In Michigan for Thanksgiving this year, cannabis companies teamed up to create the “Bring a Can, Get a Gram’ initiative. The food drive focuses on helping those in need across the state. To help encourage people, two cannabis companies offered one pre-roll for those who brought donations of cans.

Several Michigan dispensaries partnered with Common Citizen and High Life Farms for the can drive. Laura Bywalec, marketing manager for High Life Farms, told NBC 8 in Grand Rapids that the cannabis industry wants to get involved with supporting the community.

“We want to show people that cannabis isn’t just about consuming. It’s far more than just being a big name company that wants to make money,” she said. “We want to show people that as much as we love growing and producing and sharing our love for the product with other people, we want to show other people we care more about helping the community and helping others in need, especially around the holidays.”

Charitable Giving Common for Cannabis Companies

The initiative by the cannabis companies in Michigan reflect a growing movement among cannabis company owners to give back to their local communities as well as fund valuable research.

For example, in Hawaii, Aloha Green Holdings Inc. appears on the list of the most charitable companies for 2022, a list compiled by Hawaii Business Magazine. The company, which operates a medical cannabis dispensary, has given $106,000 and 260 volunteer hours to a number of organizations, including the Honolulu Zoo, Hawai‘i Health & Harm Reduction Center, and the Hawai‘i LGBT Legacy Foundation.

And Wana Brands recently made a $3 million donation to Johns Hopkins University for research into cannabis and psychedelic medicine. It represents the largest donation yet from the Wana Brands Foundation. The foundation also supports causes that include food security, housing, support for victims of domestic violence, combating racial injustice and LGBTQIA+ rights.

Support for Veterans

Cannabis companies also offer strong support to veterans. According to High Times, businesses across the country have come out to support organizations that offer help to veterans.

They include Mango Cannabis in Oklahoma, which partners with Veterans X to raise funds that help veterans and prevent suicide. Buds by Cannilux in Canada donates 5 percent of net profits to Veteran House Charity. And Massachusetts-based Chill Medicated donated $1 for every product sold in November 2022 to the VFW Michigan Chapter and Massachusetts Fallen Heroes.

Another recent example of cannabis companies making donations to charitable causes involves a new sponsorship deal between Illinois-based cannabis brand Verilife and the American Hockey League’s reigning champions, the Chicago Wolves. As part of the deal, the company and team will partner to donate to Facing Forward to End Homelessness, a Chicago area nonprofit organization that focuses on finding solutions to the homelessness crisis.