On Monday, March 23, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) issued a shelter-in-place order that closed all non-essential businesses in the state. On Tuesday, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board updated guidelines for retail cannabis locations.
Similar to many other legalized states, Washington‘s cannabis market has been designated essential during the wake of COVID-19 infections that has swept the globe.
The Board is expanding curbside cannabis services from only qualified medical cannabis patients to include all adult-use customers. According to the LCB’s guidance, no “drive-through windows” are allowed and everyone present in a vehicle must be over 21 years old and show ID. Curbside services must also be only available in designated areas and LCB encourages that video cameras be used wherever possible to monitor outside sales.
In an email directive, the WSLCB said:
“The Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) has been working quickly to consider steps the agency can take to help licensees throughout this period of business restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are making some temporary modifications to allow businesses to act quickly and minimize their impacts on disease transmission.” — LCB statement, in an email
The LCB is also looking at suspending fees related to late taxes, but said they are waiting for a “proclamation from the Governor.”
“Our intent is to allow additional ways for you to engage your customers without having to have your doors open for business,” regulators wrote. “Please note however, the agency does not have authority to change state laws. Unless indicated otherwise, these temporary modifications are effective immediately and in place through Gov. Inslee’s Emergency Declaration period or until rescinded by the LCB, whichever is sooner.”
Ohio’s Attorney General has rejected the petition for a cannabis legalization ballot initiative due to invalid signatures, WOIO reports. The petition was received by the office last week but only 271 of the 1,248 signatures included were valid. In order for the initiative process to proceed, petitioners needed 1,000 valid signatures.
Because the petition failed to meet the signature threshold, Attorney General Dave Yost said he did not make “any determination concerning the fairness and truthfulness of the proposed summary,” which would have been required had the petition been valid.
The Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Amendment initiative was backed by a medical cannabis patient, a mother of twins with autism – a condition not covered under the state’s limited medical program – Pure Ohio Wellness, a licensed cannabis business, and an Akron-based cannabis cultivator. It was not supported by the Ohio Medical Cannabis Industry Association.
Tom Haren, an attorney representing the campaign, said earlier this month that patients have a hard time participating in the state’s medical cannabis program and that issue served as a catalyst for the petition drive.
Earlier this month Yost had rejected the wording of the petition, saying it failed to include “findings and declarations,” according to the Dayton Daily News. That denial forced the campaign to collect another 1,000 signatures and resubmit their petition.
Ohio voters in 2015 rejected a cannabis legalization proposal largely because it only designated 10 investor-owned cultivation areas throughout the state.
The deadline to get a proposal on 2020 general election ballots in Ohio is July 1.
Despite an initial rush to stockpile cannabis products before social distancing kicked off in earnest, adult-use cannabis sales have plummeted throughout the U.S. as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Marijuana Business Daily reports.
Dispensaries reported a significant boost in business following official stay-at-home orders in adult-use markets such as Washington and California. It’s possible that the sales drop is a natural result from that strong stockpiling trend.
“We definitely saw some panic buying last week. Folks were stocking up.” — Logan Bowers, co-owner of Seattle-based Hashtag Cannabis, via MJBizDaily.com
Another likely reason, however, is that consumers are experiencing — or are expecting to experience — economic woes tied to the pandemic as “nonessential” businesses are shuttered for the outbreak, which could lead to millions of laid-off Americans. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard, the national unemployment rate could skyrocket to as high as 30% before the economy turns around.
The cannabis industry in most states has been allowed to stay open and serve medical and, where legal, adult-use customers. Businesses have nonetheless enacted extreme social distancing measures in response to the virus: across the country, cannabis storefronts are largely either closed or offering limited service, with many dispensaries opting toward online/pickup sales, delivery, and/or curbside services.
Massachusetts was the first state so far to completely halt adult-use sales (although the state’s medical cannabis patients can still access the industry).
Cannabis media company Leafly has laid off 91 employees nearly two months after the company cut about 18 percent of its workforce, GeekWire reports. CEO Tim Leslie attributed the layoffs to economic effects from the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re heartbroken to have to let so many talented people go in such an uncertain time. Although Leafly continues to grow and rapidly deploy pickup and delivery services for retailers and brands across North America, COVID-19 has rocked global financial markets and put further capital investments we were expecting on pause.” – Leslie in a statement to GeekWire
According to the report, the affected employees were offered one week of severance pay. Leslie indicated the move would allow the firm to be “financially self-sufficient” during the pandemic, which has forced several states to issue broad stay-at-home orders and tanked the stock market.
At its peak, Leafly had employed about 300, but these layoffs, along with the January cuts, have cut that number to about 140. Last year, the company had hired 150 new employees but Leslie, a former Amazon Prime Video executive, said last March that the firm would be slowing its hiring and spending.
Leafly is far from the only Seattle, Washington-based company to lay off employees amid the outbreak – which caused the state to issue a shutdown order last week. The Pacific Science Center laid off more than 300 people last week. Some businesses, such as co-working startup The Riveter and clothing rental service Armoire, are invoking a state law that lets companies use “standby” – or temporary layoffs – which allows employees to collect unemployment benefits but can still return to work.
Washington has 2,221 confirmed coronavirus cases which have led to 110 deaths in the state, according to state Department of Health data. The state was the first to report a case.
As states impose new coronavirus protection measures, regulators and lawmakers are employing different rules for the industry. So far several states – such as Illinois, Ohio, New York, and California – have allowed dispensaries to remain operational, often implementing social distancing rules. In Washington and Oregon, regulators have approved ‘curbside service’ for dispensaries; however, in Massachusetts, Gov. Charlie Baker (R) has shut down recreational sales, only allowing medical cannabis sales.
Baker announced yesterday the shutdown of all non-essential businesses in the state and did not give retail cannabis dispensaries an “essential” exemption, Boston.com reports. The dispensaries must stop selling to recreational customers by noon today.
“Because Massachusetts is one of the few states in a big geographic area that has available recreational marijuana and a ton of traffic associated with that is coming from other states, we felt that in particular would need to be closed and would not be considered as essential as part of this order.” – Baker during a press conference via Boston.com
In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) is allowing retail dispensaries to remain open amid the state’s shutdown but patients and customers are not allowed in the buildings and the businesses must rely on delivery services and curbside delivery, the Detroit Metro Times reports. Michigan’s order is effective for at least three weeks.
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock (D) had initially called for both retail dispensaries and liquor stores to shut down with the city’s stay-at-home order that takes effect a 5 p.m. today but changed the order to allow the stores to remain open “with extreme physical distancing,” according to the Denver Channel. Hancock’s original order would have allowed medical dispensaries to continue serving patients.
In Canada, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced yesterday that all non-essential businesses in the province would shut down tonight at 11:59 p.m. but cannabis dispensaries will be considered essential under the order, BNN Bloomberg reports.
Earlier this week, 71 Canadian cannabis operators sent a letter to Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Industry Minister Navdeep Bains asking that their companies get access to wage subsidies being made available to small businesses. Cannabis companies are currently not able to access the funds being made available under Canada’s coronavirus protection package.
Maine cannabis company Wellness Connection is suing regulators over the residency requirement included in the adult-use legalization law, contending the rule is preventing them from expanding into the recreational market, the Bangor Daily News reports.
The company argues the requirement violates the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution which forbids restrictive, discriminatory commercial regulations between the states.
The lawsuit seeks a preliminary injunction against the Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Services, which includes the Office of Marijuana Policy, from enforcing the residency requirement in the law. The law requires Maine cannabis companies to be majority-owned by in-state individuals or businesses.
The lawsuit was filed by Wellness Connection and Wellness and Pain Management Connection of Delaware, subsidiaries of High Street Capital Partners of Delaware which owns 49 percent of Maine Wellness Connection.
Wellness Connection board member Ron MacDonald said the residency requirement hampers the company’s ability to raise money.
“The natural consequence of Wellness Connection being undercapitalized at the launch of the adult-use market is that we will not be able to capitalize on the opportunities that will only be available in this new market in the same way we could if we were fully capitalized. Wellness Connection’s return on investment will certainly be lower, as a result, when the market launches.” – MacDonald to the Daily News
The lawsuit argues that there is legal precedent for their argument in a 2019 Tennessee case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against that state’s two-year residency requirement for anyone seeking an initial license to operate a liquor store. Maine’s law requires a four-year residency for recreational cannabis business operators.
Jailors and prosecutors across the U.S. have started taking steps to stem the spread of COVID-19 in the country’s overcrowded prison system, including the early release of some prisoners, WGBH reports.
In Massachusetts, at least six district attorneys have announced steps to early release sick and elderly prisoners. Rachel Rollins, District Attorney for Suffolk County, Massachusetts, said supervisors are reviewing requests for release by prisoners who “pose no meaningful risk to public safety.”
“While Americans across the country are being encouraged to self-isolate, members of our incarcerated population are, by definition, doing the exact opposite with no alternative options. We need to seriously consider pathways to prevent the spread of COVID-19 for our incarcerated populations, the overwhelming majority of which will return to our communities at some point in the future.” — Rollins, in a statement
In New York City, the BBC reports that jailors will release “vulnerable” prisoners as per an order by Mayor Bill De Blasio.
In Los Angeles, the sheriff’s department already released some 600 inmates last week. “Our population within our jails is a vulnerable population just by who they are, where they are located, so we’re protecting that population from potential exposure,” Los Angeles Sheriff Alex Villanueva said last week.
Cannabis advocate and entrepreneur Steve DeAngelo issued a video statement last Thursday and shared a petition for the release of all cannabis prisoners and incarcerated individuals who are particularly at risk from the deadly virus. There are still more than 44,000 Americans serving prison sentences for nonviolent cannabis offenses.
Meanwhile the virus has already been found in several jails around the country. In total, the CDC on Friday had confirmed just over 15,000 coronavirus cases in the U.S. with 201 reported deaths. On Monday, that number more than doubled as the CDC reported 33,404 total confirmed cases and 400 deaths.
We at Ganjapreneur encourage you to sign the petition to encourage immediate government action on this issue. While the cannabis industry has been deemed essential by governments that generate tax revenue from its existence, many nonviolent prisoners who are elderly–or have underlying health conditions–are extremely vulnerable to the virus and have no way to protect themselves.
Suspended Dallas Cowboys defensive end Randy Gregory has filed for reinstatement to the National Football League after being suspended indefinitely last year by the league after recurring violations of the league’s substance-abuse policy that date to 2015, ESPN reports.
The appeal is the first to be made public following changes by the NFL earlier this month to their substance abuse policy, which no longer threatens suspension for failed drug tests for cannabis. Gregory was suspended four different times for failed or missed cannabis tests. Under the policy reforms, a player can still be suspended for missing tests or not following league rules for repeated test failures.
Gregory was drafted in 2015 and has only played in 28 games in his career due to the suspensions; in 2016 and 2017 he missed 30 of the total 32 games.
The Dallas Cowboys are owned by Jerry Jones, who advocated for the league-wide cannabis policy changes in the recent Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and the Players’ Association. Jones told CBS Sports last year that team owners were “excited about being in step with the social and legal scene as it goes forward” with regard to cannabis policies.
Nine of the league’s 32 teams play their home games in states that have legalized cannabis for adult use.
Under the new rules, if a player tests positive for cannabis during the two-week training camp their test is reviewed by a board of medical professionals appointed by the NFLPA and the league who determine whether the player needs treatment for drug abuse. That two-week window for cannabis testing was shortened from four months, which means that less players will be tested for cannabis. Players will no longer be suspended for positive tests and the threshold for failing a test is now 150 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood, up from 35 nanograms.
Josh Gordon, a wide receiver who was indefinitely suspended last season for NFL substance abuse policy violations related to cannabis dating back to 2013, has indicated he plans to return in the 2020 season but according to CBS Sports will have to abide by the league’s old rules in order to return.
The NFL has not made any statements regarding the reinstatement of Gregory but Commissioner Roger Goodell told ESPN that Gordon would have to prove he is making steady progress away from the field before he would consider reinstating him from his sixth suspension.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is conducting a “confidential and non-public inquiry” into Canadian cannabis company Cronos Group Inc., according to internal company documents outlined by MarketWatch. The U.S. regulation agency is requesting the company retain records related to the bulk purchase of resin and other records related to how it recognizes certain revenue.
The documents say that the SEC has ordered Cronos to preserve records dating back to July 1, 2019 related to specific transactions, negotiations, and other dealings with Canadian extracting company MediPharm Labs Corp., TerrAscend Corp. (which operates dispensaries in the U.S.), Canadian licensed producer Heritage Cannabis Holdings Corp., and 48North Cannabis Corp., along with subsidiaries of those companies.
Due to the review, Cronos sad last week that it would have to reissue three-quarters of financial statements for 2019 and will report C$2.5 million (US$1.74 million) in reduced revenue for the first quarter and C$5.1 million (US$3.55 million) for the third quarter, the report says. The company also said that it would likely report “one or more” material weaknesses in its internal controls related to its financial reporting.
None of the companies named in the report commented about the inquiry. The SEC also declined to provide comment.
The SEC has launched and completed several investigations into cannabis companies, including a 2017 investigation into a shell company scheme by cannabis vending machine company MedBox, which led to a $12 million settlement and an order barring company founder Vincent Mehdizadeh from serving as a director or officer of a publicly-traded company or participating in penny stock offerings. In 2018 the agency charged Texas-based Greenview Investment Partners and founder Michael Cone with defrauding investors out of $3.3 million.
Last year, the SEC fined Colorado businessman and author Jeffery Friedland $4.1 million on allegations that he misled investors about Israeli cannabis company OWC Pharmaceutical Research. In February, the agency filed a complaint against Robert Russell and his partner, Guy Scott Griffithe, owners now defunct Green Acre Farms in Washington state, accusing them of defrauding investors out of $4.85 million.
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) last week ordered the closure of medical and adult-use brick-and-mortar retailers — cannabis delivery services, however, can remain open, the Reno Gazette Journal reports.
Medical cannabis proponents had argued that the industry should remain open during the COVID-19 outbreak for the sake of patients with serious medical conditions. The belief is that brick-and-mortar closures will help prevent further spread of the infection, while delivery is also a safer option for immune-compromised patients.
Meanwhile, all cannabis cultivators, processors, distributors, and independent testing labs in Nevada will continue to operate under exceptionally stringent social distancing guidelines.
Tax officials assess that there are currently 38 dispensaries in the state that offer delivery services and the Marijuana Enforcement Division has implemented a 360° video that will allow them to inspect new delivery vehicles. These vehicles will be brought on to meet new demand as all cannabis sales in the state move to the delivery model. Each newly inspected vehicle will receive a 60-day license for delivery.
Since the enactment of stay-at-home orders in multiple major U.S. regions, cannabis shops have not only seen a general surge in customers but also a notable increase in how much people are buying — such upward trends are usually only seen in 4/20 and Thanksgiving holiday sales numbers.
According to BDS Analytics’ CEO Roy Bingham, cannabis sales are up 30% nationwide. Only time will tell, however, if the buying trend will continue as people around the world continue to self-isolate. Meanwhile, many officials are implementing new regulations to increase delivery and curbside service availability and ensure that stores can serve as many people as possible.
Ohio’s medical cannabis dispensaries will remain open during the state’s stay-at-home order issued last night by Gov. Mike Dewine (R), Cleveland.com reports. Other states that have issued similar orders – including Washington, California, New York, and Illinois – have also deemed cannabis dispensaries “essential.”
Under these orders, all non-essential businesses are forced to close but governments have so far allowed both medical and recreational dispensaries to remain open. In Ohio, the state Board of Pharmacy reaffirmed last week that medical cannabis is considered medicine under state laws. There are more than 95,000 registered patients in the state.
In Washington, regulators announced that dispensaries would be temporarily allowed to offer “curbside service” in light of the virus.
On Friday, Weedmaps reported that the average dollar value of purchases made through the app in California doubled on pickup orders and increased 37 percent on deliveries amid the spread of the coronavirus, according to Politico. Eaze said overall deliveries were up 19 percent, while product volume per delivery increased 25 percent. Overall, California’s cannabis sales after Thursday’s shelter-in-place order spiked 200 percent.
Under Ohio’s order, citizens can still go to the doctor, pick up medical supplies, go shopping for groceries and other essentials like car parts and equipment to work from home, and recreate outdoors (but playgrounds are closed). The state’s restaurants and bars can only offer takeout services.
Ohio has 351 confirmed coronavirus cases in 40 counties, according to Cleveland.com. The disease caused by the virus – COVID-19 – has led to three deaths in the state and dozens of hospitalizations.
After multiple years of delay, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has released a rule proposal that would finally see the agency license additional growers of research-grade cannabis. For over 50 years, the University of Mississippi has been the sole institution with federal approval to grow cannabis plants.
Under DEA’s latest rule proposal, which was first reported by Marijuana Moment, the agency would maintain ownership over all research-grade cannabis — this is a departure from how the program worked previously, wherein the University of Mississippi did not have to forfeit ownership of its cannabis crops to the federal agency.
The proposed rule aims to create “additional registered growers and a larger, more diverse variety” of research-grade cannabis.
“The Drug Enforcement Administration continues to support additional research into marijuana and its components, and we believe registering more growers will advance the scientific and medical research already being conducted. DEA is making progress to register additional marijuana growers for federally authorized research, and will continue to work with other relevant federal agencies to expedite the necessary next steps.” — DEA Acting Administrator Dhillon, in a press release
DEA first announced its plan to license additional federal cannabis growers in 2016 and many hopefuls quickly applied for a license; applicants and advocates have since accused the agency of foot-dragging and deliberately slowing progress on the issue. According to the press release, however, the proposed rule changes would finally “enable DEA to evaluate each of the 37 pending applications to grow marijuana for research under the applicable legal standard.”
The proposal will undergo a 60-day public comment period after it is officially published in the Federal Register on Monday.
California dispensaries will likely remain open during the statewide stay at home order issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) yesterday, as they have been considered essential businesses in California cities that have already issued similar orders, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Jose, according to BizPac Review report.
The governor’s order, announced as part of the effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus, does not specifically include dispensaries as essential services, but the list does include pharmacies and convenience stores. Dine-in restaurants, bars and nightclubs, entertainment venues, gyms, and convention centers are among the closures explicitly outlined in the stay at home order.
“The supply chain must continue, and Californians must have access to such necessities as food, prescriptions, and health care. When people need to leave their homes or places of residence, whether to obtain or perform the functions above, or to otherwise facilitate authorized necessary activities, they should at all times practice social distancing.” – Newsom in the order
In California, failure to heed the order could lead to jail time or a fine up to $1,000.
In states with legal cannabis, the coronavirus outbreak has led to a spike in sales. In Washington state, cannabis shops are allowed to remain open and provide “curbside service” to customers and patients.
A Headset report on Monday found sales in Washignton were up 23 percent last Friday, 14 percent on Saturday, and 33 percent on Sunday over the week prior.
The Kentucky House Health and Family Services Committee has unanimously passed a bill to establish labeling requirements for CBD, according to a Hemp Grower report. The measure would license CBD companies as food or cosmetics manufacturers.
The labeling for both ingestible and cosmetic CBD products would require that consumers are able to find the certificate of analysis for the product, including where the hemp was grown and contact information for a manufacturer or distributor. The labeling law would also prevent CBD products from making any health claims.
The House Agriculture Committee is considering another bill that would legalize hemp cigarettes in the state by removing combustible hemp from the state’s Controlled Substances list.
State Rep. Mark Hart, the Republican co-sponsor of the bill, told WKMS that removing the ban on combustible hemp would provide more market opportunities for the crop.
“Everybody is growing this hemp, and they don’t seem to have an avenue or a way to market it, sell it and make money off of it. And when you see other states doing some of the stuff, and their hemp farmers are surviving and thriving, I want Kentucky hemp farmers to have the same opportunity.” – Hart to WKMS
Ending the ban on combustible hemp is opposed by the Kentucky Sheriffs’ Association who believe it would add to the confusion that already exists for law enforcement around legal hemp and illicit THC-rich cannabis.
“We still have a problem with people calling in on it,” Jerry Wagner, Executive Director for the Kentucky Sheriffs’ Association, told WKMS. “We still have a problem with our canine units. I mean, it just creates a logistical nightmare to identify. We can’t do it.”
Katie Moyer, founder of Kentucky Hemp Works and member of the state Industrial Hemp Advisory Board, said that the current ban on smokeable hemp has failed since those products are already “sold in gas stations and corner stores from Fulton County to Pike County.”
The hemp-related laws come three months after state Agricultural Commissioner Ryan Quarles sent a letter to the federal Food and Drug Administration urging them to “develop a model regulatory framework for oversight of the processing of hemp and manufacturing of Cannabidiol (CBD) which will protect public health, comply with federal law, and foster growth in the industry.”
Last year, there were more than 1,000 cultivators and more than 200 hemp processors in the state.
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada police are targeting more than 100 web addresses accused of selling cannabis illegally in the province, the CBC reports. Officials are seizing the web addresses after finding that they were the source for much of the province’s illicit cannabis trade.
In Alberta, only albertacannabis.org is legally allowed to sell recreational cannabis to consumers. The site is run by Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis, the agency tasked with adult-use sales in the province.
Const. Dexx Williams, Edmonton Police Service cannabis compliance officer, says the agency saw “instances of youth” who were in possession of cannabis from the illegal sites.
“This is a unique investigative approach for police, and we believe this will strengthen our evidence against the individuals involved while also directing citizens to legal avenues to purchase their cannabis.” – Dexx to the CBC
Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, several Canadian cannabis companies have moved their operations online and closed brick-and-mortar locations. Canada Post has changed its cannabis delivery policies, announcing earlier this week that cannabis-containing packages – which require the signature of an adult – would be dropped off at nearby post offices rather than delivered to the recipient’s home.
Chief Mike Serr, a former Vancouver officer who chairs the drug advisory committee of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, said in August that law enforcement agencies have trouble shutting down both illicit online and brick-and-mortar cannabis sellers. He described the process to the Globe and Mail as “whack-a-mole.”
“We take down one site and two more open up,” he said, adding that “it’s really difficult to tell online who is a legal seller and who is an illegal seller.”
In Edmonton, police have also launched a public education campaign to help educate citizens about illegal websites.
The Last Prisoner Project (LPP), an organization fighting for the release of all cannabis prisoners, has released a video statement by founder Steve DeAngelo that calls for immediate action in light of the spreading COVID-19 coronavirus.
“When you’re locked up in a cell, … you are powerless,” DeAngelo said, describing the outbreak from the perspective of prisoners. “You have no control over your food, over your social distance, even over the air you breathe. And already, coronavirus is in prisons.”
In an accompanying press release, LPP outlines a number of actions that officials should carry out to immediately help reduce the impact of COVID-19 among prison populations, including:
Identifying prisoners scheduled for release in the next six months and sending them early into home confinement.
Paroling prisoners aged 65+ with priority given to prisoners who are particularly at-risk to the virus.
Reducing prisoners’ direct supervision to promote social distancing.
Suspending medical visit copays for prisoners.
Free “smart visitations” and phone calls for incarcerated individuals.
The release of all cannabis prisoners.
“There are 2.3 million people in the United States in prison, and the very best way to cut that down immediately would be to release every single person who’s in there on cannabis charges since it never should have been a crime in the first place.” — DeAngelo, in a statement
DeAngelo’s warnings accompany announcements from some law enforcement agencies that their officers would not be responding in person to non-emergency situations so as to reduce social interactions between officers and potentially infected individuals.
Police in Washington D.C., however, have continued to make low-level arrests, including for illegal cannabis distribution despite the fact that personal cannabis cultivation and possession have been legalized in the District.
Want to help? You can go to the Last Prisoner Project resource page now to sign the petition or find resources to contact your local and state officials.
Washington State cannabis retailers may remain open amid the coronavirus outbreak and response after regulators announced rules for the cannabis and alcohol industries on Tuesday. Retailers may provide “curbside service” to customers and patients but drive-through windows are not permitted.
“At this time, cannabis retailers are not required to close due to the coronavirus restrictions. However, to promote social distancing for qualified patients, the [Liquor and Cannabis Board] is temporarily allowing cannabis retailers to sell to qualifying patients or their designated providers outside of their business but within the licensed property line. This is the same allowance provided to approved alcohol licensees during this time.” – LCB press release, Mar. 17, 2020
The guidance comes as the nation grapples with the coronavirus outbreak. Washington has more than 1,000 identified cases and Gov. Jay Inslee (D) signed an emergency declaration on Monday limiting gatherings to less than 50 people.
Adam Hamide, co-owner of Main Street Marijuana, which has two Clark County locations, told the Columbian that the average number of items purchased per customer has risen about 50 percent in the last week. A Headset report on Monday found sales in the state were up 23 percent last Friday, 14 percent on Saturday, and 33 percent on Sunday over the week prior.
Dispensaries in San Francisco, California were also spared from closing amid the pandemic which forced the city to issue a shelter in place order.
Washington’s LCB added that while it “does not have the authority to waive taxes, fees, and penalties,” the agency “is actively exploring deferment of taxes and fees to ease the payment obligations on licensees that sell alcohol or cannabis.”
While Canadians can still order cannabis through the mail amid the coronavirus outbreak, Canada Post will no longer deliver mail that requires signatures – such as age-restricted packages – to the recipient’s door, the agency said on Monday. Under the changes, such packages will be dropped off at a nearby post office and a notice will be left at the residence, according to a Leafly report.
Cannabis retailers Canopy Growth and Superette announced earlier this week that they would close all of their physical retail locations. Canopy indicated they would still sell products online.
Delivery company Puralator will still bring age-restricted packages to homes and residents will have to show their ID and verbally accept the package in lieu of a signature. Medical Cannabis by Shoppers, the Shoppers Drug Mart-owned company, also said they would no longer require signatures for medical cannabis but would still deliver to the door.
Canada’s response to the coronavirus outbreak also includes business loans, but according to a Yahoo Finance report, cannabis companies are not eligible for the financial relief.
In an interview with Yahoo, Dan Sutton, CEO of cannabis company Tantalus Labs, said that a senior account manager with the Business Development Bank of Canada that the firm doesn’t “do business” with cannabis companies.
George Smitherman, president and CEO of the Cannabis Council of Canada, told Yahoo that “fits with what the industry has been told to date.”
“We are forced to remind people that more than 300 Health Canada licences are all new businesses in a fledgling, complicated sector, and that like other Canadian businesses, we badly need support from governments due to the added tumult onset by COVID-19. We will be seeking to mobilize the cannabis sector to speak up about this unfair situation by calling their MPs. It’s a good chance to remind policy makers of the $8 billion contribution we have made to GDP so far, and the thousands of employees our member companies employ.” – Smitherman in an email interview via Yahoo Finance
BDC spokesperson Jean Philippe Nadeau told Yahoo that BDC and Export Development Canada planned to increase the amount of available financing as the situation develops, adding that the impact of the disease “will vary by sector.”
“We are evaluating the situation as it evolves, including the needs of entrepreneurs, Canadian export companies and the impact on specific industries,” he wrote in an email to Yahoo. “We are working on the details on how the program will work and will share an update in the coming days.”
Ontario Cannabis Store Communications Director Daffyd Roderick told Yahoo that on Saturday the provincial retailer saw nearly 3,000 orders, which is an 80 percent increase “over an average Saturday,” and last Sunday saw more than 4,000 orders, which represents a 100 percent increase from the previous week.
Kentucky hemp processing company Atalo Holdings has filed for bankruptcy, the Lexington Herald Leader reports. Atalo CEO Bill Hilliard said in a statement that the move comes after “a failed capital commitment, which left the company unable to pay its creditors.”
He added that “confounding guidance from regulatory agencies,” and “unforeseen market forces” forced the Chapter 7 filing. Atalo was one of the first companies licensed in the state following the creation of a pilot hemp cultivation program in 2014.
Atalo had partnered with GenCanna Global last year and the companies had jointly operated a 147-acre Hemp Research Campus in Clark County that employed 100 people. Last month, GenCanna filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy but is allowed to continue operations during the process.
Atalo’s assets will be sold under the Chapter 7 filing but officials told Hemp Today that they hope to continue operations during the proceedings and that the company has assets between $10 million and $50 million against liabilities of $1 to $10 million.
In January, another Kentucky hemp company owner, William Riddle of Sunstrand, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy to liquidate the company, according to the Herald-Leader. In that case, Riddle and Sunstrand report between $100,001 and $500,000 in assets but more than $10 million in debts to municipal and county agencies, both the Kentucky and Indiana department of revenue, the Kentucky Labor Cabinet, and the Internal Revenue Service, along with several lenders, the report says.
In Kentucky, more than 1,000 cultivators and more than 200 processors received hemp business licenses last year. University of Kentucky agricultural economists estimate the state’s producers could have earned between $55 million and $65 million from last year’s crop.
Kentucky Agricultural Commissioner Ryan Quarles in January sent a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration saying that the agency’s “inability to make regulatory decisions is preventing growth in the hemp marketplace.” The letter urged regulators to “develop a model regulatory framework for oversight of the processing of hemp and manufacturing of Cannabidiol (CBD) which will protect public health, comply with federal law, and foster growth in the industry.”
San Francisco, California cannabis dispensaries will remain open alongside essential businesses as the city shuts down most nonessential businesses amid the spread of the novel coronavirus, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Dispensaries were initially included in the shelter in place order that will close most businesses for three weeks, but the health department walked back that directive for dispensaries on Tuesday.
“Cannabis is an essential medicine for many San Francisco residents. Dispensaries can continue to operate as essential businesses during this time, while practicing social distancing and other public health recommendations.” – San Francisco Department of Public Health on Twitter
Dr. Susan Philip, director of disease prevention and control, said during a news conference that dispensaries would remain open for pickup and delivery.
“People rely on medical cannabis for chronic pain, seizure disorders, muscle spasms, depression and multiple other disorders and conditions,” Philip said to reporters.
Eliot Dobris, a spokesman for the Apothecarium dispensary, which has three San Francisco locations, told the Chronicle that the store’s policies have changed amid the outbreak – customers can no longer touch samples or jars, and are asked to maintain distance from other customers and staff. They’ve also set up hand sanitizer stations and employees dedicated to cleaning the shop.
Cannabis tech company Headset found that cannabis sales are on the rise amid the coronavirus outbreak as counties, cities, and states begin to implement shelter in place orders or place strict limits on the number of people allowed to gather in one place.
In Washington state – which shut down restaurants, bars, entertainment, and recreational facilities for two weeks on Monday – adult-use cannabis sales were up 23 percent last Friday, 14 percent on Saturday, and 33 percent on Sunday, compared to the week prior.
The decision to keep dispensaries open was supported by city Supervisor Matt Haney, who said that “many people rely on cannabis as medicine” and called keeping the businesses open “important.”
Taking the COVID-19 outbreak seriously is of the utmost importance, but many people are facing weeks without a paycheck if their primarily brick and mortar businesses are forced to shut their doors. Cannabis dispensaries have seen a surge in sales as people buy in bulk to prepare for social isolation; however, these purchases may taper off as citizens settle in for a quarantine. Similarly, cannabis is medicine for many people, and to be left without the ability to pick up more could be detrimental to their health. With dispensaries and patients in mind, we’ve put together this list of ideas on how dispensaries may be able to safely continue dispensing legal cannabis products amidst coronavirus concerns.
Obviously, Be Clean
First and foremost, it is essential to disinfect common spaces and products. This means the obvious places like doorknobs, countertops, registers, and high-touch areas. But budtenders should not forget to disinfect the jars and other packaging that product is shipped in. To ensure that every product has been disinfected before going into the hands of a customer, or worse, an immunocompromised patient, a budtender should disinfect every order individually. Staff should also be consistently checking in on their own health, watching especially for signs of fever, sore throat, dry cough, and other commonly listed symptoms of the coronavirus.
Gloves and other equipment are extremely helpful in protecting budtenders and patients alike from the spreading virus.
Online Ordering
Any dispensary that has set up an online menu should start using their online ordering feature. This will allow customers to place an order that can be packaged and disinfected, and then picked up with very little to no interaction or shared space. Enabling an online ordering system can be a great way to deal with a huge flux of customers during this weird time of panic shopping, and it can help us keep from spreading the virus. Before enabling this feature, however, check with local laws and regulations to ensure it is compliant.
Curbside Pickup
For those who can offer it, curbside pickup is an ideal way to serve patients without putting people at risk of contracting or spreading COVID-19. This can be accomplished with or without an online ordering feature, although an online menu will make it much easier. Dispensaries that don’t have an online ordering feature or menu could allocate an employee to budtending and taking orders over the phone. After orders are taken, they can be packaged and individually disinfected and delivered to the customer’s car. It is important to note that this may not be a compliant practice in all states — customers would need to be diligently ID’ed and perfect change is recommended for budtender safety. Curbside pickup will also reduce the number of people in your dispensary at one time, allowing for safe distance between customers to avoid airborne spread.
Cannabis is generally a cash-only industry, so careful preparations should be made when handling cash to prevent the potential spread of the virus.
The Cash Problem
One major problem facing dispensaries is that cash is the main way customers pay for their bud — and cash is notoriously riddled with germs. Specifying one or two employees to deal with cash and requiring them to wear gloves and a face mask can help ensure their safety from the general public. It is important to note that dealing in cash could spread the virus among customers, so advising the use of hand sanitizer, or asking them to wash their hands in a provided restroom after the transaction, could be helpful to ensure your dispensary isn’t spreading the virus.
Educate Your Customers
For the retail dispensaries that have shut down, now is the time to educate your customer base about how to be a safe cannabis consumer during these difficult times. Get with your marketing team and figure out ways to be helpful while also expanding your following. Share educational content about how to avoid spreading the virus, and how patients can help others in their community. Provide people with some entertaining content while they’re cooped up at home for the time being. And keep in mind, if your marketing staff can work from home, let them work at home for goodness’ sake!
Across the globe, people are facing social isolation, “shelter at home” orders, and complete lockdowns. Let’s all do our part to keep society functional while also protecting ourselves and each other from the spread of COVID-19.
The National Institutes of Health National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health have awarded a $3.9 million grant to the University of California, Los Angeles Cannabis Research Initiative to study whether terpenes can reduce the amount of opioid medication a person needs to lessen pain.
The funding will allow Ziva Cooper, research director of the UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative, to study the entourage effect, or how terpenes and THC interact with each other. The researchers will study the terpenes myrcene and caryophyllene, which will be administered both with and without THC “to see whether they help reduce pain on their own, and whether they enhance the pain-relieving effects of THC, while reducing its intoxicating properties,” the university said in a press release. The terpenes will also be examined separately to see whether they decrease pain on their own.
Cooper, who is also an associate professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, said that chemicals specific to the cannabis plant “may be effective options” at limiting pain “with minimal side effects” but “placebo-controlled studies to explore this urgent area of research are desperately needed.”
“Chronic pain is a significant public health burden and there are few effective treatments that lack the adverse effects that limit use.” – Cooper in a statement
Last year Cooper, who is the first research director for the Cannabis Research Initiative, received a $3.5 million NIH grant to study how the pain-relieving and adverse effects of cannabis and cannabinoids affect men and women differently.
The agency also awarded nine universities federal grants totaling $3 million last year to study the “potential pain-relieving properties and mechanisms of actions of the diverse phytochemicals in cannabis, including both minor cannabinoids and terpenes.” In 2017, the NIH awarded a $3.8 million research grant to New York’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System for a long-term study to investigate whether medical cannabis treatment can help reduce opioid use for adults with chronic pain.
In a letter addressed to governors and medical cannabis program directors throughout the country, Americans for Safe Access has called on officials to protect cannabis patients during the alarming spread of COVID-19, or the coronavirus.
The letter argues that special actions should be taken to protect cannabis patients, “who represent some of the states’ most vulnerable citizens.”
“To help avert another public health crisis,” the letter reads, “we encourage all state programs to be flexible at this time to allow for additional precautions to be put in place to protect the millions of patients nationwide that rely on this medicine.”
The recommendations include making special allowances for delivery or pickup/curbside sales, offering tax relief for cannabis patients and businesses, ensuring that dispensaries and cannabis producers/manufacturers can remain open as “essential businesses” during the nation’s various quarantine efforts, the extension of expiring medical cannabis ID cards to free up doctors and health departments to focus on the coronavirus, and more.
“In light of the current state of COVID-19 and the CDC’s actions, Americans for Safe Access has been monitoring the situation to make sure that medical cannabis patients are not forgotten. We want to ensure that dispensaries are seen as essential businesses that will remain open for patients. We applaud states that have already put emergency precautions into action and we will keep patients and the public updated on any future developments through our www.safeaccessnow.org/COVID-19 response page.” — ASA Founder and President Steph Sherer, in a statement
San Francisco city officials have already ruled that cannabis dispensaries in the city can remain open during the official “shelter in place” order issued there.
Activists in Washington state, meanwhile, are circulating petitions on social media to ask the governor and elected representatives for special consideration for cannabis patients.
After a five-hour debate, the Alabama Senate passed a full-plant medical cannabis bill in a 22-10 vote last week; the bill, however, faces an uncertain future in the Alabama House.
If passed into law, the bill would allow patients to purchase medical cannabis at 34 access points throughout the state. However, only pills, patches, and topicals would be available under the proposal, the bill’s sponsor Sen. Tim Melson (R) told the Montgomery Advertiser after it passed.
“There could have been more of an organized effort to slow it down, and I appreciate the body not doing that. We tried to address some very serious things. I’m not taking this bill lightly. It’s a big step for Alabama, and there’s still a long way to go.” — Sen. Tim Melson, in a statement after the vote
Qualifying conditions under the bill include “anxiety, autism, cancer-related illnesses, Crohn’s Disease, epilepsy, fibromyalgia, HIV/AIDS-related nausea or weight loss, post-traumatic stress disorder, sleep disorders, Tourette’s Syndrome and conditions causing chronic or intractable pain. By the end of the debate, another amendment was added to include menopause and postmenstrual syndrome on the list of qualifying conditions, the Montgomery Advertiser reports.
A new commission, “The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission,” would be set up to administer patient registrations and medical cannabis business licenses. Notably, the Law includes a social justice piece, requiring 25% of the licenses be granted to minority-owned businesses.
“I will say there’s been a lot of concerns about big money, that this was only a way to get people to make money. My whole goal is to get it to patients who need it. Senator Melson continued.
The bill comes after a year of discussion by the Alabama Cannabis Commission, which was asked to determine if medical cannabis would be right for the conservative state. The commission met three times and listened to both “pro” and “con” arguments for medical cannabis, including testimony from patients and doctors, and eventually produced the legislation. The bill now heads to the Alabama House of Representatives.
