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The West Coast Wildfires: What is the Impact on the Cannabis Industry?

By Aaron G. Biros
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Since the beginning of this year, more than 8,100 wildfires have burned in California, torching a record 3.7 million acres of land in a state with one of the largest cannabis economies in the world. With the effects of climate change continuing to wreak havoc on the entire West Coast, smoke from those fires has spread across much of the country throughout the summer.

As we approach October, colloquially referred to as Croptober in the outdoor cannabis market for the harvest season, we’re seeing the August Complex Fire creep towards the Emerald Triangle, an area in northern California and southern Oregon known for its ideal cannabis growing conditions and thousands of cultivators. The wildfires are close to engulfing towns like Post Mountain and Trinity Pines, which are home to a large number of cannabis cultivators.

Hezekiah Allen, executive director of the California Growers Association, says losses could reach hundreds of millions of dollars. Fires across Oregon have torched dozens of cultivation operations, with business owners losing everything they had. The Glass Fire has already affected a large number of growers in Sonoma and Napa Counties and is 0% contained. None of these cultivators have crop insurance and many of them have no insurance at all.

The impact from all of these fires on the entire cannabis supply chain is something that takes time to bear witness; a batch of harvested flower typically takes months to make its way down the entire supply chain following post-harvest drying and curing, testing and further processing into concentrates or infused products.

Image: Heidi De Vries, Flickr

The fires affect everyone in the supply chain differently, some much more than others. Sweet Creek Farms, located in Sonoma County, lost all but one fifth of their crops to fires. Other cultivators further south of the Bay Area have lost thousands of plants tainted by smoke.

Harry Kazazian, CEO of 22Red, a cannabis brand distributed throughout California, Nevada and Arizona, says he is increasing their indoor capacity to make up for any outdoor flower loss. But he said it has not impacted his business significantly. “Wildfires have been a part of California and many businesses have adapted to dealing with them,” says Kazazian. He went on to add that most of his flower comes from indoor grows in the southern part of the state, so he doesn’t expect it to impact too much of his supply chain. Kazazian is right that this is not a new concept – the cannabis industry on the West Coast has been dealing with wildfires for years.

George Sadler, President of Platinum Vape

George Sadler, President of Platinum Vape, has a similar story to tell – the fires have impacted his supply chain only slightly, saying they had a handful of flower orders delayed or cancelled, but it’s still business as usual. “It’s possible this won’t affect the supply chain until later in the fall,” says Sadler. “There has definitely been an effect on crops that are being harvested now. It may end up driving the price of flower up, but we won’t really know that until January or February if it had an effect.”

Sadler believes this problem could become more extreme in years to come. “Climate change definitely will have an effect on the industry more inland, where we’re seeing fires more commonly – it could be pretty dramatic.”

One beacon of hope we see every year from these fires is how quickly the cannabis community comes together during times of hardship. Sadler’s company donated $5,000 to the CalFire Benevolent Foundation, an organization that supports firefighters and their families in times of crisis.

A large number of cannabis companies, like CannaCraft, Mondo, Platinum Vape and Henry’s Original, just to name a few, have come together to help with relief efforts, donate supplies, offer product storage and open their doors to families.

If you want to help, there are a lot of donation pages, and crowdfunding campaigns to support the communities impacted. The California Community Foundation has set up a Wildfire Relief Fund that you can donate to.

This GoFundMe campaign is called Farmers Helping Farmers and still needs a lot of funding to reach their goal. Check out their updates section to see how they are helping cultivators in real time. This Leafly page is also a very useful guide for how you can donate supplies, volunteer and help those impacted the fires.

NCIA, CCIA Host Fundraiser For Those Impacted By CA Fires

By Aaron G. Biros
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On Monday, the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) sent an email announcing their Cannabis Industry Fire Relief Fundraiser in Santa Rosa, CA on November 6th. Co-hosted by the California Cannabis Industry Association (CCIA), the fundraiser will take place 6:30-9:00 p.m. at the Hyatt Vineyard Creek (170 Railroad St, Santa Rosa, CA 95401). All proceeds from the event will go to the Redwood Credit Union’s North Bay Fire Relief Fund.

According to the announcement email sent on Monday, the North Bay Fire Relief Fund, established in partnership with California State Senator Mike McGuire and The Press Democrat, provides financial support for relief efforts to displaced victims of the fires. Representatives of the fund will also be on hand at the event to take cash donations directly.

The fundraiser will have sponsorship opportunities and host committee sponsoring for companies looking to participate. All of the money raised from sponsorships will be donated to the same relief fund.

According to Lindsay Robinson, executive director of CCIA, this is an opportunity for the cannabis industry to help the community rebuild. “The devastation caused by the Northern California wildfires are unmeasurable, yet the sense of community and humanity displayed in this tragedy reminds all of us of our commonalities and not our differences,” says Robinson.  “I’m hopeful this event will raise much needed funds to help our friends and neighbors rebuild. The cannabis industry is here to help.”

When we reported on the wildfires impacting communities and cannabis businesses, we provided a link to a fundraising campaign specifically designed to help victims in the cannabis community. Citing federal laws prohibiting dealing with controlled substances, the payment processor of that campaign, WePay, refused to actually give the $13,000 raised to the victims. This is just one reason why this NCIA & CCIA fundraiser is so important. This gives those in the cannabis industry who want to help an effective route to do so, knowing their money will immediately go to help the victims.

Hezekiah Allen, a confirmed speaker at the November 6th fundraiser and executive director of the California Growers Association told reporters last week they are hopeful that the $13,000 will actually be given to the victims, but are unsure if that’ll be the case. “We’ve got folks who have needs who we would like to start like to start helping,” says Allen. “We’re still hopeful that they’ll process those payments. We’re waiting with fingers crossed.”

For tickets, sponsorship opportunities and more information please go online and register for the event or make a donation here.