities to participate in this growing industry – especially to those who have been most impacted by the so-called war on drugs.”
Pleasantrees recruits from untapped resources, including individuals with marijuana-related criminal backgrounds ‘unhireable’ in other industries. These overlooked employees have become stars for the company, providing their expertise, dedication, and willingness to learn a better way of life with cannabis.
It is programs like this that help Pleasantrees create a knowledgeable staff and develop cannabis products its team will feel proud to share with the community.
Pleasantrees operates five dispensaries in Michigan:
- Hamtramck (recreational)
- East Lansing (recreational and medical)
- Lincoln Park (recreational)
- Houghton Lake (recreational)
- Clemens (recreational and medical)
In addition to storefront dispensaries, it also has its own cannabis cultivation operation to create in-house cannabis products. The in-house operation allows consistency when producing its product line, including flowers, infused pre-rolls, live hash rosin, and vape cartridges.
Pleasantrees is active in each of the communities when it has dispensary locations. It is part of the give-back initiatives that help inspire community growth and engagement.
Crawford comments, “At Pleasantrees, we are deeply committed to supporting the communities that support us. we believe it is critical to serve as a good neighbor and partner with charities right in our backyard.” Some of the charity programs that Pleasantrees is involved in include the TCB Youth Mentoring and Turning Point program in Mt. Clemens.
Learn more about Pleasantrees online at www.enjoypleasantrees.com