Every agency likes to tout their multiple personalities and ability to toggle back and forth between oxford-loafers-professionalism and Warhol-creative-eccentricism. But nothing reveals our ability to do exactly that more than the Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC)—a client that requires us to both watch shows like Bong Appétit and Weediquette and have meetings with state officials in California’s capital.

JSA is a partner in a state-wide public awareness campaign in collaboration with the Department of Consumer Affairs/Bureau of Cannabis Control. We create messaging and resource materials to educate unlicensed operators about the need to obtain a state license and the penalties and risks associated with operating an illegal business; also, we create educational messaging and materials for consumers to help them navigate the legal marketplace. For example, knowing when a cannabis business is licensed; the benefits of purchasing cannabis through the legal market; and the dangers of purchasing from the illegal market. For both targets, we develop tailored, culturally and linguistically appropriate messaging, creative concepts and robust communications plan that are utilized statewide.

—And, all of this must be accomplished with messaging that thoughtfully toes the line between educating, not advocating, while also clearly communicating our objectives without using the word “cannabis” or showing the product as per media regulations. Add powerful subtlety to our list of super powers.