{"id":64866,"date":"2020-05-05T15:27:19","date_gmt":"2020-05-05T21:27:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/should-marijuana-shops-be-eligible-for-federal-relief-aid\/"},"modified":"2020-05-05T21:27:19","modified_gmt":"2020-05-05T21:27:19","slug":"should-marijuana-shops-be-eligible-for-federal-relief-aid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/should-marijuana-shops-be-eligible-for-federal-relief-aid\/","title":{"rendered":"Should marijuana shops be eligible for federal relief aid?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Andrew
Andrew Barrera, manager of the Durango Organics store in Grandview, shows different varieties of marijuana in December 2018. The cannabis industry is so far not eligible for federal relief aid during the coronavirus pandemic.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The federal government classifies cannabis as a Schedule 1 controlled substance, right up there with LSD, heroin and ecstasy. Yet, many state governments have legalized the drug for medical and recreational uses. The industry is made up of thousands of dispensaries and cultivations that operate like small businesses, employing hundreds of thousands of workers across the country and contributing to local and state sales taxes.<\/p>\n

Which begs the question: Should the cannabis industry be eligible for federal relief aid, the same as any other small business, during the coronavirus pandemic?<\/p>\n

U.S. Reps. Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo., and Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., have introduced a bill that would make legal cannabis businesses eligible for COVID-19 relief aid, including the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans.<\/p>\n

Previous legislation, like the CARES Act, excludes cannabis businesses from aid and loan programs designated for small businesses during the global pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cCannabis businesses are major employers and significant contributors to local economies in Colorado and across the country,\u201d Perlmutter said in a news release. \u201cThey should receive the same level of support as other legal, legitimate businesses and be eligible for SBA (Small Business Administration) relief funds during this COVID-19 crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

But anti-marijuana groups are pushing back against including cannabis businesses in federal relief spending, including organizations like Smart Approaches to Marijuana. They argue marijuana sales have gone up during the COVID-19 pandemic in states like Colorado, where the business is considered essential and allowed to remain open.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have seen numerous reports of marijuana stores with long lines of people stocking up on the drug and have additionally seen states move to keep these stores open,\u201d Kevin Sabet, president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, said in a statement. \u201cQuite frankly, this presents a unique harm to public health and safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sales in Durango consistent<\/div>\n

The Green House Dispensary in downtown Durango saw a \u201cbig boom, with people buying legal ounce limits left and right\u201d at the start of the shutdown, said Melissa Woods, an assistant manager.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone was scared we were going to close down,\u201d Woods said. After dispensaries were deemed essential businesses and allowed to remain open, there was \u201ca little bit of a recession,\u201d Woods said. The dispensary still had a few out-of-state customers, so workers took every precaution by wearing gloves, Woods said.<\/p>\n

With the recent nice weather, Green House Dispensary has had an increase in sales.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the stimulus check had something to do with it, too,\u201d Woods said.<\/p>\n

Ken Aab, a manager at Rocky Mountain High Recreational Dispensary, said sales have stayed consistent, with only a slight increase. With no out-of-state visitors from places like Texas, Aab thinks the consistency is because of an increase in local consumption of cannabis products.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are other industries that need that relief more,\u201d Aab said. \u201cOn the flip side of that coin, the more normal we make marijuana businesses, the better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aab said the dispensary is \u201ca business just like any other business; we pay taxes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prohibition Herb Recreational\u2019s Marketing Director Sayrah Sims said if other smaller businesses are included in COVID-19 relief, cannabis businesses should also be included, especially smaller and independently owned shops.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a wild ride,\u201d Sims said in a phone interview. \u201cWe might be a little lower, but we\u2019ve held pretty strong with our sales.\u201d<\/p>\n

As people fell into the new normal of social distancing in late April, Sims said April 20 \u2013 known in cannabis culture as 4\/20 and marked as a day for consuming the drug \u2013 \u201cwas only a little smaller than what it normally would have been.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smaller cannabis businesses taking bigger hit<\/div>\n

Prohibition Herb Recreational\u2019s online ordering option has also helped the business stay consistent in sales without people coming through the shop\u2019s doors, Sims said. But she emphasized that smaller shops might not be set up the same way as Prohibition Herb.<\/p>\n

Woods said dispensaries around Southwest Colorado suffered from lower-than-anticipated sales on 4\/20.<\/p>\n

Cannabis businesses should be included in federal relief aid because \u201cit\u2019s a lot of people\u2019s medicine,\u201d Woods said. She helps customers who have trouble sleeping and veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t give medical advice,\u201d Woods said, \u201cbut it helps some people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perlmutter and Blumenauer also wrote a letter, signed by many other members of Congress, asking House leaders to include cannabis businesses in the next COVID-19 package. Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., and Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., also signed the letter.<\/p>\n

\u201cState-legal cannabis businesses need access to CARES Act programs to ensure they have the financial capacity to undertake the public health and worker-focused measures experts are urging businesses to take,\u201d Perlmutter and Blumenauer wrote, referring to the 6-feet distance both employees and customers need to maintain.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Senate returned to Washington on Monday to begin structuring the next COVID-19 relief bill, which is expected to be another trillion-dollar package.<\/p>\n

Emily Hayes is a graduate student at American University in Washington, D.C., and an intern for The Durango Herald.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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