Adult-use cannabis dispensaries in Massachusetts that have been temporarily closed for the past two months as part of emergency orders to shut down nonessential businesses will be allowed to offer curbside pickup beginning Memorial Day.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker discussed his four-phase plan to reopen businesses in the state, one of the top five in the U.S. hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, during a press conference May 18. The plan is to reopen the economy slowly in phases, and as part of the first, retailers in the state can offer curbside pickup starting May 25.
COVID-19 is changing industries across the globe, and the cannabis industry is no different.
After the coronavirus pandemic hit, cannabis regulators moved quickly to decide whether and how cannabis shops could remain open. Most states declared cannabis essential, both for medical and adult use, with the exception of Massachusetts, which halted adult use sales as part of the effort to stem the spread.
With a House vote on Democratic leadership’s latest coronavirus relief package expected on Friday, Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) is making the case for a provision he’s championing that would protect banks that service marijuana businesses from being penalized by federal regulators.
Cannabis businesses declared essential during the coronavirus outbreak are hoping to leverage newly allowed flexibility such as curbside pickup and home delivery into permanent ways of doing business.
They also believe this is an ideal opportunity to seek additional regulatory relief and other reforms to help fend off challenges related to the economic downturn resulting from COVID-19.
The coronavirus outbreak has prompted several states to allow cannabis delivery and curbside pickup, services that advocates championed before the pandemic but may otherwise have been delayed for months or years — if they were approved at all.
The question now is whether regulators will allow these temporary measures to continue after the pandemic is over.
GTI's revenue skyrocketed 265% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2019. This growth was driven in part by the company's new stores opened in Florida, New Jersey, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. GTI is scheduled to report its Q1 results next week. Will its growth taper off because of the COVID-19 outbreak? Don't bet on it.
Raritan Valley Community College, in partnership with Sarah Trent, CEO of Valley Wellness, is offering an online New Jersey Medical Cannabis Dispensary Training course. Classes will be held Monday evenings, June 1-29, from 6-9 p.m., via RVCC’s online platforms: Zoom and Canvas. The program offers comprehensive education and training in multiple aspects of the emerging cannabis industry.
The marijuana reform group NORML is leading an effort to encourage states to deprioritize the enforcement of cannabis criminalization amid the coronavirus pandemic.
So far, more than 4,000 constituents across the country have participated in the organization’s action campaign launched on Wednesday by sending messages to their governors, urging them to take steps to minimize the spread of the virus by avoiding unnecessary marijuana arrests.
A coalition of marijuana trade organizations and credit unions are calling on Congress to provide cannabis businesses with access to federal coronavirus relief.
At the start of 2020, more than a dozen states seemed very likely to legalize marijuana for recreational or medical purposes by the end of the year. Now that a coronavirus pandemic has overwhelmed just about every aspect of American life, it seems only a handful of states will be able to enact marijuana reform.