Chris Thompson, Director of Operations and Marketing for The Daily Green – Interview Series

Despite how iconic and popular Times Square is for so many millions of tourists and NYC locals, quite a lot of work and, oftentimes, unconsidered factors go into properly marketing and advertising local dispensaries. Luckily, mycannabis.com recently spoke with Chris Thompson, Director of Operations and Marketing for The Daily Green, a longtime cannabis advocate and professional who is leading those marketing operations.

What subjects did you primarily study at Purdue, and how did those studies prepare you for your numerous roles in numerous state cannabis industries?

My degree at Purdue was in Agricultural & Biological Engineering (ABE), which ended up being far more relevant to the cannabis industry than most people would expect. The ABE curriculum focuses heavily on engineering principles related to the manufacturing and processing of agricultural materials and byproducts. Because of that, many of my academic projects had direct conceptual parallels to cannabis cultivation and processing. Plus, the operational rigor and data integrity required in engineering definitely shaped how I approach cannabis regulations and compliance in my industry consulting today.

How did being involved with Purdue NORML spark your interest and passion for first cannabis advocacy and then working in the industry as well?

I re-founded Purdue NORML after getting caught with cannabis in a Purdue parking garage, of all places. NORML was such a good introduction into learning the history of the plant and really galvanized me into nonprofit activism to change the way people view marijuana use, especially for medical patients. People today forget that the patients are the reason the industry exists, their sacrifice and advocacy lead to the industry being where it is today.

As a kid growing up in Indiana (where D.A.R.E. was still going strong in the early 2000’s), I didn’t know anything about cannabis until attending college. And even then, it took one of my engineering lab mentors to really talk to me about marijuana and ask me how much I really knew about it for me to question myself. I quickly found out that my only knowledge of cannabis came from government propaganda, and learning the real history of the plant pushed me into legalization advocacy.

What were some major advocacy and legislative efforts you helped organize while on the Indiana NORML Board of Directors?

Unfortunately, because Indiana doesn’t allow citizen ballot initiatives, our legislative avenues were limited. Instead, we concentrated on driving change at the local jurisdictional level. One of our major efforts was led through Purdue NORML, where we collected more than 3,000 student signatures to reform the university’s disciplinary policies so students wouldn’t lose their housing for cannabis-related infractions. After meeting with the Dean of Students and the Heads of Housing, we successfully secured that policy change, a meaningful win given the broader constraints in Indiana.

What inspired you to move to Las Vegas? And what were the most noticeable differences between advocacy for cannabis reform in Indiana versus Nevada?

I originally moved to Las Vegas to work for Freedom Leaf Magazine, which had a marketing agreement with the National NORML offices. While at Freedom Leaf, I created and managed membership campaigns for NORML, a great first experience that let me be industry-adjacent while still contributing to national cannabis advocacy.

One of the biggest differences I noticed between Indiana and Nevada was how the dynamics around reform changed once legalization was in place. In states without an adult-use market, stakeholders tend to be unified around a single goal: legalizing cannabis. But in legal markets, the industry often fractures into competing interests, which can make advancing new policy or legislation significantly more challenging.

During your various Marketing and Retail Operations roles with The Source, what were the most successful campaigns and programs that you ran to increase overall sales? And what sales/financial accomplishments did the stores achieve as a result?

A few of my proudest Retail Operations accomplishments at The Source in Nevada were opening up brand-new retail dispensaries in North Las Vegas, Reno, and Pahrump. I also had a hand in opening our stores in Massachusetts and Ohio, getting an initial taste of managing operations in multiple states.

On the Marketing Operations side, being able to lead the total refresh and relaunch of our loyalty program, mobile app, and e-commerce website resulted in a 20% increase in weekly online sales and huge increases in new loyalty customers. We also launched an entirely new brand called High Heads, with 20+ new SKUs.

Compared to other cannabis markets that you’ve worked in, what is so unique about the Vegas market, and what advantages do you think Sin City has over other neighboring city markets (LA, Phoenix, etc.)?

Las Vegas will always be one of the tourism capitals of the world, and the customer traffic definitely reflects that. Las Vegas has had an incredible opportunity to show people from around the world how legal cannabis can work since 2016 and be a positive beacon for people who otherwise may not have had a chance to experience legalized marijuana.

So, as a cannabis retail store, why is The Daily Green special, and how is it standing out against other nearby dispensaries in the still relatively new NYC industry?

Being the main dispensary in Times Square immediately sets The Daily Green apart. It’s one of the most visible and globally recognizable cannabis retail locations in the world. But what truly differentiates us is our ability to serve two distinct audiences at once: local consumers and the curiosity-driven traffic of millions of tourists.

That balance is a big part of why I was recruited for this role. Coming from a similar tourist-heavy market, I’ve been able to significantly grow our local customer base by overhauling the loyalty rewards program, expanding our product assortment, and introducing compelling deals that keep locals engaged and returning regularly.

How would you and the Daily Green team members describe the experience of running a dispensary on Times Square? That sounds like it could be the plot of a great mockumentary sitcom.

It absolutely could be a sitcom! It’s definitely always a crazy experience at the store, especially with all of the various tourist traffic we get day in and day out. Just the other day, I helped a customer from Ethiopia who had never seen cannabis in real life before, only on the internet! Getting the chance to introduce some of our guests to their first cannabis experience is always a magical moment and never fails to make my activist heart proud.

I’ve worked in dispensaries all over the country, from West Coast markets like Colorado, Nevada, and Arizona to East Coast markets like Massachusetts and New York. And with all of that experience, I can definitely say that The Daily Green is the most unique dispensary I’ve ever had the opportunity to work at. Maybe you’ll see a Daily Green sitcom soon!

When it comes to overall sales and visitors that The Daily Green receives, how much do tourists account for with those overall sales versus NYC locals? As someone who’s worked in both the Las Vegas and NYC industries, how strong a factor is tourism in The Big Apple when compared to Las Vegas?

It’s definitely been an interesting shift! At The Source, we operated as a mostly local dispensary, with roughly 85% local customers and 15% tourists across our five stores. The Daily Green is the opposite, being a predominantly tourist dispensary right in the heart of Times Square, more than 85% of our traffic comes from tourists.

That said, we’ve made meaningful progress with New Yorkers. Local residents typically avoid Times Square, but since launching The Daily Green, we’ve increased our weekly returning customer rate by 10%. That growth signals that locals are intentionally seeking us out because we’ve invested heavily in offering the strongest deals and the most compelling product selection in the area.

As the New York City cannabis industry expands over the years, how does The Daily Green plan on expanding along with the city and state industry?

As New York’s cannabis industry matures, our focus is on staying a step ahead of the market. That’s why we’ve invested early in the fundamentals that drive long-term customer loyalty, like a fully revamped rewards program, a curated and differentiated product assortment, and strong brand partnerships that give us access to the best offerings in the state. These elements ensure we can retain customers even as competition intensifies.

We’re also tracking regulatory developments closely, from the rollout of New York’s seed-to-sale tracking system to the recently updated advertising rules. Staying informed is essential to staying competitive in this industry.

Thank you for joining us, Chris! For more information on The Daily Green, please visit its website.