Tilray: Corporate Social Responsibility
At Tilray, our mission is to improve lives through the power of cannabis and hemp by building the world’s most trusted and valued cannabis and hemp company. On this mission, we’re committed to eliminating cannabis prohibition and the harms it causes around the world while supporting global access, advocacy and understanding. This mission is supported by four primary pillars:
Advancing Cannabis Research
Patient Advocacy and Access
Social Justice
Corporate Citizenship
Advancing Cannabis Research
Tilray is proudly pioneering the effort to further understand the therapeutic value of cannabis. Under the guidance of our independent Medical Advisory Board and through partnerships with leading research institutions globally, Tilray is currently supporting clinical trials around the world studying the efficacy of cannabis in treating indications including chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, essential tremor, childhood epilepsy and PTSD. We have also assisted in developing and publishing numerous studies exploring the effects of cannabis and empowering patients to use it safely.
Alcohol-Use Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder- NYU School of Medicine:
Tilray is supporting two clinical trials led by the NYU School of Medicine, testing the efficacy of CBD to treat patients suffering from Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and patients suffering from AUD comorbid with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)- McGill University Health Centre:
Tilray has partnered with McGill University Centre’s Division of Infectious Diseases and Chronic Viral Illness to examine the effectiveness of medical cannabis on immune activation in people living with HIV.
Severe Behavioral Problems in Children with Intellectual Disabilities: Murdoch Children’s Research Institute:
Tilray cannabis products were used to support the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute led pilot study to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a randomized placebo-controlled trial of the efficacy of cannabidiol (CBD) oral solution in reducing Severe Behavioral Problems in children with Intellectual Disabilities.
Patient Advocacy and Access
We believe that patients around the world should have access to safe, quality and affordable cannabis. Our efforts to achieve this goal include:
Increasing education
Tilray sponsors Medical Cannabis Today, a journal written by and for health care providers, and is working with healthcare providers to launch Cannab_Is Medicine, a hub for patients and healthcare professionals to get the latest information on medical cannabis treatments. We also continue to present cannabis research at medical conferences and for patient groups globally.
Fighting for reasonable taxation
Tilray works with regulators and governments around the world, urging them to recognize medical cannabis the same as other pharmaceutical medications: tax-free. Tilray is actively working to remove sales and excise taxes on medical cannabis by testifying before the Canadian House of Commons and Senate, and partnering with Canadians for Fair Access to Medical Marijuana in support of a patient-led campaign and petition to end taxation.
Tilray absorbs the cost of the 10% excise tax for patients in Canada and also provides a 10% discount to patients over 65 and a 25% discount for low income patients.
Improving coverage of cannabis-based treatments
In 2017, Tilray worked with MP Sheila Malcolmson and successfully petitioned to have Veterans Affairs Canada add cost-coverage for medical cannabis extracts for Canadian Veterans. We are also sponsoring clinical research at the University of British Columbia to explore the use of medical cannabis as a treatment for PTSD, and working with private insurers to increase cost-coverage for Canadian patients.
Social Justice
The global prohibition of cannabis has caused more harm than good. In the U.S. alone, more than one million non-violent offenders have been imprisoned for a minor cannabis drug offense. Tilray is fighting to empower those that have been charged in the past with non-violent cannabis offenses. We fund programs that provide entrepreneurship opportunities, career training and mentorship for people with criminal histories. In collaboration with the Minority Cannabis Business Association, we are providing funding for the expungement of criminal records associated with non-violent cannabis offenses.
Tilray is proud to support organizations in North America that advocate for changes in the criminal justice process and prisoner reform. To-date we’ve supported the following organizations, and we remain committed to supporting social justice causes in the cannabis space:
John Howard Society of Canada: The John Howard Society works to re-integrate former prisoners into community life and to reduce levels of crime and re-offending by persons at risk of criminalization.
Defy Ventures has a vision to cut recidivism in half by leveraging entrepreneurship to increase economic opportunities and transform lives.
Drug Policy Alliance envisions a just society in which the use and regulation of drugs are grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights, in which people are no longer punished for what they put into their own bodies but only for crimes committed against others, and in which the fears, prejudices and punitive prohibitions of today are no more.
Minority Cannabis Business Association was formed to create equal access for cannabis businesses and promote economic empowerment for communities of color by creating policy considerations, social programming, and outreach initiatives to achieve equity for the communities most affected by the war on drugs.
Corporate Citizenship
Community Pride
Tilray is proud to be an employer of choice in the communities where we operate. As such, we are dedicated to giving back to the communities where we live and work. Tilray proudly supports organizations including: Wounded Warriors Canada; The Canadian Institute of Military Veterans Health Research; The Nanaimo Hospice Society; The Nanaimo Family Life Association; Hectate Lodge; Christmas for Everyone (Enniskillen); Cannativa Medical Cannabis Conference (Portugal) and Sustainable Cannabis Conference (Vienna).
Sustainable Practices
Tilray is dedicated and invested in the development of best‐in class industry standards for environmental management. We pursue environmental practices that contribute to a sustainable society and enhance our corporate citizenship. We are working to improve the environmental sustainability standards of the nascent cannabis industry as a whole in all countries where we operate. Our Global Environmental Policy sets out a framework with benchmarks for environmental, social and governance issues that tie into every aspect of how we conduct our business.
Corporate Compliance
Tilray operates ethically and in compliance with rules that govern our areas of operations as an organization and industry leader. Our success is dependent on us maintaining the highest standards of business and professional conduct. As a part of the Tilray Compliance Program, Tilray has enacted a Code of Business Conduct, which outlines the ethical standards and compliance requirements that each of us are bound by—a program that is completed by each and every employee at Tilray. As the backbone of our Compliance Program, the Code of Conduct ensures every Tilray employee understands the ethical standards, compliance requirements and business practices that will help us achieve our shared goal of establishing Tilray as the world’s most trusted and valuable cannabis and hemp company.
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