Stash Your Stash!
That’s the message at the heart of a public education campaign calling on San Diegans to store their cannabis products away from kids and pets. An advocacy project of SAY San Diego — in collaboration with March and Ash, a San Diego-based cannabis retailer — Stash Your Stash aims to protect children and pets from THC poisonings and spotlight the dangers of impaired driving.
The campaign is timely. A published analysis of data from poison control centers found a 1,375% rise in accidental cannabis ingestion among children under the age of 6 between 2017 and 2021. The national data resonates with multiple state-level studies showing a correlation between cannabis legalization and an increase in children ingesting THC-infused edibles. Between 2010 and 2020, edible exposures reported to the California Poison Control System (CPCS) increased from near zero to 79%.
Cannabis toxicity is becoming more common in pets, too. In the past six years, calls about marijuana poisoning to the Pet Poison Hotline – a 24-hour poison control center — have increased by 400 percent, with most calls reported in California and New York. Last year, the A.S.P.C.A.’s Poison Control hotline fielded nearly 7,000 calls for cannabis toxicity, an 11 percent increase from 2021.
A fresh and approachable take on traditional substance use prevention campaigns, Stash Your Stash’s mission comes to life in a series of six colorful stickers featuring eye-catching messages designed to spark consumer awareness of the importance of storing cannabis flowers, edibles, and concentrates responsibly. Provided to customers at the point of sale, the stickers encourage customers to “Protect Your Furry Friends — Stash Your Stash,” “Start Slow and Go Low,” and “Stay Classy, San Diego – Stash Your Stash.”
At the same time, the campaign engages cannabis users in a friendly community conversation about doing their part to promote road safety. “Real Homies Drive Sober” and “Hang Tough — Wait to Puff,” are messages communicating the importance of sober driving to community health and safety.
A QR code is incorporated into each sticker design, directing customers to a website offering a menu of tips and resources. Featured topics include: How to store and toss your stash safely; where to shop for legal cannabis in the City of San Diego; an overview of California marijuana laws; how to contact poison control; and where to access mental health information, referrals, and substance use support services offered through It’s Up to Us, the County of San Diego’s mental health advocacy campaign.
Sticker designs are co-branded with the hashtag #BlazeResposibly.
Stash Your Stash is about more than colorful stickers. March and Ash retail assistants – or budtenders – are trained to serve as the campaign’s frontline ambassadors. No longer transactional, their conversations with customers are educational moments guided by talking points from the Stash Your Stash campaign:
Store cannabis products out of the reach of kids and pets. Locked away is best
Do not drive while under the influence of cannabis
Understand THC levels in cannabis products and the varying range and length of side effects
Keep it simple. Avoid using cannabis along with alcohol, medicines, other stimulants, and certain foods
According to March and Ash Co-Founder Bret Peace, Stash Your Stash breaks the mold of traditional substance use prevention campaigns. “Our partnership with the Central Region Prevention Coalition is grounded in creativity and collaboration,” he explains. “Stash Your Stash demonstrates what cannabis entrepreneurs and community health advocates can accomplish together when we put aside our differences and find common ground.”
SAY San Diego Prevention Specialist Yugheipsy Lopez, agrees: “Stash Your Stash is inspired by our shared concern for promoting public health and safety in the recreational cannabis arena. Information is power. When people understand how to advocate for public health and safety, they are excited to do their part to make San Diego a stronger community.”
In time, organizers hope Stash Your Stash will become a mainstay of San Diego County’s recreational cannabis arena. For now, campaign stickers are available, at the point of purchase, from March and Ash’s two City of San Diego retail locations: 2835 Camino del Rio South, #100, San Diego 92108 and 2281 Fairmount Avenue, San Diego, CA 92105.
The San Diego Access and Crisis Hotline (888) 724-7240) is a 24/7 resources for San Diegans who are concerned about someone, just need to talk, have questions about how to offer support, or looking for information about community resources, mental health referrals, and alcohol and drug support services.
