General Cannabis, Inc., a technology-based Internet marketing services company, today announced that WeedMaps Media has entered into a marketing agreement with the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) to redesign, update, and power the organization’s website and many of its social networking and search features.
NORML, the oldest and largest marijuana legalization organization in the United States, is a Washington DC-based nonprofit public-interest advocacy group that lobbies Congress and state legislatures for more rational and cost-effective marijuana policies.
WeedMaps executed the redesign and upgrade for NORML’s website, as well as many of the website’s features including the NORML Daily Audio Stash podcast and the NORML Blog. The NORML Blog is the de facto destination on the Internet for legalization news and updates, breaking cannabis stories since 1999 and receiving over 20,000 visitors per day. WeedMaps is now officially powering medical marijuana doctor, dispensary and lawyer directory listings on the new NORML.org site, while NORML becomes the official news blog of WeedMaps.com.
The newly designed NORML website is a tightly integrated search and social media friendly site. The redesign is aimed at educating medical cannabis patients and expanding and promoting membership for NORML’s sister organization the NORML Foundation, which sponsors public advertising campaigns to better educate the public about marijuana, provides alternatives to current marijuana policy and assists victims of current laws. Through their marketing agreement, NORML and WeedMaps seek to better utilize NORML’s over 40,000 Twitter followers and nearly 350,000 Facebook Likes.
“WeedMaps is proud to be powering the new NORML.org website, bringing NORML’s extensive library of research and content into a sleek, modern resource, and increasing the site’s accessibility not only for researchers, activists, lawyers and students, but also for search engines and webmasters,” said Justin Hartfield, Chief Web Officer of WeedMaps. “We expect the close integration between WeedMaps.com and NORML.org will double the web traffic of both properties within the next year. Between the WeedMaps Media Network, NORML and their affiliates, we believe we’ll generate over 100,000 visitors per day and more than 10 million pages viewed per month. WeedMaps looks forward to engaging in other partnerships with cannabis-related nonprofits for the transformation of web platforms and social networking.”
Mr. Hartfield also noted that today’s announcement follows two prominent items of news within the medical cannabis industry from earlier this week. The California Medical Association, the state’s largest doctor group, has adopted official policy that recommends legalization and regulation of cannabis. The decision was based on a white paper concluding physicians should have access to better research, which is not possible under the current policy. Additionally, Gallup reported that a record-high 50% of Americans now say the use of marijuana should be made legal, up from 46% last year. “These events underscore NORML’s importance in bringing research and advocacy to the medical marijuana community,” Hartfield added.
The last step of the integration will be syncing NORML’s Legal Committee lawyer directory with the upcoming release of WeedMaps Media’s newest portal, WeedMaps.com/Lawyers. WeedMaps.com/Lawyers will be the legal directory portion of WeedMaps, where medical marijuana patients will be able to rate and review attorneys that specialize in medical cannabis. The expected launch date for WeedMaps.com/Lawyers is late 2011.
About General Cannabis
General Cannabis, Inc., a technology-based Internet marketing services company, offers customers an integrated suite of services including media, technology, marketing and information. Founded in 2010, General Cannabis is headquartered in Newport Beach, California. The Company’s common stock trades on the OTC market’s highest tier, OTCQX, under the ticker symbol “CANA.” www.GeneralCannabis.com
About NORML
NORML is a nonprofit, public-interest lobby that for more than 30 years has provided a voice for those Americans who oppose marijuana prohibition. NORML lobbies Congress and state legislatures for more rational and cost- effective marijuana policies. We provide expert witnesses for legislative hearings in support of marijuana reform legislation and to provide testimony to assist defendants charged with marijuana offenses. NORML also serves as a marijuana-law reform advocate with the media nationwide, produces a daily podcast, and maintains a comprehensive web site, which includes a 50-state legislative tracking system, where visitors can inform themselves about the issue and send a free fax or an e-mail to their state and federal elected officials. In addition, we maintain a legal committee comprised of 350 criminal defense attorneys nationwide who specialize in the defense of individuals charged with marijuana-related offenses. www.NORML.org
