'Taste Your Own Medicine': Small Cannabis Company Dares Opioid Makers To Use The Drugs They Produce

Missouri-based Show-Me Organics is targeting pharmaceutical companies with a strong, daring campaign to promote cannabis as an alternative to opioids. The family company is dedicated to “expanding education and access to world-class cannabis.”

The campaign, “Taste Your Own Medicine,” is a provocative challenge to pharmaceutical companies, daring them to use the very drugs they promote.

This initiative taps into public outrage around the opioid crisis.

The Campaign

At the heart of the campaign is a 2.5-minute documentary-style video featuring LeAnne and Jess Dickerson, former pharmacy owners turned cannabis entrepreneurs.

They narrate a firsthand experience after a car accident in 1987 that led to devastating effects and Jess's refusal to use opioids afterward. “For 37 years I just lived with the pain”, he says. That is until his boys told him about cannabis: “It made a big difference in my life, it changed it”.

The situation prompted the couple to start Show-Me Organics.

The brand isn’t pulling any punches: Show-Me Organics is tagging major pharmaceutical companies on social media, challenging CEOs by name. "We're not starting a revolution; we're capturing the moment," said Tony Billmeyer, chief marketing officer of Show-Me Organics, in an interview with Adweek.

Read Also: ‘Just Smoke The Weed’: Why This Physician In California Urges Against Cannabis Vaping

• Get Benzinga's exclusive analysis and the top news about the cannabis industry and markets daily in your inbox for free. Subscribe to our newsletter here. If you're serious about the business, you can't afford to miss out.

“Opioids kill over 80.000 people per year” says LeAnne Dickerson in the ad.

While the ad aims to provoke, it also highlights the therapeutic benefits of cannabis and urges a rethinking of its role in combating the opioid epidemic.

As a smaller player, Show-Me Organics hopes to galvanize public support and push cannabis as a safer alternative to addictive prescription drugs.

The campaign also includes initiatives such as a cannabis giveaway for veterans affected by opioid addiction.

• Read Next: EXCLUSIVE – How Cannabis Businesses Can Leverage Global Search Trends To Stay Ahead: New Semrush Index

Cover: Screenshot of the add