Marijuana dispensaries have halted recreational marijuana sales as the state’s dispensary owners are now concerned about the impact the coronavirus could have on the medical patients they serve.
MOCA Modern Cannabis halted recreational marijuana sales and the Logan Square dispensary notified customers via email Thursday night that it will only sell to medical marijuana customers until further notice.
MOCA typically sees over 1,000 customers on the days it sells recreational marijuana, CEO and co-owner Danny Marks said.
“We didn’t want to put our staff or medical patients in a position where they could be exposed to that many people,” he said. “Hopefully it’s a short term thing. There is no playbook for something like this and we are going to take it day by day and reevaluate as things evolve.”
It was on Friday that President Trump declared a national emergency.
“Bottom line is our medical customers are our most compromised … individuals here,” said Mission South Shore marijuana dispensary vice president of operations, Gabriel Mendoza. “If anyone thinks they might have COVID-19 or been exposed, “we … really just make sure they aren’t coming to the dispensary.”
Vertically integrated cannabis and medical marijuana company Cresco Labs had spokesman Jason Erkes say that Cresco is evaluating every aspect of its business to maintain the health and safety of employees, customers and patients.
“We will be implementing social distancing strategies at all of our retail stores to ensure customers and patients always have access to their medicine and to be able to continue their daily wellness routines with as minimal personal interaction as possible,” he said.