Nevada Dispensary Association Members Express Support for Strict Adherence to Governor Sisolak’s COVID-19 Response
NDA members are committed to complying with Gov. Steve Sisolak’s executive order, issued March 21, requiring cannabis sales to be conducted by delivery only.
LAS VEGAS – PRESS RELEASE – Nevada Dispensary Association (NDA) members are committed to complying with Gov. Steve Sisolak’s executive order, issued March 21, 2020, requiring cannabis sales to be conducted by delivery only. The NDA and its members commend the Cannabis Compliance Board (CCB) for quickly implementing a virtual vehicle inspection to help dispensaries quickly obtain certification for delivery vehicles.
While it is anticipated that all NDA members are following, and will continue to follow, the governor’s executive order issued March 21, 2020, any NDA member found in violation of the order will be terminated as a member.
The NDA has developed and will share social media materials with members supporting the governor’s “Stay Home for Nevada” message. The NDA also updated its website at nvdispense.com to include information on delivery. The NDA has already provided protocols on applying CDC social distancing guidelines to cannabis deliveries, as well as a refresher on delivery rules and regulations.
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Canadian Cannabis Firms Brace for COVID-19, Potential Fallout
Canadian cannabis companies implement work-from-home protocols as an already tough capital market tightens up even more.
The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing governments worldwide to take drastic measures to “flatten the curve” and reduce economic fallout, and Canada is no exception. The Great White North closed its border with the U.S. for all non-essential travel (goods are not included in that shutdown), shuttered schools, colleges and universities across the country, and provinces are taking steps to stop all non-essential businesses.
The Canadian cannabis industry, for the most part, can operate as normally as it can. Dispensaries are conducting business with social distancing measures in place, deliveries can be made—although Canada Post will no longer deliver cannabis packages to purchasers’ homes, opting instead for postal office pickup to minimize delivery person exposure—and cultivation sites continue to operate.
Both the Quebec and Ontario governments have deemed cannabis cultivation and retail businesses “essential” to the marketplace and, as such, can remain open during each province’s mandatory shutdown. Other provinces such as Alberta are considering similar proposals.
Some companies, however, are taking extra steps to ensure their employee’s, patients and consumers safety. For example, Canopy Growth, a vertically integrated LP, closed its retail storefronts on March 17. “We have a responsibility to our employees, their families, and our communities to do our part to “flatten the curve” by limiting social interactions. For us, that means shifting our focus from retail to e-commerce,” said David Klein, Canopy’s CEO, in a press release. “This is a big decision but it was also an easy one to make – our retail teams are public-facing and have been serving an above-average volume of transactions in recent days. Given the current situation, it is in the best interest of our teams and our communities to close these busy hubs until we are confident we can operate our stores in the best interest of public health.”
The company is keeping its cultivation operations open but is asking that all employees who can work remotely do so, said Canopy’s VP of Communications Jordan Sinclair in a March 24 email to CBT. The company recently closed facilities in Aldergrove and Delta, British Columbia, and scrapped plans for a third greenhouse at its Niagara-on-the-Lake location in Ontario, both unrelated to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Amid a reported surge in demand, Aurora Cannabis’ “production facilities remain fully operational and … have not experienced any disruptions to regular operations, including [to the] existing supply chain,” said Michelle Lefler, Aurora’s VP of Communications in a March 20 email to CBT. The company is taking steps to mitigate risks, Lefler said, including “implementing good hygiene practices and illness prevention measures across our organization.”
She added that, “at this time, we have paused all business travel and have advised staff to defer personal travel, which we are carefully monitoring. Employees are being provided the option to work from home as per the social distancing procedures advised by the World Health Organization. The company will adapt further guidance to employees as necessary.”
As the Canadian cannabis industry does its part to help the country’s fight against the pandemic, some are feeling left out by the federal government’s lack of resources available to cannabis producers and retailers. As LPs, like the rest of the world, try to figure out how to best navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canadian government announced that cannabis businesses will not be eligible for business relief funds.
Dan Sutton, CEO of Tantalus Labs, another LP, has been in correspondence with both the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), a government-owned development bank, and Farm Credit Canada (FCC), the country’s largest agricultural term lender. Neither have indicated a willingness to work with smaller cannabis firms, he says.
“We confirmed on Friday that BDC remains in their position that ‘we do not do business with cannabis firms at this time,’” Sutton said in a March 23 email to CBT. “Today, our file was taken to credit with FCC who confirmed that their preference is to ‘focus on portfolio companies.’ To my knowledge, there are five firms in Canadian cannabis that currently do business with FCC, so this is not the stimulus lifeline the industry needs right now.”
He added that without provincial and/or federal assistance, “many firms will perish in the economic fallout and liquidity crunch from COVID-19.”
The Alberta Cannabis Council (ACC), a not-for-profit industry trade group serving the province’s cannabis industry stakeholders, shared a letter signed by 74 industry stakeholders with the Canadian government calling for legislators to grant the same access to economic relief programs to the country’s cannabis industry.
“We are not asking for special treatment, but rather equitable treatment,” the signatories said.
Jushi Holdings Inc. Provides Shareholder Update on Operations
All stores remain open in Pennsylvania and Illinois, and the company is prioritizing its medical patients and customers most susceptible to COVID-19.
BOCA RATON, Fla., March 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRESS RELEASE -- Jushi Holdings Inc., a globally focused, multi-state cannabis and hemp operator, is providing shareholders with an update on its operations during the month of March, and its company-wide response to COVID-19. Jushi maintains that the health and safety of its patients, customers and employees is the company’s number one priority during this global crisis.
As of March 25, Jushi’s dispensaries received the “life-sustaining” business designation in Pennsylvania and the “essential services” designation in Illinois. As a result, the company’s six dispensaries in Pennsylvania, operating under the brand “BEYOND/HELLO,” and its two dispensaries in Illinois, operating under the brand “The Green Solution” (transitioning to BEYOND/HELLO branding later this year), will remain open. The company acquired the two Illinois dispensaries on January 30 and has subsequently begun serving adult-use customers at its Sauget location as of March 2. Through the first three weeks of March, company-wide retail revenues were approximately $3 million, an increase of approximately 70% as compared to February 2020.
The company is announcing several initiatives prioritizing its medical patients and customers most susceptible to COVID-19 during the pendency of the COVID-19 outbreak:
Pennsylvania – Effective immediately, BEYOND/HELLO dispensaries will only serve patients 50 years or older in the first hour of operations. Curbside pick-up will begin to be offered at three PA dispensaries starting March 30th (1).
Sauget, Illinois – Beginning March 30, The Green Solution dispensary will only serve medical patients on Mondays. In addition, starting on March 31, The Green Solution dispensary will serve only medical patients and customers 50 years or older during the first hour of operations. Curbside pick-up will also be offered to medical patients beginning March 26.
Normal, Illinois – Beginning March 31, The Green Solution dispensary will only serve patients 50 years or older in the first hour of operations. Curbside pick-up will also be offered to medical patients beginning March 26th.
(1) Curbside pick-up available at Bristol, West Chester and Scranton, Penn. locations.
In accordance with the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Jushi made essential changes to promote a healthy and safe operating environment for all of its patients, customers and employees, including:
Frequently sanitizing high-touch surfaces
Deep cleaning and sanitizing workstations
Sanitizing or washing hands after each transaction
Ensuring hand sanitizer is easily accessible
Suspending all use of paper menus, demo products, and demo samples
Positioning staff at every other register when possible
Taking the temperature of store employees before they begin their shift
“I am proud of all of our team members for responding quickly and appropriately during this rapidly evolving and uncertain time globally. Thus far in March, we have seen a significant increase in traffic and demand, which is a reflection of the loyalty of our customer base. Going forward, we will continue to closely monitor the status of our operations and make adjustments as needed to ensure the health and safety of our patients, customers and employees,” said Jim Cacioppo, chairman and chief executive officer of Jushi.
Jushi will be providing an update regarding its financial results for the 2019 full year and fourth quarter as well as more detail relating to the 2020 first quarter during its earnings conference call to be scheduled at the end of April.
Photo Courtesy of CannaCraft
Cannabis Companies and Suppliers Offer Help in Creating Medical Supplies for COVID-19 Response
Aloha Green Apothecary, CannaCraft and Keirton (Twister Trimmer) have found themselves uniquely positioned to fill the supply void.
In the wake of the COVID-19 global pandemic, U.S. and Canadian cannabis companies have a unique opportunity to aid those in need. Not only are their cannabis products increasingly being deemed essential by governments—but they also have the facilities, personnel and protocols already in place to fill the desperate need for medical supplies.
These three companies are using those advantages to help their communities.
Aloha Green Apothecary
Photo courtesy of Aloha Green Apothecary
In Hawaii, Aloha Green Apothecary is producing hand sanitizer for its employees and patients, with plans to ramp up production as much as possible to donate hand sanitizer to other businesses and organizations in the state.
“We’re just trying our best to meet our patients’ needs and follow the law with all the changes in law that the government is laying down,” Tai Cheng, a spokesperson for Aloha Green Apothecary, told Cannabis Business Times.
The vertically integrated company, located in Oahu, has been deemed essential after all non-essential businesses were ordered to shut down. And since the outbreak, sales have increased.
Aloha Green Apothecary has always maintained strict security and sanitation protocols, but the company has implemented additional measures as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. Hand sanitizer has always been available near the entrance and exit of the dispensary, Cheng said, but the team placed hand sanitizer at every point-of-sale station amid coronavirus concerns, which meant the company needed a larger supply. As local stores started selling out, Aloha Green Apothecary tried to buy hand sanitizer from its wholesalers and distributors, but they, too, were sold out.
The Aloha Green Apothecary team then started hearing reports from patients that they were lining up outside big box stores early in the morning to purchase hand sanitizer, and that stores were implementing purchase limits. That’s when the company decided to make hand sanitizer and provide it to patients for free.
Photo courtesy of Aloha Green Apothecary
Aloha Green Apothecary dedicated its ethanol, mixing systems, worktables and filling machines to hand sanitizer production in order to provide hand sanitizer to its employees and patients.
“We’re sitting on a lot of ethanol and other alcohols because of the extraction process,” Cheng said. “We had a lot of ethanol available in our lab, and the scientists in the lab said it’s not too difficult to make hand sanitizer. We just have to make sure it meets at least 60% alcohol content to be effective, according to the [World Health Organization]. We already make topicals … [and] a bunch of [other products] that are similar. We just don’t make a cleanser, but we thought, why not? We’ll give it a try so we can at least stock up our own retail dispensaries with sanitizer, as well as our office.”
Cheng said the company stopped making its topicals altogether to dedicate its mixing system, worktables and filling machines to hand sanitizer production.
“We have a lot [of ethanol], but of course all these alcohols are in high demand as supply chains are disrupted because of the coronavirus,” Cheng said. “We have no risk of running out with just our patients, but we have received inquiries from the state government, local convenience store chains, and other offices and businesses to supply them with sanitizer, just because they’re running out, as well. So, we’re going to try our best to maintain our ability to give sanitizer away for free to our current patients, and we’re going to try to make [a] larger volume [of] sanitizer to give away to some of those offices and companies so they can maintain some safety for their employees.”
CannaCraft
Similarly, CannaCraft in Santa Rosa, Calif., found itself in dire need of hand sanitizer for its own employees and to ensure safety during retail deliveries.
After cannabis companies in California were deemed essential, CannaCraft started implementing the same types of extra sanitation measures, including splitting shifts, work-from-home policies where possible, as well as extreme sanitation of “any doorknob, faucet handle or coffee maker or phone, printer—anything more than one person was touching,” Tiffany Devitt, CannaCraft’s President of Wellness, said.
The company also wanted to make sure sanitation extended beyond the facility and into dispensaries, not only for deliveries but also for dispensary staff and consumer access. Hand sanitizer immediately came to mind.
Like Aloha Green Apothecary, CannaCraft’s team already procures ethanol that they use for product manufacturing at their 40,000-square-foot facility. Similarly, because they produce topicals, they had other valuable items on-hand already, like aloe, and thousands of pump containers, which coincidentally were leftover from the state’s “pre-regulatory era,” Devitt said. “We had initially used them for our topicals, but they weren’t child resistant, so we discontinued that packaging … That was sort of a delightful consequence of regulation.”
Plus, being so highly regulated, their facility was well-equipped for the task. They’re frequently inspected by
Photo courtesy of CannaCraft
CannaCraft pulled its R&D team off its current projects and tasked them with formulating and filling hand sanitizer under the company's Care by Design brand.
the California Department of Public Health and the Sonoma County Department of Health Services. Sometimes those inspections last up to seven hours. Having well-documented procedures and training is “second nature” to CannaCraft, Devitt said.
CannaCraft pulled its R&D team off its current projects and tasked them with formulating and filling hand sanitizer under the company’s Care by Design brand. Devitt said having PhDs and regulatory liaisons on staff helped this process go smoothly. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also loosened up its regulatory guidelines to make it easier for people to respond in real-time to the crisis, she adds, so the team was able to produce a formula and quickly ensure it complied with FDA guidelines.
The first batch of hand sanitizer CannaCraft produced went home with employees for their families. The second batch is being shipped out directly to dispensary customers with their orders. The company has also gotten several requests from local nonprofits, especially those who work with the elderly population, and so they’ll work to distribute those as they’re able. All the hand sanitizer produced by CannaCraft will be donated.
Interestingly, the manufacturing of the hand sanitizer did not significantly impact production of CannaCraft’s cannabis products, Devitt said, adding, “We have about 150 different products, so tossing one more product in did not ruffle them in the least.”
Keirton, Inc. (Twister Trimmer)
Even companies in the cannabis supply chain that aren’t plant-touching are offering up ways to be of service during the pandemic.
Product engineering and idea development company Keirton, Inc., which produces Twister Trimmer cannabis trimming equipment and has facilities in Surrey, British Columbia and Ferndale, Wash., has opened up a call to its supply chain to offer networking, as well as its facilities, to assist in the making of ventilators.
Last week, Keirton, Inc. CEO Jay Evans posted to LinkedIn making the announcement:
“During these difficult times, I believe it's incredibly important for people to pull together to make a difference. It's been said that ‘Necessity is the Mother of Invention.’ At Keirton, innovation has been in our DNA since day one. We have thirteen years of industry expertise in creating precision electromechanical machines used in Health Canada regulated GMP facilities across our country and EU-GMP facilities across Europe. Today, we are in a good position to temporarily pivot on our core range of products and assist in the much needed development of medical ventilators.”
Soon after, comments began pouring in from consultants, manufacturing companies and horticulture companies, offering ideas and suggestions to help get the idea rolling. Evans told Cannabis Business Times in an interview that the company has now been in touch with the Canadian federal government and added to a list of supporters; has been supporting some companies in the design phase of ventilators; and is open to using their production space in B.C. for their manufacture if that bandwidth is needed.
“We realized we have the expertise to design something quite quickly, especially if the government would open source the design for us,” Evans told Cannabis Business Times in an interview. “We could design it, produce it and start manufacturing quite fast.”
Keirton, Inc. has PhDs, chemists and engineers on staff, access to a clean room, and vendors from around the globe, Evans said, but their biggest advantage, he says, is their ability to adapt in these unprecedented times. “We’re very nimble. We’re not a huge company so we’re able to maneuver quickly,” he said.
In the meantime, demand has also shot up for its trimming equipment as cannabis companies are trying to keep up with production. “One of the things we can help companies with is bringing some of our solutions to them, and not replacing their people, but augmenting the people they have in making them more productive and allowing them to use those people in more high-value areas of business,” Evans said.
Evans added that he doesn’t anticipate the balance between ventilator assistance and the current manufacturing of its trimming equipment will be an issue, given the company has inventory in place and extra capacity if necessary. He added that potential layoffs in other sectors may help provide opportunities for support if the extra capacity is needed.
“It’s important for us, cannabis being deemed an essential service that the industry keeps supplying quality, safe cannabis and we can help anyone out there who needs that assistance, either with our equipment or our advice,” Evans said. “Anywhere we can help, we’d love to help.”
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Massachusetts Reinforces Support for the Medical Necessity Model
The Bay State orders stop to all new non-medical cannabis cultivation activity.
As more and more states are shifting to a work-from-home environment and closing down non-essential businesses, we have seen a conflict in gubernatorial instructions on whether cannabis is a protected class of business that falls under “essential infrastructure” or “essential business.” Earlier this week, we compared the approach New York and California have taken to permitting businesses to continue to operate.
The former, medical-only state received a carte blanche endorsement as an essential business in New York to provide (often immunocompromised) patients with necessary medication. California, on the other hand, remained silent in executive orders, and left it up to local mayoral representatives to make determinations as they saw fit and best for their respective communities.
Massachusetts has taken a middle road, as Governor Charles D. Baker issued COVID-19 Order No. 13 on March 23, 2020 which becomes effective March 24, 2020 at noon. This order identified an extensive list of “COVID-19 Essential Services”. As with California and New York, cannabis-related business were not explicitly listed on the list of essential services, but rather addressed in an addendum by the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (“MCCC”).
Progression to Shut-Down
In an effort to contain the spread of the virus, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission issued an “Industry Bulletin on the Coronavirus State of Emergency” on March 13, 2020 which highlighted mitigating measures that licensees and certifying health care providers should use to ensure, preserve, and promote public health. Futhermore, the MCCC recommended that Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers (dispensaries) may consider the “promotion and geographic expansion of delivery service and to remind patients of the ability to acquire up to a 60-day medical grade medical marijuana supply.” This language and recommendation regarding delivery service parallels the actions of many other states such as New York, Michigan, and Washington. (Curiously, Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation would relax laws relating to curb-side delivery on public walkway adjacent to the dispensary, but direct delivery was still prohibited.)
On March 23, 2020 the MCCC issued a formal Summary Cease and Desist Order (Case No. 2020AM-0001, 935 CMR 500.350: Cease and Desist Order and Summary Suspension Order) which clarified and expanded the prior directives of the MCCC in line with Governor Charles D. Baker’s March 23, 2020 Covid-19 Order No. 13 (Essential Services Order).
This Order went into effect on March 24, 2020 at 12:00 noon EST and formally excluded all licensed Marijuana Establishments and Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers conducting adult-use retail at non-colocated premises as non-essential functions. (Co-located Marijuana Operations under Massachusetts law are defined as an entity operating under both a RMD registration pursuant to 935 CMR 5001.000: Medical Use of Marijuana and under at least one Marijuana Establishment license pursuant to 935 CMR 500.000: Adult Use of Marijuana on the same premise.) These establishments were ordered to close their physical workplaces and facilities to workers, customers, and the public as of noon and not to re-open before 12:00 noon on April 7, 2020. Independent testing labs providing the required testing to medical-use operations were not subject to the Cease and Desist Order.
Curiously, the Order did not stymie all non-medical cannabis related industry and carved an exception for maintaining existing cultivation operations for adult-use. The Order specifically considered operations permissible to include feeding and irrigation of existing plantings, undertaking pre-existing integrated pest management, and preventative maintenance programs—but shall not include making new cultivation plantings. Should an organization wish to challenge the Order for a special dispensation, they may request hearings within twenty-one (21) calendar days after the effective date of the Cease and Desist Order.
Long Term Projection
Although each state has taken a different approach to recreational vs. medical adoption of cannabis laws, Massachusetts has firmly straddled the issue and stands by its medical program as an integral and essential component to emergency services. The Cease and Desist Order from the Cannabis Control Commission is effective to preserve the right of patients to access necessary medical relief, but also begs consideration for adult-use registered organizations and the conservation of business interests and resources post-state of emergency.
Adoption of Orders like these make sense on a fundamental level and endorse the notion that there is a shift and acceptance on a legislative scope to acknowledge the prescribed application of cannabis medically. Treatment of Cannabis on a medical level and recognition of the sale and industry behind it is a supporting step towards de-scheduling at a federal level. While this is certainly a cautiously progressive measure, this development does not only ring of roses and buds; such state action also reflects a lingering trend of vilifying the recreational use of cannabis as a “drug”—after all, liquor stores are still open and considered an essential business nationally.
Anthony De Ingeniis Esq., is a New York-based attorney with the law firm Goldberg Segalla LLP, elected in 2018 to be the youngest member of the firm's Cannabis and Hemp Law Leadership Committee. He focuses his practice on cannabis law issues emerging in the market and has a passion for the science behind the plant stemming from a biomedical background and Bachelors of Science from SUNY Stony Brook University. Anthony also acquired a Master of Arts in Education from Stony Brook University and enjoys teaching at any level, from adolescent to adult. Anthony also practices with Goldberg Segalla's Intellectual Property and General Liability litigation teams and applies his experience in these disciplines to his representation of clients in the cannabis and hemp industries.
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