Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week you’ll find reporting on innovative ways cannabis businesses are responding to the Coronavirus, a recommendation on edibles, changes in cannabis etiquette and more. Enjoy.
Consumer Spotlight
In a decision that would have been unthinkable not so long ago, a number of states have deemed dispensaries that sell medical cannabis to be essential businesses that can remain open even when other businesses are closed as part of a city- or state-wide lockdown in response to the pandemic.
Writing in Marijuana Business Daily, Jeff Smith notes that the New York state Department of Health has declared that medical cannabis businesses are essential and that Nevada regulators will allow licensed recreational cannabis stores and MMJ dispensaries to remain open as long as they adhere to strict social-distancing protocols. That means businesses must not allow individuals to congregate, and consumers are being encouraged by the state to use cannabis delivery services or complete orders online or over the phone.
San Francisco originally ordered the closure of nonessential businesses, including all cannabis stores, but reversed that decision the following day, saying cannabis dispensaries could stay open but only for pickup and delivery.
Some in the cannabis industry contend that by taking these steps, states are including medical marijuana companies in a special category reserved for businesses that are essential for the health and well being of the public.
Jason Erkes, spokesman for Cresco Labs, an Illinois-based multistate operator, told Smith, “You can’t say Walgreens or CVS can stay open but cannabis dispensaries have to close. I think that’s something municipalities (and states) are taking into consideration.”
Erkes also said that curtailing recreational sales may cause a serious problem for those who haven’t formerly registered as medical marijuana patients but use products purchased from adult-use stores to treat medical conditions.
Smith also cites comments made by Dr. Peter Grinspoon, a Harvard Medical School instructor, in an article in the Boston Globe. Grinspoon said that while he is of the opinion that Massachusetts should close as many businesses as possible, the state needs to think carefully about the fact that “tens of thousands of people in (the state) truly depend on cannabis as a medicine.”
He went on to say that he thinks failing to provide such people with access to cannabis would be “a disaster.”
More information can be found in Jeff Smith’s excellent article in the March 19, 2020 issue of Marijuana Business Daily.
Quote of the Week
“Right now, we are facing a pandemic where SARS-CoV-2 attacks lung cells, preferentially in the lower respiratory tract. In my view, better to be safe than sorry, so I’d advise anyone who uses marijuana to switch to edibles, especially if they have underlying health conditions like respiratory problems (asthma, COPD), heart problems (hypertension, diabetes), or immune deficiencies.” —Dr. Steffanie Strathdee is an infectious disease epidemiologist.
For a more detailed look at the risks of smoking cannabis during the pandemic you can read Rae Lland’s detailed article in the March 19, 2020 edition of Leafly.
leafly.com/news/health/edibles-may-be-better-than-smoking-cannabis-during-pandemic
Business News and Notes
The Coronavirus (COVID19) outbreak has sparked a number of changes in the way individuals interact and conduct business—including how they purchase marijuana. In an effort to maintain the recommended social distance, a number of states have authorized curbside service at legal dispensaries.
According to Thomas Edward, reporting for High Times, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has issued guidelines that permit a dispensary to sell medical cannabis on the dispensary’s property “or on a public walkway or curb adjacent to the dispensary.” In addition, medical cannabis patients can continue to have their designated caregiver purchase their medicine for them.
The guidelines also made it clear that when consumers choose to enter a dispensary to purchase cannabis, the dispensary must “take steps to ensure consumers who come inside do not come within six feet of one another.”
Toi Hutchinson, a senior advisor for cannabis control to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker told Edward, “Our top priority is to minimize the risk of and protect as many people from exposure to COVID-19. These steps prioritize that critical objective, while also ensuring medical patients have access to the medicine they need.”
The states of Washington, Michigan and Pennsylvania have also authorized curbside cannabis pickup at participating dispensaries. In the case of Michigan, A.J. Herrington, also reporting for High Times, notes that state regulators have encouraged consumers and patients to use cannabis delivery services when possible. According to Herrington, there are 17 shops in the state selling recreational marijuana that are licensed to make home deliveries. State regulators have said they would fast track the application process for those businesses not yet licensed to provide home delivery service.
To learn more about how the virus outbreak is leading to innovation in the way businesses serve consumers, visit Thomas Edward’s article in the March 18, 2020 issue of High Times and A.J. Herrington’s reporting in the March 17, 2020 issue of High Times.
hightimes.com/news/michigan-allows-curbside-cannabis-pickup-over-coronavirus-fears/
Stat of the Week
According to an analysis conducted by Babylon Health, over 500,000 scholarly articles on CBD have been identified through Google searches and more than 8 million Instagram posts that have tagged the compound. This makes CBD the most researched wellness trend on social media.
To learn more about the public’s appetite for information on CBD and the role played by social influencers you can read the article by The Fresh Toast‘s Maria Loreto which appeared in the March 18, 2020 edition of Benzinga.
Cannabis Etiquette
Clearly, the pandemic and the need to keep the appropriate social distance have many cannabis users rethinking how they use marijuana and other cannabis products.
Many recreational users have long considered marijuana a social drug to be used and shared with others. The Coronavirus is changing that. According to Michael Kaplan, writing for the New York Post, health-conscious consumers are rethinking “weed etiquette.”
One consumer told Kaplan, “These days,“I’ll light a joint, take four to 10 hits and pass it. Then I light my own joint, which I hang onto. That way I am not getting anyone’s germs.”
She also confided to Kaplan that as an alternative to joints she keeps an assortment of single-use cannabis products—such as edibles, tinctures and condiments—on hand.
Such products, one suspects, make it easier to enjoy cannabis and still observe the appropriate social distance of six feet, or as one wag described it, “One Joey Ramone.” Joey was 6’6″.
To learn more on how the virus is challenging and changing marijuana etiquette, you can read Michael Kaplan’s entertaining article in the March 17, 2020 issue of the New York Post.
Senior Cannabis Digest is compiled and edited by Joe Kohut and John Kohut. You can reach them at joe.kohut@gmail.com or at 347-528-8753.
