Coronavirus: Medical marijuana dispensaries are called essential in Mass., but recreational pot shops must close under governor’s order

Starting tomorrow, only licensed medical marijuana retailers are allowed to sell cannabis products in Massachusetts for the next few weeks during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Baker on Monday morning asked residents to stay at home as the respiratory illness continues to spread and ordered all non-essential businesses to close at noon on March 24 through noon on April 7.

Dispensaries that are not licensed to sell medical pot and only offer sales for adults 21 and older must close their doors Tuesday.

For Pure Oasis, which just opened earlier this month as Boston’s first recreational marijuana shop and the state’s first equity business, a few weeks of operations now must come to a sudden halt.

“The bigger picture is that there is an ongoing global epidemic and we all kind of have to do our part to stem the flow of the virus,” co-owner Kobie Evans said in a phone interview Monday afternoon. “We all have our civic duty to help each other and help flatten out the curve.”

Some dispensary owners feel the governor’s order overlooks the fact that many medical patients choose to shop at recreational-only dispensaries, or that some people use cannabis as a medicine but do not have a medical card.

Evans said he was concerned about medical patients who have started to frequent Pure Oasis to shop. Even though the dispensary is not licensed for medical sales, some patients may choose to go to the dispensary for its location and convenience.

Further, some patients use marijuana to help calm undiagnosed issues and do not have a medical card, Evans said.

“The harder part is with all the anxiety that’s happening, people getting laid off, I feel bad for our customers who rely on the products we sell for medical issues or social anxiety issues,” he said.

The response to COVID-19 is fluid. Each week has brought new restrictions on public gatherings and the way restaurants can operate, for example.

Evans said the business can survive two weeks with no sales.

“Our concern is for our local community and our statewide community and the nation and the world,” Evans said. “It’s just a little bit of a delay that we’ll have to deal with.”

The state Cannabis Control Commission on Monday notified licensees to cease and desist all adult-use marijuana operations at noon on Tuesday, in accordance with Baker’s order. Co-located recreational and marijuana dispensaries can still serve medical patients. Licensed Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers are considered essential

There are 61 licensed Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers currently operating in the state, the CCC said. As of March, there are more than 67,700 certified medical marijuana patients in Massachusetts.

Solar Therapeutics, a recreational dispensary in Somerset, is taking the lead on petitioning Baker’s administration to allow recreational stores to operate as essential businesses.

“A large majority of our customers don’t have their medical cards and they actually use adult use for medicinal purposes,” said Derek Gould, a spokesman for Solar Therapeutics. “There are a lot of people who need this whether it’s designated as medical or not ... you’re going to be depriving a lot of people of the services they need.”

Solar Therapeutics has taken the lead on offering language for other dispensaries to use in petitions to Baker’s administration. The petition reads, in part: “In our industry, the nature of providing cannabis for either recreational or medicinal use is ABSOLUTELY crucial ... And though there is a distinct classification between adult-use and medicinal licensing, the vast majority of our consumers have opted NOT to apply for a medical marijuana card in Massachusetts, but rather consume adult-use products for their needs. If the State takes away this service in a time of panic and crisis, this will only make matters worse.”

Gould added that many customers are senior citizens who may not be able to travel long distances to purchase marijuana.

Among those who use medical marijuana are people with anxiety, people with compromised immune systems and older adults. The CDC has said that older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease are at a heightened risk of developing complications from COVID-19, the disease caused by a new coronavirus.

As the pandemic has brought more and more cases to Massachusetts, Gould said there has been “a huge uptick in sales” and a line snaking outside the dispensary.

Meanwhile, Solar Therapeutics has been abiding by rules given by Baker’s office and is only allowing five budtenders and five customers in the facility at a time, he said.

The Commonwealth Dispensary Association said in a statement that Baker’s order overlooks the relief and comfort marijuana products provide to adults

“Although adult use is regulated separately from medical, two-thirds of customers use cannabis for management of medical conditions and symptoms. This loss of access would be akin to losing out on over the counter remedies for many. For others, cannabis provides a small measure of relaxation which can help to ease the anxieties we are all facing during this time, much like a glass of wine to unwind at the end of the day,” said association president David Torrisi.

The association has asked Baker to reconsider the classification of adult-use shops.

“These businesses provide therapeutic value to thousands of Massachusetts residents as well as vital revenue from taxes that will be more critical than ever in relief efforts,” Torrisi said in a statement.

Torrisi also added that shops have adopted CDC guidance to support safe distancing inside dispensaries and minimize interactions.

As of Sunday, five people in Massachusetts have died from the respiratory illness and at least 646 people in the state have tested positive, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

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