Pot sellers face a Catch-22
Re: The Not-So-Free Market In Medical Marijuana, editorial, Feb. 3. Your editorial accurately reflects the curious marketing issues facing this nascent industry. As licensed producers, the Hydropothecary cultivates four strains of medical marijuana in highly controlled, state-of-the-art facilities and yet we can’t say much about our product.
And that’s a challenge, especially for the 30%-40% of Canadians who suffer from insomnia, along with the 8% with depression and 5% with anxiety. All three are candidates for using medical marijuana, not just the illnesses the media commonly associates with medical marijuana, such as cancer and glaucoma. How many patients want to stop taking over-the-counter or prescription sedatives, but know little of the alternatives? The medical marijuana strains used for insomnia or anxiety can vary greatly, but how will the doctor or the patient know which to choose?
While we can’t talk to potential customers about important scientific information regarding specific strains, what we can talk about are two other customers service issues: suppliers who run out and limited access. Patients should never run out of their medicine. Nor should they have to take a day off work to receive a package and sign for it. From the moment people register with the Hydropothecary, we guarantee they will never run out because we won’t oversubscribe. And we deliver any time, including after-hours and on weekends.
So, yes, there are inherent issues with marketing a product we can’t discuss. But differentiating a company in this environment isn’t just about product: it’s also about paying attention to what customers really need.
Adam Miron, The Hydropothecary, Gatineau, Que.