Dangerous Heat Is a Reminder of Our Shared Community Inside and Outside the Business: Week in Review

This week, the world watched as the Pacific Northwest experienced a shocking and unprecedented heat wave. Records were broken on thermometers across the region, and individuals did what they could to stay cool. It was a dangerous situation.

While things have cooled down along the coast, as of July 2, it’s a scary realization: This isn’t the last of the brutally hot weather.

As a b2b publication in the cannabis space, we cover the industry and its attendant regulatory dynamics. But what’s an industry if not people? Families, pets, memories, livelihoods. Shared moments like the PNW heat wave remind us that what goes on inside a business has a lot to do with what’s happening outside that business. We need to take care of ourselves—and one another.

This very idea came up in my interview with Aster Farms CEO Julia Jacobson this week on Beyond the Show, our new Cannabis Conference podcast. Jacobson recounted her horrifying experiences during the Mendocino Complex Fire in 2018. You can listen here. 

As we adjust to dramatically heightened climate realities, let us know what you’re seeing and how you’re responding. We’re listening. 

Here are a few of the latest headlines:

“Three years after their product launch and over 15 years since the idea came about, Amy and Dave Nudelman have secured a patent for their tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) infused chewing gum, Joygum.” Assistant Editor Andriana Ruscitto reports on how that happened. Read more 
Associate Editor Tony Lange reports on a labor dispute out of Portsmouth, R.I., where unionized employees took to striking against a recent termination. Read more 
Managing Editor Brian MacIver reports: “A heat dome trapped over the Pacific Northwest has broiled much of the region, with record-setting triple-digit temperatures being felt from Whistler, British Columbia, all the way to Northern California. Cannabis cultivators in the area are hard-pressed to keep operations going as they try to protect both their crops and their teams from the potentially deadly heat.” Read more 
Adult-use cannabis legislation has yet to be formally introduced this year in the Pennsylvania Legislature, but the state’s medical cannabis program was expanded June 30. Read more 
Across approximately 400 licensed medical provisioning centers and 300 adult-use cannabis stores, in addition to cultivation operations, Michigan's cannabis industry is worth $3.2 billion. Still, a recent study shows that illegal sales account for more than half of the revenue. Read more 

And here’s what else we’re reading this week:

Reuters: “American sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson has tested positive for cannabis, … and she is unlikely to get the chance to challenge for the Olympic 100 meters title in Tokyo later this month.” Read more 
WAVY: “The Cannabis Outlet opened its doors Thursday in Portsmouth, the first day recreational marijuana became legal—with certain conditions—in Virginia.” Read more 
City Pulse: “Hundreds of [Michigan] cannabis companies—including several brands in Greater Lansing—are pushing back against early plans from a shadowy group of corporate lobbyists who reportedly want to ramp up state regulations for medical marijuana caregivers and patients.” Read more 
CNBC: “Many states that have legalized marijuana, including New York, have worked to enforce social equity programs, which are initiatives put in place to address the long-standing impact marijuana enforcement policies have had on communities of color.” Read more 
Orange County Register: “Democrats run Congress. Most Americans want it. Even Clarence Thomas thinks the federal ban is dumb. But federal politics of weed remain murky.” Read more 

 

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