COVID-19: A Chance to Prove the Cannabis Industry’s Worth to America
April 3, 2020 National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) spokesperson Morgan Fox doesn’t mince words when asked what’s at stake for the cannabis industry as it continues to operate amidst the chaos of COVID-19.
“Right now, it’s (cannabis reform) still pretty low priority for lawmakers with everything going on in our country,” he explains over a quick lunch time phone call from his home office outside Washington, D.C., where a shelter-in-place order and big potential fines for violations ($5,000!) are keeping the Beltway relatively quiet for the time being.
“But, I do have to say that they are watching (us) very closely right now,” Fox continues. “And by following the rules and regulations to a ‘T’ we can continue to prove that this industry is an important and essential part of our health care system and our economy.”
Outside of that, Fox says, for NCIA’s membership, it’s been mostly business as usual since COVID-19 entered the nation’s collective consciousnesses last month, especially across the 33 states where legal cannabis cultivation and retailing have been deemed essential operations.
“Our number one concern in this industry has always been safety first in everything that we do, and thus far our cannabis businesses have done an excellent job in that regard,” he says.
Abiding by all local, state and national guidelines, plus implementing the CDC social distancing and “Stop The Spread” coronavirus protocols, are crucial to cannabusinesses continuing to put their best foot forward. Unfortunately, recent reports out of Massachusetts have highlighted some alleged dodging of the social distancing regulations by a cannabis cultivation facility and retail dispensary that are operated under the same brand name. That investigation is still ongoing.
“They should be making sure they are doing everything mandated by the law, and even in some cases going beyond the law where it makes sense, so we can show the government this industry is mature, it’s professional, and it’s still serving American consumers safely,” Fox allows.
As to how hard the coronavirus itself is hitting the cannabis industry, Fox says right now that’s likely going to depend upon where the grower or business is located.
Northern California, for instance, has much higher numbers of infected than say, one of America’s newer recreational markets like Oklahoma. One would reason that finding much needed day-to-day supplies like the rubber gloves, breathing masks, and medical gowns that are pretty much ubiquitous throughout any commercial cannabis grow would be more difficult in the harder hit regions where health care workers rightfully are receiving priority on those goods.
“In some cases, I don’t think it’s been a problem yet – we’ve heard many cannabis businesses that had a surplus of those goods on-hand have even made donations to local hospitals and health care providers in need – and in other cases those supplies are basically unattainable right now, and growers are forced to ration,” Fox says, noting there’s really not a whole lot of advice NCIA can offer to growers with supply chain difficulties.
As for his work on Capitol Hill, Fox says NCIA’s team have been focused on getting legal cannabis growers and businesses included in Congress’ ongoing coronavirus relief stimulus packages. Hemp, with its federally legal status, was included in the first multi-trillion dollar relief bill, while the legal cannabis industry unfortunately was not.
Fox and Co. at NCIA are hoping to change that in the next round of stimulus package negotiations that are rumored to kick off soon in D.C. He feels that the cannabis industry continuing to put on its best face amid a tough situation can go a long way in showing Congress that the country is indeed ready for reform in the form of passing the SAFE Banking Act, and national legalization, when the time comes for that.
“I think what this crisis has shown is that cannabis is undeniably an important aspect of the health care system and our economy, and when Congress gets back to business as usual, we’ll continue advocating for that recognition as we have been for years, before coronavirus even came around,” Fox says.
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