Opioids should be harder to come by than a candy bar. Information about a safe alternative shouldn't be.  

The Opioid Alternative Pilot Program is a program in Illinois that allows chronic pain sufferers to replace their addictive, potentially lethal prescription opioids with a medical cannabis card. For those battling opioid addiction, it could quite literally be a lifesaver. But how could we get the word out (on behalf of our client Cresco Labs) while also fighting the misconception that cannabis is a dangerous drug in its own right?

Highly addictive opioids are far too accessible. And replacing them with a safer alternative should carry no stigma. But when that alternative is cannabis, it does. It would take something dramatic to combat it.

We branded our initiative the Cresco Opioid Prescription Exchange (COPE) and placed a COPE-branded vending machine in the heart of Chicago’s loop on a busy workday. The vending machine provided a dramatic illustration of the accessibility of opioids and an opportunity to educate the public about the exchange program via flyers packed inside the prescription bottles. Next to the vending machine, we displayed a 20-foot “NObituary” wall with hopeful stories of people who’ve said “no” to opiates and “yes” to cannabis. In other words, obituaries that, thanks to COPE, can remain unwritten.