Cannabis Dispensaries To Reopen In San Francisco, Deemed To Provide “Essential Services”
By Iris Dorbian – March 19, 2020
Great news for the legal cannabis industry amid this trying coronavirus outbreak crisis. After a brief closure, San Francisco dispensaries were given the greenlight earlier this week to reopen via an emergency edict by Mayor London Breed, her shelter-in-place order for residents notwithstanding. In a win-win for the local industry, these businesses were deemed to provide “essential needs” during this pandemic.
The mayor’s order came on the heels of a March 17 tweet by the San Francisco Department of Public Health, in which the city agency announced that, “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.”
Speaking to SF Weekly before Mayor Breed’s order, Supervisor Matt Haney said he felt “very strongly” that dispensaries should be open for pickup and delivery. ““There’s absolutely no logical reason to shut down delivery. Delivery is still happening for everything else. Why would you shut down local cannabis delivery operations?”
San Francisco Mayor London Breed (C) speaks during a press conference as San Francisco police chief … [+]
GETTY IMAGESAs reported by KTVU.com, a local news outlet, the city’s health department “initially ordered dispensaries and delivery services closed Monday night.” Grocery stores and pharmacies were allowed to stay open, however, as they were listed as essential businesses. But that got changed after the city’s health department reversed their official stance regarding dispensaries, said Supervisor Haney in a tweet.
Cannabis professionals in the Golden State are hailing the decision to reopen the dispensaries as a benchmark in the history of the space. Says Julia Jacobson, CEO of Oakland, California-based Aster Farms, a sustainable cannabis company: “This has set a new precedent of acceptance and importance of cannabis in our society. This is especially an important win for medical patients who in many ways were left behind in the rollout of recreational.”
Jacobson’s sentiments were roundly echoed by Sally Nichols, president of Bloom Farms CBD, a producer of hemp-derived CBD. “For decades, cannabis has fought to evolve from California’s secret lover and take its spot alongside [the state’s] medicine and culture as a rightful partner,” she said. “Cannabis is essential to millions, and this moment has further legitimized the plant and industry.”
But there’s also another significant benefit to the San Francisco decision to name cannabis businesses as “essential.” By reopening the dispensaries, consumers won’t be tempted to buy into the unregulated market. “[This] is the same illicit market that spawned the epidemic of vaping-related lung injuries last fall,” said Tiffany Devitt, chief of government and consumer affairs and president of wellness at CannaCraft, a seed-to-shelf cannabis producer and distributor. “Given how strained our healthcare infrastructure already is, no one wanted to take that sort of risk.”