2017 Adopt-a-Family Holiday Giving
Lightshade adopted 9 families from the Colorado Homeless Families organization. Each of the 8 stores and the Brooks family adopted a family who provided a wish list of items that they needed (like socks, coats, gloves, hats, work clothes, etc.) and also small items that would like to have for Christmas. The families range in size from 2-7 people and many of them are refugee families. Lightshade provided each store with wrapping supplies as well as a gift card for families with a budget of $125-150 per family member. The staff members from each store worked together to maximize their respective budgets and shop for the families to try to purchase as many items from their lists as possible. The staff then wrapped the gifts and delivered them to the CHF subsidized housing facility.
Senior Support Services Holiday Party
On Saturday, December 16th, at Senior Support Services’ annual holiday party, volunteers from Lightshade served food to senior citizens in need. We will also be providing 250 sets of hand and foot warmers, as well as under-garments, to each of their clients. Our goal was to help keep Denver’s less fortunate seniors warm and fed throughout this holiday season.
Lightshade Volunteers at The Gathering Place
Continuing our corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative, Lightshade recently volunteered for the meal sponsorship program at The Gathering Place in Denver. The Gathering Place offers support to women, their children and transgender individuals who are experiencing poverty or homelessness.
Lightshade staff members, including the owners, prepped and served lunch to The Gathering Place members on Monday, November 6. It was a great experience to help such an inspiring organization. A big thank you to The Gathering Place for having us!
Learn more about Lightshade’s ongoing CSR initiative.
Teaming up with Project Worthmore and Denver Urban Gardens
Here at Lightshade, we are extremely passionate about our corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative. We aim to remain active in the Denver community through volunteering and working with various organizations like The Gathering Place and most recently, Project Worthmore and Denver Urban Gardens. Last week, members of Lightshade and kindColorado volunteered at Delany Community Farm.
Delaney Community Farm is a partnership between Denver Urban Gardens and Project Worthmore. It is a 5-acre farm that provides refugees access to farming, healthy food and a community here in Denver. Their mission is to “support refugees from the local community through community-based food security programs.”
We pulled weeds, harvested vegetables, prepared the farm for winter, as well as sorted and packaged harvested vegetables and herbs. This is our second time volunteering with Delany Community Farm and we couldn’t have been more thrilled to be back. Thank you to Denver Urban Gardens and Project Worthmore for having us!
You can read more about our CSR initiative here and more of our work with Delaney Community Farm.
https://vimeo.com/236140382
How High is Too High to Drive?
Lightshade is proud to be part of Cannabis Clinicians of Colorado (CCC) to spread awareness about knowing how high is too high to drive.
Cannabis Clinicians of Colorado is a non-profit that is dedicated to support the individuals working with Colorado cannabis patients. This group provides resources for physicians, caregivers and dispensaries across the state.
Last week, this marijuana advocacy group came together to learn more about how much marijuana someone can consume before it becomes unsafe to drive. The law currently prohibits driving if you have at least five nanograms of THC in your system. The study Cannabis Clinicians of Colorado conducted was to determine if that number accurately represents someone who is too impaired to drive.
Lightshade is passionate about increasing awareness regarding the danger and consequences of driving high. Safety is a big part of our commitment to our community and our industry, which is why we partnered with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to help educate and protect our consumers when it comes to driving high. You can read more about our work with CDOT on this issue here.
Science confirms that consuming cannabis affects your reaction time, peripheral vision, and perception of time, distance and speed – some of the more critical skills needed to drive safely.
Lightshade was a sponsor at last week’s event to support the CCC as they further research how much cannabis is too much to drive. Members of the CCC believe that the number of five nanograms of THC was set as the legal limit to drive without enough research.
As organizations like the CCC invest more in cannabis research we hope to learn more about the correlation between cannabis compound levels in blood and saliva and a reduction in a person’s cognitive functions.
Outside the Stereotype
Today’s cannabis user is not always what you’d expect. Lightshade has always valued the importance of education surrounding cannabis and the incredible products available for every type of consumer. We’re continuing to see an increased variety of consumers accepting and partaking in cannabis use, especially with the array of products available like flower, topicals, tinctures, edibles, concentrates and more.
Women and parents are becoming more familiar with these products, allowing them to have safe and subtle consumption for relief of anxiety, pain and other ailments without taking away their ability to parent and interact with their children. This recent article from Refinery29.com brings up some great examples and talks to two women about their experiences with cannabis.
Lightshade carries some amazing products that allow for these medical benefits without the high, replacing some consumers’ past use of alcohol or opiates. Our partners at Monte Content have testimonials from several success story patients like Bridgett, who can finally lead a comfortable lifestyle and play with her grandkids. Below are a few specific products we recommend trying, plus check out our up-to-date menus per location or try online pre-ordering!
Whitewater Teas
Coda Signature Truffles
Stillwater Ripple Dissolvable THC
Julie’s Natural Edibles
Binske Olive Oil and Honey
The Lightshade staff is trained and ready to answer questions or make suggestions based on what you may be looking for. It never hurts to ask a friend about their experiences too, you’d be surprised at how many people are adding cannabis into their wellness routines.
Lightshade Volunteers at DeLaney Community Farm
As a part of Lightshade’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative, we aim to remain active in our community. Members of the Lightshade CSR Team, with representatives from each retail location, recently volunteered at DeLaney Community Farm to help weed and get the fields ready for planting.
DeLaney Community Farm, operated by a partnership between Denver Urban Gardens and Project Worthmore, has a mission of supporting refugees residing in the local community through food-based programs. Lightshade’s volunteers worked alongside immigrants from Burma, Senegal and Afghanistan, as part of the farm’s program to connect refugees to the local fresh food economy and teach sustainable agricultural practices.
We love being a part of the Denver Metro community and having the opportunity to give back through positive programs. Lightshade is proud of their team’s willingness to get their hands dirty and make a difference. Stay posted on more from our CSR Team to come!
What’s Your Ambience?
Whether you’re looking to jump-start the morning or wind down for the day, Lightshade has the perfect strain to fit your ambience. We realize the world of cannabis can be quite confusing, even for seasoned veterans, so we are launching a new categorization system in an effort to help our customers identify the physical and mental effects of our strains.
Lightshade celebrates the importance of night and day in the natural cycle of the plant as it soaks up energy from the sun and soil. The below four categories of our ambience scale were created from the course of the day—from bright mornings to soothing evenings.
Awaken • soak in the crisp morning
Enliven • get energized from the warm sun
Calm • enjoy the relieving evening breeze
Rest • find relaxation in the night sky
Lightshade used decades of knowledge from our growers and staff, as well as the latest terpene and cannabinoid research to categorize our strains. In addition, we are continuing to build this system with our customers by gathering feedback to understand the effects of various strains. If you’re interested in participating, simply enjoy our Lightshade strains and send over your thoughts: lightshade.com/strain-categories
Watch for more valuable information about Lightshade strains on our website and in stores over the next few months. And don’t forget that our trained budtenders are always willing to help guide your selections based on your needs desired effects. Outside of the over 30 strains available, we have concentrates, tinctures, edibles and topicals for you to explore and use to find the perfect fit for you and your day. Stop in and see why the difference is night and day.
Lightshade Gives Back
Giving back to the community has always been important to Lightshade. As a part of our corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative, we aim to limit our effects on the environment and remain active in our community.
Lightshade is in the process of testing high-efficiency LED lights and building a state-of-the-art greenhouse facility to reduce our carbon footprint. We continue to facilitate recycling programs at each retail location and in our cultivation facilities within compliance regulations. In addition, Lightshade uses organic-based pest control methods and makes their own organic nutrients, which are used in each cultivation facility. We maximize watering efficiencies by using capillary mats and as a result, very little water is wasted.
Although Lightshade works hard to help out the local community, some non-profit organizations are hesitant to work with cannabis-related businesses. Since cannabis is still illegal from a federal standpoint, some nonprofits are concerned about losing their 501c3 status or federal grant funding by working with cannabis industry partners. Additionally, some of the companies’ partners, board members or financial supporters may not look favorably on the cannabis industry.
Despite some hurdles, Lightshade is ahead of the industry in creating a CSR program that started in the fall of 2016. We have engaged our employees to form a CSR Team with representatives from each retail location and created a two-tier program to support hyper-local initiatives, as well as one or two larger corporate initiatives year-round. Lightshade’s current focus is to make an impact on combating hunger and homelessness.
Lightshade is working with Kind Colorado to determine the best fit for supporting local organizations such as volunteering at food banks, building urban gardens or working with veterans. Lightshade has supported The Gathering Place to provide funding and food and toiletry drives for homeless women and children. We are also sponsoring Manny’s SummerFest on May 20th, a fundraising event for Senior Support Services, which provides food and services for homeless seniors.
We greatly appreciate the continued business from so many loyal customers that help us in supporting our local community. Lightshade is building a corporate culture of giving back and creating a framework that provides our employees with opportunities to understand how important it is to give back to the communities that we serve. Stay tuned for more information on upcoming causes and how you can help make a difference!
Don’t Let a DUI Ruin Your High – Lightshade Rolls Out Partnership with CDOT
Lightshade is proud to be a part of the communities we serve – we’ve built a tight-knit and welcoming group of clients, fans and influencers that we consider to be our family. Safety is a big part of our commitment to our community and our industry, which is why we’re partnering with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to help educate and protect our consumers when it comes to driving high.
Lightshade and CDOT partner on Drive High, Get a DUI campaign
We believe it’s our responsibility to keep you happy, informed and safe (and, of course, out of jail). Not only that, but eyes are on Colorado as we blaze a new trail with the legalization of recreational marijuana, and we’re determined to set a positive example of the many social and economic benefits of cannabis to ensure the long-term viability of our industry. Through our partnership with CDOT and its Drive High, Get a DUI campaign, we’ll be focusing on education and outreach to increase awareness about the dangers and consequences of driving high.
If you didn’t already know, it’s illegal to drive under the influence of cannabis, and you can get a DUI, just like with alcohol. Last year, more than 17 percent of Colorado’s DUI arrests involved marijuana. Even if you have a prescription and use cannabis medicinally, the law and limits apply and can come with some pretty serious consequences – like jail time and loads of money.
We’ve heard from patrons who say, “I’m a better driver when I’m high,” so we think it’s important to point out the impacts marijuana has on you. Whether you eat, smoke, vape or dab, science confirms that consuming cannabis affects your reaction time, peripheral vision, and perception of time, distance and speed – some of the more critical skills needed to drive safely. When you’re high, it’s harder to respond quickly when something unexpected happens while driving – like if the car in front of you makes a sudden stop or a pedestrian steps out in front of you.
Working with our partners, our customers and the community, we hope to not only keep you safe, but also try to change the way people think about marijuana-impaired driving. If you’re going out drinking, it’s a no-brainer (we hope) that you’ll call a sober ride if you’ve had a few drinks. But there isn’t yet that same thought process when people know they’re going to be getting high. We encourage you to take advantage of Denver’s connectivity and plan ahead by using services like Lyft, Uber and public transportation when you’re high. Look for information in our stores, online and on social media as part of our partnership with CDOT, and thank you for consuming responsibly.