Humboldt County Growers Alliance Issues Letter to Local Cannabis Industry

Information from the Humboldt County Growers Alliance:

Over the past 48 hours, shelter-in-place orders have been adopted in counties across the state, beginning with six Bay Area counties and spreading as far north as Sonoma County by Tuesday night. Last night, Mendocino County also announced plans to implement a [Shelter in Home] ordinance by Wednesday night. [Humboldt County’s Order to Shelter at Home will be in effect at Midnight tonight.]   Humboldt County Growers Alliance (HCGA) has been tracking the impact of these shelter-in-place orders and their impact on the community and cannabis businesses. Despite initial ambiguity, over the past 24 hours, a large number of Bay Area cities and counties – including San Francisco, Alameda County, Santa Cruz County, and Monterey County – have clarified that cannabis businesses will be considered essential and will be allowed to stay open for the time being, so long as social distancing measures are followed to ensure the health of workers and the community. Last night, Sonoma County became the first county to specifically reference cannabis businesses in their shelter-in-place order, designating cannabis businesses as a type of essential healthcare operation.   In anticipation of Humboldt County issuing a shelter-in-place order HCGA submitted the following letter to the County [yesterday].   Cannabis is medicine and cannabis businesses are healthcare businesses. With urban areas choosing to keep cannabis retail open during shelter-in-place orders, we believe Humboldt farmers, manufacturers, testing labs and distributors will be necessary to supply products to the rest of the state. HCGA is working with industry leadership across the state to ensure that the cannabis supply chain remains intact to bring safe and quality products to millions of Californians while implementing the highest standards necessary to protect workers and public health.   In addition HCGA is deploying various programs to ensure that we are bringing you the most updated and verified information as it pertains to our industry. We will also be calling on our members to provide us with as much feedback as possible from your end of things so we can keep an accurate pulse on the situation as it develops.   Ways HCGA is Collecting Information to Bring Back to our Members:  Constant contact with local and state policymakers and regulators. We will be participating in regional leadership meetings with associations throughout the state via Origins Council to efficiently share information. We have been invited and joined an ad-hoc Humboldt County COVID Economic Resilience Committee that will be holding a regular daily check-in to coordinate resources, communications, and programming to help local businesses cope with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. HCGA is engaged with the Governor’s Office of Business & Economic Development (GoBiz) and we are participating in regular briefings for the business community in California to understand the raise issues impacting manufacturing, distribution and sale of consumer products in California in the wake of this pandemic. We are in constant contact with Industry leadership in LA, SF, Oakland, and Sacramento stay updated on the retail and delivery supply chain partners and consumer trends. Ways for Members to Participate: Weekly Industry Affairs Calls: For the past year, we have been holding weekly “Industry Affairs Calls,” inviting our membership to Zoom to discuss the ongoings of the industry and policy. Today it was made very apparent that this platform is a resource that is going to be very valuable during this crisis with nearly 70 people signing on, our largest call to date. We were able to trade notes on supply chain developments, develop a list of questions for regulators, hear updates from Sacramento and much more. But, maybe most importantly, we were also able to feel a sense of community, at a time when we all need it the most.   Slack: Engage our online community for real-time information exchange so we can all work together to keep this supply chain flowing while doing everything possible to stop the spread of the virus. Information sharing from everything from SOPs for businesses to reduce infection rates, to updates from our AIB members on what is in stock at their stores as auxiliary supplies needed for business operations are impacted.  Also, please continue to use the #source_cannabis channel to post your available inventory and/or if you are a licensed manufacturer or distributor, looking for product this channel is where to connect with farmers.   Online Educational Webinars: Social distancing does not mean you have to be alone, or isolated. It is becoming abundantly clear that our community needs to come together to share resources, tips, expertise, and experiences. Fortunately, we can use HCGA’s existing online infrastructure, like Zoom webinar, to continue to bring industry educational programming forward. Our goal is to have one free educational webinar a week.   Already in the works: On April 1, 2020 there is a free 90-minute Marketing and Branding workshop being taught by Nicole Riggs of Manifesto Synergies (brought to you through HCBDC’s Workforce Training grant from the Headwaters Foundation).   Spring Genetics & Bioethics Conference. Originally scheduled for in person on April 10, now we are looking at hosting this conference in a digital format– please stay tuned.   Allied Industry Businesses (AIB): HCGA’s Allied Industry Businesses are essential to the ability of the cannabis industry to maintain its supply chain and fulfill necessary functions.  From soil to nutrients, to packaging to lawyers and more, we still need access to supplies and services that allow cannabis to fulfill its necessary and essential functions for the greater good during this unprecedented time.     Please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions or comments on how we can better serve you during this very difficult time. We are committed to bringing you as much valuable information as possible while providing real-time platforms for you to bring us feedback on the current state of affairs. If you’re not already a member, but would like to learn more, click here.   Stay healthy and safe out there folks, we are all in this together!   Warmest regards,   HCGA Leadership COVID-19 Resources — Over the past week, confirmed cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have rapidly increased in both California and nationwide. The situation is rapidly changing, but we wanted to provide a few updates during this unprecedented time. Like everyone else, we are doing our best to keep up with the fast-moving changes over the past hours and days, and are expecting more developments over the coming days and weeks.   First and foremost, now is the time to prioritize the health of yourself, your family, your coworkers and employees, and your community. The CDC has issued guidance to employees and employers on best practices including hygiene, social distancing, and ensuring that sick employees say home. Locally, a number of resources are beginning to be made available, including:   A coronavirus self-assessment tool available online through St. Joseph’s Hospital. For patients with more significant symptoms consistent with coronavirus, testing is available at St. Joseph’s and Redwood Memorial hospitals. Up-to-date local information, including a telephone hotline with more information, is available from the Humboldt Department of Public Health website. For more up-to-date public health information, we encourage tracking the most recent updates coming from the CDC, California Department of Public Health, and local and national newspapers, most of which have lifted paywalls on coronavirus coverage.   Humboldt County is fortunate to currently have no confirmed cases of COVID-19 outside a single individual who, after returning from travel, [was] in self-quarantine for several weeks. We strongly encourage everyone to pay attention to, and to follow, public health guidelines to help keep Humboldt County healthy over the coming weeks and months.   As more serious public health measures are put into place, we will be tracking the impacts on cannabis businesses in particular and on small businesses more broadly. At the federal level, legislation is being developed that may include relief from payroll taxes, expanded sick leave, and other policies affecting small businesses. The North Coast Small Business Development Center has been compiling useful information about these policies and their potential effects.